Why the hate: Reasons I think The Amazing Spider-Man deserves forgiveness

Why the hate: Reasons I think The Amazing Spider-Man deserves forgiveness

The title says it all.

Editorial Opinion
By EdgyOutsider - Nov 21, 2012 10:11 AM EST
Filed Under: Fan Fic

I like The Amazing Spider-Man. I even think it's better than the 2002 original (which I also really like). What I can't wrap my head around is all the hate for The Amazing Spider-Man. Some of you don't like any of the Spider-Man movies, I call that weird but that's my opinion. Some prefer the original, some prefer the reboot. Is it because that it's too soon for a reboot? I don't know what the reasons are and I won't say that The Amazing Spider-Man is perfect, it does have flaws and dumb moments. Those moments are to show off maybe reflexes or strength and precision. Either way, here I will name reasons why The Amazing Spider-Man deserves forgiveness.

Cast



Even if certain things aren't fully developed, things like the relationship between Gwen and Peter which BattlinMurdock has so kindly pointed out as one of the problems with the movie for him. The cast give it more depth. We will use the relationship between Gwen and Peter as an example, again. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone have great chemistry and it's like watching fireworks on the screen. Their chemistry and acting abilities give it depth to where you are able to forgive the lack of development in the writing. To be honest, I never did see any chemistry between Tobey and Kristen.

Sub-Plot



It wasn't anything new to the superhero genre but, it did make The Amazing Spider-Man that much more interesting. Instead of rehashing what was done in 2002, they went into different territory and adding the subplot of a manhunt between Spider-Man and the NYPD made the movie engaging and interesting.

Uncle Ben's Killer



I am going to catch a lot of flack but, did you honestly want to see the same thing over again? I didn't. The idea of Uncle Ben's killer still out there is not only refreshing but it gives Peter an extra incentive. Yes, he has learned about responsibility and he knows he is now the protector of New York. He made a mistake and paid a huge price for it. Now, he isn't going to make the same mistake. Instead of catching Uncle Ben's killer, he is going to protect New York and not make the same mistake as before.

Spidey vs. The Lizard



Spider-Man vs. The Lizard in the high school (in my opinion) is the best fight in a comicbook movie. The Amazing Spider-Man might not have as much fights against the antagonist as the original but, there is no denying that if anything, his fights against The Lizard was fun to watch.

Quality over Quantity



It spends more time with the characters. For a lot of people, this is just Sony taking their good 'ol time with the origin story. While yes, this is an origin story. But, this is also a character movie. Not the typical summer blockbuster. The Amazing Spider-Man takes it's time with the characters to develop them so we can grow to care for them and even care for them more in sequels. While, I feel they rushed it a little bit in the original and therefore I never felt the impact in Spider-Man 2 that most people feel (again, I like the original trilogy). Therefore, I prefer The Amazing Spider-Man over the other Spidey flicks.

A little closer to home



From web shooters to Peter's first true love. The Amazing Spider-Man may have taken more inspiration from the ultimates, it still stays close to the original comics as well. Gwen is Peter's first true love, the look of the villain (Haters gonna hate) and also the web shooters. The original Spider-Man didn't have any of it. Hell, we even got the wise cracking Spider-Man. I just think The Amazing Spider-Man was closer to home than the other movies.

Final Statement: The Amazing Spider-Man is flawed. Dropping plots and leading into a sequel as the origin held the movie down. It isn't without it's strengths and I think these strengths need to be appreciated more without comparison to truly enjoy the movie for what it is. An entertaining movie. Developed characters, a strong and entertaining villain, good supporting cast, sub plot and a little closer to home help make The Amazing Spider-Man better than it's predecessors in my opinion.

Comment below and be respectful. To say an opinion is invalid is ignorant and will be deleted.
About The Author:
EdgyOutsider
Member Since 8/23/2011
Fan of comic books with dreams to become a writer and director for film one day. Spider-Man, Ghost Rider and Captain America are my favorite superheroes. While Dr. Doom, Thanos, The Lizard and Ultron rank among my all time favorite super villains.
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tonytony
tonytony - 11/21/2012, 11:12 AM
i actually liked TASM, no hate from me and I cant wait for the sequel
Stumblin
Stumblin - 11/21/2012, 11:32 AM
Forgive it for what...I loved the movie :)
Hero020200
Hero020200 - 11/21/2012, 11:33 AM
Great article. I couldn't agree more when you say the best scene was the one in the school. I just love it when Spidey wraps the Web around The Lizard, like a spider would do to a fly.
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 11/21/2012, 12:27 PM
@ATastyBurger: Either the crane scene or the fight in the school. But, I just enjoy seeing Dr.Connors and The Lizard in general. He is my all time favorite comicbook villain.

