THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. My thoughts and stand up.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. My thoughts and stand up.

THIS is a stand up to all the unnecessary hate the film gets. Also, I tell you why TASM is my favorite movie of all time. Kind of like a "part two" to my first article, which was titled, "My problems with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy."

Editorial Opinion
By Lindsey35 - Jan 17, 2013 07:01 AM EST
Filed Under: The Amazing Spider-Man
Source: Lindsey35

Recently, I wrote an article explaining reasons where I thought Sam Raimi's trilogy fell short. Now, I am doing a new article, things of which I think make Marc Webb's take so much better.


The Amazing Spider-Man is my personal favorite superhero movie of all time, plain and simple. It has everything "I" wanted and expected. And when I see the hate it gets, I really get confused, and wonder what the heck is wrong with some people. But everyone has their own opinion, and I respect that, but, some of the things I've read from people is BS, and it's usually just to start fan wars or to make the fans mad. Stupid, pointless, and childish. I write this article to take a stand against the nonsense load of hate it gets. Some complaints of which I've read is valid, but most the time its just random nit picks. Shall I begin?

So, why is The Amazing Spider-Man your favorite superhero movie, you say?

Well, I'm about to tell you.

1. THE ACTING.

From all sides of the movie, the acting is spectacular. Andrew Garfield, to me, IS Spider-Man. He nailed it. He made Spider-Man AND Peter Parker relatable. What is wonderful about this is, and so difficult to do, Marc Webb took a comic character from the 60's and brought him to THIS very modern time, and in the end, Garfield pulled it off perfectly. I see and FEEL the pain in Peter's eyes when he must deal with death. The human part of Spider-Man is so relatable. People complain about him being too "antisocial" and whatever, well, this is the kind of Peter who has SERIOUSLY been through it. This is what makes THIS Peter relatable. He's a teen trying SO hard to survive. And Andrew delivered incredibly. You have to look at this interpretation at a certain angle, and when you figure it out, the movie makes perfect sense and STILL sticks to the comics.

Martin Sheen. Man oh man. For me personally, he took Uncle Ben to the next level. But that's just me. I loved his performance. And when he died, it honestly hurt me because I loved the performance so much. The connection between him and Peter was strong, and I loved that. We saw a much more human side of him. Martin Sheen did excellent IMHO.

Emma Stone brought us a strong, solid performance. She, also, brings that human/relatable aspect out of Spider-Man, and does wonderful, too. She comes in second place of my favorite actors from the film. The chemistry between her and Garfield is spectacular, which most superhero movies lack these days.

Coming in third, Denis Leary. To say I enjoyed his performance is an understatement, even though he doesn't appear till the second half of the film. When Captain Stacy died, I gained a lump in my throat. If that's not good acting, then, I don't know what is. But then again, that's just me.

Sally Fields delivers wonderfully as Ant May. Her take is very different than what we saw before. I think, with this approach, they're coming from the Ultimate comics, which is why this take is different. She's a strong, very caring character, and Fields does just fine. Her reaction to her husband dying was believable and very realistic. I give Sally 5 stars on the Ant May chart!

And finally, Rhys Ifans. Where do I begin? May I start with the cheepy, dark, human side of him? Or the violent, scally, green, mutan, huge, claws, side? One of my favorite parts was when he started having voices in his head. Oh, and the fact that his Lizard form could talk was also cool. On the human side, we have this sad, dark, man whose goal is to only regrow his missing arm. I really felt for the guy when he had his arm back for the first time. Rhys does perfectly. You can see the joy it brings him when he thinks for the first time "It works! My arm is back!" But then he is tore down by the fact that he has mutated himself. Beautiful.

But a good movie doesn't completely rely on the acting, now does it?

