THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN

The Amazing Spiderman (2012)
Grade: A
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Campbell Scott and Sally Field
PREMISE: Peter Parker's investigation of his parents' mysterious disappearance leads him to Dr. Curt Connors, a pioneer in cross-species genetics.

RATED PG-13 for violence, blood and gory content, some scary moments and sensuality

I was, for the longest time, loathe to see The Amazing Spiderman. After all, it's only been ten years since the original Spiderman (2002) came out, starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, and became one of the milestone movies of my generation. While no Oscar winner, that movie is nonetheless cemented forever into my brain--the scenes of Peter Parker discovering his powers and beginning to use them are suffused with an energy and delight that you'd be hard-pressed to forget. Then again, that series spectacularly crashed and burned five years ago with its overstuffed sad sack of a third movie, 2007's Spiderman 3, a movie most people only remember because of the infamous scenes of Maguire dancing up and down the street in emo-kid garb.

So, here's The Amazing Spiderman, with a new director, new actors, new characters, and a new spin on the Spidey legend. And I can tell you now it's far superior. Going the same route as the Batman and James Bond franchises and giving its look and happenings a darker, more realistic look (a reboot, in other words), Amazing pays some homage to the old film while giving everything a fresh feel. The actors are solid across the board, the action is electrifying, the funny moments are cuttingly funny, and the emotion, in many scenes, is palpable. With Peter Parker less a computer nerd than a loner, and less a happy, go-lucky guy than a young man who lives every minute of every day burdened by a sense of betrayal he feels at his parents' absence, it pulls you in, and, in two fast and furious hours, proves a remarkable entertainment.

Plot: All Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield, terrific) can remember of his parents' disappearance is that his dad (Campbell Scott), a super-smart, super-secretive scientist, appeared to have had something important stolen from his home office. As soon the theft was discovered, Peter's parents put him in the car, drove him to his aunt and uncle's house, and, within an hour, left him there. They haven't been seen or heard from since. Peter was four. As a teen, he has a happy-enough life with his Aunt Mae (Sally Field) and Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen), but his family history hangs over him like a cloud. One day, he finds an old shoulder bag of his father's, and, inside, a picture of his father and a colleague. The colleague, Peter finds, is Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) of Oscorp, an amiable scientist whose desire to re-gain the right arm he lost years ago has led him to spend a lifetime pursuing cross-species genetics, specifically the possibility of using DNA from regenerative creatures like lizards (which can regrow lost tails or limbs) to give humans the possibility to self-heal. On a trip to Oscorp's laboratories to meet with Connors, Peter stumbles into a room containing mutated spiders, where (guess WHAT!?!?!) he's bitten. Almost immediately, he discovers his new powers, including uncanny reflexes, greater strength, greater agility, and the ability to climb walls. And then there's the web-slinging.

But Peter's life turns upside down when his uncle is killed in a freak encounter with a street thug. Vowing to avenge his uncle's death, Peter launches a city-wide search into back alleys and seedy clubs, stopping multiple petty crimes while determinedly seeking that particular thug, who had an identifying wrist tattoo. The actions of this new "spiderman" catch the attention of both the press and the city police, led by Captain Stacy (Denis Leary), father of Peter's classmate crush, Gwen (Emma Stone). But then Spiderman gets an adversary, a monstrous creature called The Lizard, which is the result of a desperate Connors using his cross-species serum on himself after being told he's fired. Peter, who, in a few visits to Connors' office helped him perfect the formula, feels a responsibility to stop The Lizard, but his every excursion is now tracked closely by police. And the clock is ticking, because the vengeful Connors is ready to fit in--to make everybody like him--and he's hatching a diabolical plan to do just that.

What Works?
That was a long plot synopsis, and it really only captures about half of what occurs, but, despite the 2 hours-plus running time, The Amazing Spiderman flies by, and you, as the viewer, understand it perfectly. Yes, some of this is a result of familiarity with the universe via the original Spiderman, but Amazing, in its own way, delivers the goods. Garfield is a great actor, and a worthy lead for the series, and Stone (who has a much bigger part than my plot synopsis implies), is effortlessly likeable as his romantic foil. Ifans, in the all-important role of the super-villain, is superb, and the other veterans like Denis Leary, Sally Field, and Martin Sheen give solid, memorable contributions. The action is almost ridiculously entertaining at times (a fight between Spidey and The Lizard in a high school is spectacular), the tempo is quick, and the sparks fly between Garfield and Stone. I think the word for The Amazing Spiderman is entertaining, because that's what it is, be it via action, humor, romance or drama--it's a great movie experience, and, in my opinion, far superior to the much-ballyhooed, but much more formulaic, Avengers.

What Doesn't Work?
It's a tad too long (perhaps one too many concluding scenes) and some of the romantic moments are dragged out a little, but most of the movie works, easily trouncing the original Spiderman in all departments.

Content: The action is fast and furious, and there are some gory details involved with Connors' transforming into The Lizard and back, but the main thing that might intimidate younger viewers about The Amazing Spiderman is the air of menace. People we care about are often in harm's way, dramatic moments leap out of the woodwork, and it's not a given that Spiderman will succeed. Otherwise, minus one brief shot of a woman in a bra, it's as clean as summer blockbusters get, and I can't remember any profanity. Fail-safe for most teenagers.

*3-D Note: Thinking something like The Amazing Spiderman had to make for a great 3-D spectacle, I went against my normal impulse and saw it in 3-D. I wouldn't say 3-D is necessary. It adds a little bit of zing to some of the scenes of Spidey swinging between buildings and over cranes and through small spaces, but, for the most part, I'm sure the movie would be as good in 2-D. You don't have to spend the extra $5.

Bottom Line (I Promise):
An electric mix of action, humor and character development, The Amazing Spiderman is an immediate improvement over the original Spidey movie and even a superior big-screen spectacle to The Avengers. One of the year's best movies!

The Amazing Spiderman (2012)
Directed by Marc Webb
Written by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent, and Steve Kloves; based on the comic series by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Rated PG-13
Length: 136 minutes