ComicsHistory Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-Man (Spiders, and Lizards, and Uncle Ben, Oh My!)

The re-boot of the Spider-Man
movie franchise is now in theaters, and this Spider-Man fan can say
without any hesitation: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), is a
rip-roaring, web-slinging, Lizard-stomping good time. While I truly
enjoyed the previous three Spidey flicks (with Tobey Maguire, Kirsten
Dunst, and directed by Sam Raimi), I am glad that the new movie
returns in many ways to Spider-Man's comic-book roots.

With the new iteration of the wall-crawling Spider-Man features
Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, and a lovely Emma Stone as the
blonde girlfriend from his high school days, Gwen Stacy, this story
leaves out Mary Jane Watson, who in the comics would appear as
Peter's love interest long after high school, and long after Gwen
Stacy was, shall we say, out of the picture. Also, one of the things
that always left an old-school Spidey fan somewhat off-kilter was the
Tobey Maguire version of the wall-crawler with biological webbing, as
opposed to the mechanical kind, which this movie does use. But these
are fairly petty points compared to the acting, action, and the story
itself in Amazing Spider-Man.

The acting is quite good. Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker is a
credible science geek, and making him a skateboarding hoodie-wearer
in this film adds a good modern touch to it all. Emma
Stone as Gwen Stacy is just beautiful, and is also quite
convincing as the smart daughter of a top police official. Dennis
Leary plays her father, and does a good job of being the protective
cop-father. Perhaps the best job of acting in this movie, and the
best job of bringing an iconic character to life belongs to the
incomparable Martin Sheen (whose acting chops put his son Charlie
Sheen to shame). Aunt May is played by Sally Field, and while she
was clearly outshone by her "husband" Uncle Ben, she should be more
than capable in the next two planned Spider-Man movies. The villain
of this piece is Dr. Curtis Connors, whose scientific discovery turns
him into the reptilian Lizard. As a villain, the Lizard is ok, but
(SPOILER HERE) he discovers Spider-Man's identity far too easily
(though the Spidey of this movie is a relative rookie at the
superhero thing), and while he was defeated by Spider-Man in the end,
he is sitting in a cell, with knowledge of who Spider-Man is in real
life. This creates possible complications in future Spider-Man
films, which could actually help make things interesting.

While some reviewers have complained that this film spends too
much time re-telling Spider-Man's origin, which of course was done in
the first Tobey Maguire Spider-Man film ten years ago, this reviewer
sees it as an important part of this movie's storyline. With the
added mystery of what happened to Peter's parents, plus the bravo
performance of Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben, and a few other fun
origin-story details, this version of Spider-Man's origin is a fun
and vital part of this movie. Oh, and, one more thing, Spidey-Fans:
The requisite Stan Lee cameo is belly-laugh inducingly hilarious! I
will not say any more, as you have to experience it full volume in
person to truly enjoy the Lee cameo as I enjoyed it!

As a long-time Spider-Man fan, I can say without reservation, that
this is a move to go see. It is worth the price of admission.