Review: "The Amazing Spider-Man"

The Amazing Spider-Man (PG-13 / 2 hrs., 16 min.)


I went to the local theatre to see The Amazing Spider-Man (in 2D—not a fan of 3D). I picked a time and day when I thought the theatre would be mostly empty. I guess I am weird—I do not really think of watching a movie as a social occasion. It was pretty empty; unfortunately, a young boy (?) decided to start talking very loudly during the dialogue of the last 10 minutes or so of the movie. He was speaking loudly enough that I had to strain to hear the dialogue—and the parent(s) did not ask him to be quiet for several minutes. I was more than a little bit annoyed! So, my enjoyment of the movie was somewhat muted by this experience.


RECOMMENDATION: In spite of my bad experience, I would recommend seeing this in a theatre. I have a nice set-up at home but there were several very good scenes that look a lot better on the movie screen than on the TV screen. I will end up adding this to my Blu-Ray collection when it becomes available.


REVIEW: 


Story


In case you did not know, this was a reboot of the Spider-Man franchise. Apparently, when you reboot a franchise, you must start again with an origin story?! I have read more than a few (but, definitely not all) Spider-Man comic books/graphic novels and I have never seen the origin story in this movie. This is mostly not a bad thing. I did enjoy the story. It was a good origin story and set-up nicely for the next movie. My one complaint may be a bit of a nitpick. The movie did not have a scene where Uncle Ben imparted his wisdom in the form of, what I believe is the essence of Spider-Man, a well-know quote. Watch the movie and let me know if you missed that quote as much as I did.


Acting


The acting was good to excellent all around. Andrew Garfield is a good Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Emma Stone is an excellent Gwen Stacy. Rhys Ifans is an excellent Dr. Connors/Lizardman. Martin Sheen and Sally Field were also good as Uncle Ben and Aunt May. I even liked Denis Leary as Captain Stacy.


Special Effects


The special effects were great. There was nothing new but they were very well done.