2. THE STORY.

Let's start with everyone's biggest nit pick of all, the so called "rehash," they claim. In no way shape or form do I see this film telling Raimi's first Spider-Man movie over again. In some ways it is, but when you watch it, it is told completely different. Yes Spider-Man is bitten again. Yes Uncle Ben is killed again. Yes Peter is in school again (at least through the whole movie, this time. SORRY). But these are told in a very different way. But why did they have to go with his origin all over again, you say? Because it obviously has something to do with the trilogy as a FREAKIN' WHOLE. DUH. This is their take on Spider-Man, therefore they must install things to fit into their universe. So quit bickering. Thirty years from now, when there hasn't been a Spider-Man movie for two decades, they'll be retelling the origin again, probably.

THE PARENTS.

Again, this makes Marc Webb's turn very different than the previous ones. Obviously, this part of the plot goes on into the sequel. What I loved about the whole "Peter's parents" thing was what it brought out of Uncle Ben's "responsibility" line. It hurts Peter deeply, and with this take, we finally have some depth to the character, some history. I cannot wait for the sequel and what this plot brings us.

SPIDER-MAN "LEARNS."

Before Spider-Man is Spider-Man, we have Peter searching for Uncle Ben's killer. A lot of people think that this is a "major" (Pfft, hahah...) plot hole. But they don't look at the big picture. The reason Peter decides to let Ben's killer go, he realizes he has "responsibility." This is why I love this movie. Peter LEARNS he must use his power for good, instead of revenge. And it started at the bridge scene. Saving that kid brought realization to Peter's eyes, and he finally understood what his Uncle was trying to tell him the night he died. Clever? I think so...

KNOWING PETER BEFORE HE PUTS ON THE MASK.

It speaks for itself. This, I feel, improves the film. Even though we see more Peter than Spider-Man throughout the film, it is still a plus. We know what drives him. We get to understand that, even before, he's a good person. Remember the scene where he stands up to Flash to help out that guy? This shows Peter is worthy for his gift. I make a point, whether you like it or not.

PETER'S INTELLIGENCE.

FINALLY! WEB-SHOOTERS! YEAH BABY! HOOOOO!...oh...hey there. Remember the scene where Ben and Peter were down in the basement? And the one where he's able to make out a very difficult equation? And the one he's in the crowd of interns? Peter is freakin' smarter than an INTERN that's probably been going to Oscorp for a while. Yeah, this speaks for itself. And what's so great about it, it fits in with the story. He HELPS Connor's. What teenager is smart enough to do that kind of stuff? That's right, only Spider-Man.

And finally... Doctor Connor's connection with Peter's parents.
What more can I say, but, "clever"? THIS is how it all started. And it ties up the film perfectly.

My problems with the film?

Three plot holes.
Doctor Connor's boss disappearing after the bridge scene (but hey, if a giant green lizard was after you, you'd leave town too, right?)

Does Ant May know Peter is Spider-Man?

And lastly, where is Connor's family?
But I'm sure these loose ends can easily be tied up in the sequel.

Honorable mentions:
Spider-Man vs. The Lizard (school scene.)
The crane scene.
Peter's basketball dunk.
Spider-Man vs. The Lizard (final battle.)
BEST STAN LEE CAMEO EVER.
The beautiful score.
And Andrew Garfield's performance when Captain Stacy dies.

2012 was an incredible year. The Amazing Spider-Man may not have been better than The Avengers, but I'll say it is on par with it, FOR MY TASTE. BIG BOLD LETTERS. DON'T SHOOT.

Well, this has been MY stand up to the unnecessary bull crap this film gets (and points of which I think make this a better superhero film). And if you tell me otherwise, I'll say, "Read my article again, pal," because you obviously didn't read it in the first place. Thank you so much for reading! And please go easy on me.

One more thing. This article is about THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. I did not write this to discuss other movies. I want this to be strictly about Marc Webb's film.
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Lindsey35
Lindsey35 - 1/17/2013, 8:16 AM
@ LEVITKUZ
Why is Peter this way? His parents LEFT him. And he did not spit on the grave of Captain Stacy (I'm assuming you mean the whole promise thing, right?) This shows Peter is human and loves Gwen, even if it means risking her life. I hate bringing up Raimi's, but in Spider-Man 2, Peter did the same thing.
Also, THANK YOU FOR READING :D Means a lot!

