"Spider-man, Spider-man, friendly neighborhood spider-man, spins a web, anytime, catches thieves, just like flies, watch out! Here comes the Spider-man"...And in The Amazing Spider-man that's exactly what he does.
It's only been ten years since the 2002 release of Sam Raimi's Spider-man so the immediate question that sprang to mind when they announced this remake was "Is it too early?" and now that I have watched the film I have my answer. Although it seems pointless that a remake of Spider-man has been created rather than an entirely new film, I must say, The Amazing Spider-man delivers something that the 2002 version never did; style.
The story for The Amazing Spider-man follows suit of the 2002 version almost perfectly. With only a few differences (Lizard instead of Green Goblin, Gwen Stacey instead of Mary-Jane) it is almost impossible to tell the two films apart. However, I believe that Marc Webb (how coincidental) has created a better spider-man than Sam Raimi. My reason for this is simple, Marc Webb's portrayal of Peter Parker is more accurate than that of Sam Raimi. I always remember Spider-man as a cocky, arrogant and loveable teen who has snappy one-liners and sarcastic comments that squeeze a laugh out of almost everybody. It is this version of Spider-man that I see in Andrew Garfield rather than the wining Tobey Maguire. I especially enjoyed the scene just after Peter Parker has been bitten by the radioactive spider and a montage of Parker destroying things and getting used to his powers plays out. Smashing Alarm clocks, squeezing an entire tube of toothpaste in one gentle push and flinching accidentally from his "spidey-sense" all come together to produce some funny moments. However, that isn't to say the new film completely out swings the old one.
I'm a fan of Rhys Ifans, don't get me wrong, but the Lizard just isn't that scary compared to the green goblin. Raimi's Spider-man managed to create a connection between Spider-man and his foe, the Green Goblin, that this film just does not re-create. There's almost the feeling that Spider-man couldn't care less about stopping the Lizard, and would rather just swing around the city "woohooing" at any opportunity. Include the fact the action scenes are few and far between and you start to feel that the film is more about Parker than Spider-man. This isn't a bad thing, as I said, Garfield plays a great Parker, but it's an action film, I was really expecting a few more explosions.
Emma Stone is great as the female counterpart. I much prefer her over Kirsten Dunst, who also seems to mirror Tobey Maguire's misery in their portrayal of their characters. I found myself caring a lot more about the relationship between Parker and Gwen Stacey than I did for Parker and Mary-Jane. Maybe it's just because I find Emma Stone a whole lot more attractive, I guess I shouldn't be so bias. As mentioned earlier, The Amazing Spider-man somehow seems more stylish than the 2002 version. It might be the updated CGI, character portrayal and direction that creates this. However, I feel it isn't more stylish because these things have been updated, but it's more stylish because these aspects blend together so well. Certain elements of the film don't stick out individually, they all mold together to create one final, cool product. I feel it is this that gives this re-imagining a stylish feeling that the other spider-man just never achieved. Take some CGI of a man swinging through a city, add a swarve teen and throw in some fantastic camera angles that don't confuse the shot and you have The Amazing Spider-man wrapped up in it's cool, stylish package.
In conclusion I enjoyed The Amazing Spider-man, but to answer my previous question, Yes, It probably was a little bit to early to remake the first Spider-man. I mean if this film came out in another ten years, it would be even better. I wouldn't be drawing so many parallels between the two films, and I would have just enjoyed it for what it was. But with Raimi's version still lingering in the back of the mind, it's hard not to make the comparison and judge the differences, especially when the time gap between the two films is so small. All in all I would recommend The Amazing Spider-man solely for Garfield's fantastic portrayal. With the next film due out in 2014 all I can hope is next time, Spider-man spins a stronger web.
