In a word- absol-freaking-lutely! Is it the best superhero movie? Um, no. That would be The Avengers, because that’s the best movie ever! But this one was worth the price of an evening movie ticket.
I was strangely apprehensive to see this version of our friendly neighborhood Spiderman. I really liked Spider-man I and II, three we will not speak of, and I was afraid the creative team would take to extremes in an attempt to differentiate itself from the original. Thankfully this was not the case.
Andrew Garfield was fantastic as Peter and portrayed the right mix of smart-aleck and adorableness. Although I’m sure the objective was not to make him adorable, he was still so gosh-darn cute. When he was hit, he was truly injured , an aspect that was downplayed in the originals, so that was refreshing to see. I do think the original movie’s portrayal of his transformation into Spidey was more believable. In this version Peter is bit by a spider, falls asleep on the subway and wakes up with his amazing powers. While funny, it didn’t seem like his body showed any reaction to his cells changing. But I guess since he’s going to be put through hell for the rest of his life, it wasn’t necessary to show that agony.
Emma Stone was smart and lovely as Gwen Stacy but watching her made me sad because I recently read the Spider-man episodes of Civil War and I know her fate. Will her story play out the same way in any future installments? I want to say no, because I like her, but then it wouldn’t be true to the Spider-man myth and I like when the story stays pure. Dennis Leary was great, as was Rhys Ifans, Sally Fields and Martin Sheen. And there was the bonus of Chris Zylka as Flash! Oh, I am so going to miss Secret Circle.
So if you’ve been on the fence about trying out this latest treatment of our favorite webslinger, go, you’ll enjoy yourself greatly. However, I do have one nagging issue I can’t get past.
True to the original Spider-man, this Peter made mechanical webshooters, but he used webbing made from Oscorp spiders. These webs are now strewn all over New York. Wouldn’t someone notice this and go, “Hmmm. I think I know where these come from.” And what is he going to do when he runs out? It’s not like he can pick up more at the local 7-11. Yeah, that part still bothers me, but other than that, I loved the Amazing Spider-man.