@tonytony: I would like to anticipate the sequel if it wasn't for Electro. I don't see the appeal in him.

@LEVITIKUZ: I know they developed the characters. But, I think they didn't develop them enough. While I love the original trilogy and Spider-Man is my all time favorite superhero. I just didn't get the impact from the characters or movies that others have gotten. You should see The Amazing Spider-Man though. Part of the reason I love it is be sues I can relate more to Andrew Garfield's Peter over Tobey's.
Spideyguy94
Spideyguy94 - 11/21/2012, 12:43 PM
I really like TASM, I do think it's gets more shit than it deserves, but some people where going into this movie wanting to shit on it and if you go into anything with that mentality 9/10 times you are going to hate it. Not to say there wasnt people who wanted to like it and left dissapointed. I think spider-man 2 is still the best spider-man movie, but TASM is the 2nd best IMO but it does have its problems.

My problem with TASM is the lizard. We didn't get enough development with dr connors to feel sympathy for him when he turned into the lizard. But I still like the movie despite this. The only spidey movie I don't like is spider-man 3 and I don't need to explain why.

@LEVITIKUZ you say you haven't seen TASM but I seen you put a comment where you said it was shitful and worse than spider-man 3
Preston
Preston - 11/21/2012, 12:50 PM
The biggest complaints are that the film:
1). Treads old ground and doesn't say anything new.
2). It loses the opportunity to flesh out Dr. Curt Connors who is a tragic villain; there is more to Curt than turning into a lizard and being evil. He should have received a similar treatment to Dr. Ock in Spider-man 2. Unlike many Spider-man villains, Dr. Curt Connors is actually a really good guy (and we don't get that impression) who makes very bad choices.

I will say that I agree with those two, and I'll add that while it does tread old ground and doesn't do Curt Connors justice, it does give us a wise-cracking Spider-Man. I think they need to kick that into overdrive. Peter Parker is famous for releasing his anxiety through his puns while dressed as Spider-Man.

Now, the tone was a bit emo and dark, and I hope they lighten that up in the second; I think that Rami got that better than Webb. Spider-Man isn't dark.

I like Emma Stone as Gwen, but I'm biased since I just like Emma Stone:
Stone

EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 11/21/2012, 1:00 PM
@Preston: While I agree that Dr.Connors didn't get much development as I would have liked, I still think they nailed it. I think that people forget that The Lizard develops his own personality and that's why Connors came off as nuts and evil. I also disagree that this is a dark and "emo" Spider-Man. I think this is more light hearted. Not saying the others weren't (Spider-Man 3 being dark is fine).

I might be over looking it but, I don't see how people felt bad or had sympathy for Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2. He was developed but I don't think he was a sympathetic villain.
Preston
Preston - 11/21/2012, 1:08 PM
Lizard1

The idea behind Spider-Man 2 is that "everyone is a hero." At the end, Doc Ock does the right thing. And, because it succeeds at conveying that idea (many movies have tried and failed). It's the best Spider-Man movie to date. The movie has tons of heart.

Doc Ock redeems himself at the end. By the end of the movie, you like the guy; one can't say the same about the Lizard.
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 11/21/2012, 1:38 PM
I understand and I know that someone can't say the same for The Lizard. But, I still don't see the big deal about Doc Ock. Not to say he isn't a good villain or that what he did wasn't right. I just don't see the big deal about him
Tainted87
Tainted87 - 11/21/2012, 2:22 PM
The biggest defense of TASM seems to be something along the lines of what you just said there: "did you honestly want to see the same thing over again?"

This in itself is all I will talk about here, because of my compulsion to rant.

It is a reboot. We did not go up to Sony and hold up signs demanding a reboot. We did not deliver stylized cupcakes to make a statement of what characters we wanted (see Mass Effect 3 Ending Controversy). We did not send Avi Arad hundreds of fanwank to try to get Spider-man's origin story retold.

