Filmfan 2
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Joined: 30/9/2005
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ORIGINAL: superdan
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ORIGINAL: Filmfan 2
Maybe Gwen's so full of grief after her father's death that she realises she really loves/needs Peter, so she's able to move past her fear.
It wasn't really about Gwen's fear, it was about her father's fear that being with Parker would bring her harm. We are lead to believe that Parker accepts this even though he finds it hearbreaking, only for him to change his mind 10 minutes later in a cocky 'Screw your dad' kind of way. It was a bit unedifying to say the least.
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Also, since when have promises like the one Peter makes ever been stuck to rigidly when it comes to matters of the heart? Fiction is littered with kind of thing.
Peter Parker has never struck me as an outright moral/ethical guardian in the way that Batman or Superman are; he's a teenage boy in love, and teenage boy's (and adult's) in love do stupid things; it doesn't seem to me like it's a flaw in the characterisation.
There's ways of going about it though. At least in Raimi's version they stick with his decision to distance himself from the woman he loves, until she discovers his secret (at the end of the second film) and makes his decision a bit redundant. In this film there wasn't really any point introducing it into the story, since it's abandoned almost immediately. It ultimately served no purpose whatsoever.
Well, it worked for me.
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ORIGINAL: Gazdance
Nothing much about this film had me dying to see it apart from maybe the casting of Andrew Garfield. The memory of the very disappointing Spiderman 3 still lingers and nothing about the marketing of the film made it feel like much of a big deal.
Thankfully having lower expectations of a film can work out well as I really enjoyed The Amazing Spiderman. It’s a really good blockbuster and I think better than the previous trilogy.
If you’re going to reboot the story and recast your main character then you need to ensure the audience isn’t sat there wishing for the previous incarnation. If they are then you’ve failed.
The film succeeds by having much better characterisation that resonates emotionally. We get a sense of the relationship between Aunt May and Uncle Ben and the years they’ve been together so that when Uncle Ben dies, it feels like more of a tragedy.
Peter Parker is still portrayed as a bit of a geeky outsider however he’s more believable because he’s shown to have a bit of a vindictive streak, especially when he obtains his powers. He’s still the good guy but we actually get to see him enjoying what he can do, being cocky with it and hinting at a darker side to the character. I always hated Maguire's snivelling wimp portrayal and with hindsight it was always better when he wasn't on screen. In Garfield, there's an actor worth watching and his scenes are just as fun as the ones where he's in the suit.
His relationship with Gwen Stacey is sweetly played and it’s refreshing to have the heroine of the piece be more than just a shrieking damsel in need of rescuing.
Special effects have improved in ten years and everything looks much more photo real. I really don't understand criticisms that modern multi million dollar blockbusters have poor CGI - they don't - since it's so advanced now that its pretty much impossible. It's hardly TV budget standard so some perspective please. Many of the scenes of Spiderman swinging feel exhilarating and the film uses 3D to its advantage really, really well. It is the best film I have seen to be shot in 3D that looks any good since Avatar. It's not afraid to use the effect and actually have things leap out of the screen - perfect for the material.
In 2002 Spiderman had me feeling like I really wanted to see a sequel. The Amazing Spiderman left me feeling the same way but that the films might improve rather than decline.
The only ridiculous thing is Peter Parker using Bing as his default search engine - totally unbelievable. The rest is Amazing. Yes, it is.
I think your views sum up my feelings on the film. I never in a million years thought I would write this about the new film, but I think it is vastly superior to Raimi's incarnation. I don't actively hate those movies or anything, but I just think that this seems like a much more authentic invocation of Spiderman.
I had thought the entire movie a completely pointless reboot, but Marc Webb really has done an excellent job bringing the film to life, and I think it owes a great debt to Chris Nolan's Batman movies. Everything just felt far more authentic, and Garfield is a better actor than Toby Maguire in this role. The script is snappy and the action is superb, benefiting enormously from an advancement in CGI. The stunt work is also very good as well.
The film could perhaps use a bit of editing in places as the momentum does sag at points, but the time spent on building up Parker's journey to Spiderman is pretty well used. Yes, there are threads of the story that seem to just get forgotten and The Lizard does nothing to top the best villian of the Spiderman movies yet, Molina's Doc Oc, but those are the only real criticisms that I have. I'd gone in not expecting much but I was very pleasantly surprised indeed.
4/5.
P.S. I never saw the films in 3D so I can't comment on how that looks, but the POV sequences probably worked best there. It's a a nice idea to try and give the audience a Spidey-eye-view, but in 2D it doesn't really work, so I would've liked to have seen those scenes dropped as they are a bit gimmicky.
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Defender of all things Batman Begins
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RE: Amazing but not Perfect - 
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