Simply put: we did not want a reboot. It is the studio's fault, not Marc Webb, but regardless, it heavily influenced the project.

Now, as a reboot, there are expectations. I'd like to point out once again that we didn't want a reboot - we just had to settle with what was filmed. Anyway - expectations are new territory, newer characters, and a different direction for the title character.

High school. It was a horrific decision to make Peter a high schooler again, and yes, I'm going to say it again. It makes Peter out to be a LOSER - he spends a trilogy in school, whether it is high school or college... with the Spider-man identity dragging his life down. Putting him back in high school illustrates that Peter is incapable of advancing. You might think I'm being snarky, but it really is the truth.

So in conclusion - we didn't ask for a reboot, and we didn't want to see Uncle Ben get killed again, nor did we want to see Peter get bitten again, nor did we want to see Peter try to adjust to being Spider-man... AGAIN. The movie was damned to begin with.
Kalel219
Kalel219 - 11/21/2012, 3:17 PM
I really wanted to enjoy this film, I truly did. I even brought the video game tie in, but honestly something about this take on Spidey is "off" to me.

I really wanted to see the "fireworks" between Gwen and Peter and I just don't...I don't feel anything towards this film and anything related to it asides from a gut wreching sense of "...ughhh"
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 11/21/2012, 4:30 PM
@SotoJuiceMan: How were the origin tales not finished? Also, James Vanderbilt wrote the second movie with a rewrite from Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. As a standalone film, yes The Amazing Spider-Man isn't all that great and I never praised the script. I just said I prefer this one over the original trilogy despite my love for the original trilogy.
ArtisticErotic
ArtisticErotic - 11/21/2012, 6:42 PM
I just found the movie boring, I didn't care for the characterization of Peter Park, the villain sucked and the romance was extremely force. This entire movie just felt rushed and really uneeded.
Facade
Facade - 11/21/2012, 8:31 PM
I enjoyed the shit outta it. Entertaining reboot.
CaptainAmerica31
CaptainAmerica31 - 11/21/2012, 10:48 PM
This film is a lot better at exploring the characters, it got a lot of things right. Like @tainted said it was dammed from the beginng. But it still got good reviews and is the most successful reboot money wise. All in all it had its flaws but the sequel is what ppl are waiting for because we don't have to see those things @tainted pointed out so let's see how the sequel does before we actually make up our minds on this franchise. We have yet to see what it has in store becasue it treded on familiar territory that not everyone was keen on watching again.
AC1
AC1 - 11/23/2012, 12:06 PM
"Still haven't seen TASM but that one reason: Quality over Quantity. That's bullshit. You can't say it established characters and Raimis Spidey didn't. The only 2 characters that weren't really great in Raimis Spidey was Brock and Gwen but they were still ok. We saw character development in all the Spidey movie so that reason is bull."

^^@Levitikuz You can't judge a movie unless you watch it first. And we're not saying it established characters that Raimi didn't, we're saying it developed them more - most of them felt like real people, unlike the Raimi characters.

It's easy to get caught up in the hype, like you said, but you really should give it a try before you bash it. You never know, you might actually enjoy it. And if you don't, then at least you have a real reason to dislike it.
AC1
AC1 - 11/23/2012, 12:11 PM
And by no means is TASM a perfect film, but as an origin movie I prefer it to Raimi's (and it's my favourite Spidey film) because it feels more personal and intimate as a story. Peter becoming Spider-Man and fighting the Lizard is almost a sub-plot, and I found that really enjoyable and refreshing when most superhero movies focus on the good guy vs bad guy aspect. The real plot is a young man going on a journey of self discovery, falling in love and gradually learning the importance of responsibility (note: I say 'gradually' because responsibility isn't something that happens overnight like in Raimi's film. It's a learning curve, and even Uncle Ben's death wouldn't suddenly make Peter a responsible adult. It'd just send him along the right path.) It's almost a coming of age film.

Plus, the acting for the most part is tremendous, especially Garfield, Sheen and Stone.
JorEllinator
JorEllinator - 11/25/2012, 12:52 PM
I totally agree with this article! DO NOT understand the hate for this movie, it was better than Spidey 1&3, but just on par with 2!
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