And may I ask you a question? What does your user name stand for??? Random I know...
Lindsey35
Lindsey35 - 1/17/2013, 8:24 AM
Gonna disagree again.
The basketball scene brought out the Peter who was still playing by "his" rules. Then Uncle Ben dies.

"Before Spider-Man is Spider-Man, we have Peter searching for Uncle Ben's killer. A lot of people think that this is a "major" plot hole. But they don't look at the big picture. The reason Peter decides to let Ben's killer go, he realizes he has "responsibility." This is why I love this movie. Peter LEARNS he must use his power for good, instead of revenge. And it started at the bridge scene. Saving that kid brought realization to Peter's eyes, and he finally understood what his Uncle was trying to tell him the night he died. Clever? I think so... "
Lindsey35
Lindsey35 - 1/17/2013, 8:26 AM
Also, the dunk was pretty cool, hands down.
Spideyguy94
Spideyguy94 - 1/17/2013, 8:28 AM
@LEVITIKUZ He was a dick to uncle ben but that was only once in the movie, which was in a emotional moment when he was talking about his father and it also makes uncle bens death much more tragic IMO. And lets not forget the same thing happend in spider-man 1 in the car. When he was a dick to aunt may I will say i was on aunt may's side there. But you can clearly see that him, aunt may and uncle ben clearly love each other. At what point was he a dick to Connors?
Lindsey35
Lindsey35 - 1/17/2013, 8:33 AM
What I mean with Spider-Man two, if you'd pay attention, Peter told MJ that he couldn't see her because it put her life in danger. Then MJ comes and they smooch.
And read SpideyGuy94's comment.
Spideyguy94
Spideyguy94 - 1/17/2013, 8:33 AM
@LEVITIKUZ in spider-man 1 in the car he tells uncle ben to stop pretending to be his father, after that uncle ben got killed and he never got the chance to apologise.
Spideyguy94
Spideyguy94 - 1/17/2013, 8:40 AM
Peter breaking captain Stacey's promise is something I found to be very irresponsible and it really does knock the movie down a peg for me, but I do think that it is going to come back to bite Peter in the ass.
Lindsey35
Lindsey35 - 1/17/2013, 8:49 AM
@ batz11
Thank you for reading :)
I wasn't disappointed with the film as a whole, but that area did dull Connors, I agree.
Lindsey35
Lindsey35 - 1/17/2013, 8:53 AM
@ LEVITIKUZ

Yes, but that's not my point. Even though it was MJ's choice, Peter STILL accepted her because he was weak for her love. That is putting her in danger.

But alas, think what you want. We all have our opinions.
Lindsey35
Lindsey35 - 1/17/2013, 8:59 AM
Well, it made more than enough for the sequel...
Spideyguy94
Spideyguy94 - 1/17/2013, 9:03 AM
I think this movie did something that made raimi's movies look a little bit sexist, where they put gwen in danger without her literally being there through her father. What I did think this movie also did was make Peter much more pro-active I.e. going to look for the lizard on the sewers and looking for uncle ben's killer, where as in the raimi movie's spidey waited for the trouble to come to him. Not saying the raimi movies are bad, spider-man 2 is still the best spidey movie and 3rd best cbm of all time IMO and I love spider-man 1, I'm just pointing put some things I though TASM did better.
Lindsey35
Lindsey35 - 1/17/2013, 9:05 AM
@ batz,
If they'd go with that kind of costume, that'd make everyone go nuts! What were they thinking when they made that crappy Power Ranger suit?
Lindsey35
Lindsey35 - 1/17/2013, 9:11 AM
@ batz

True that.
If anyone read this article thinking I hate Sam Raimi's movies, then your wrong. I love his trilogy and ALWAYS will no matter how much I think Marc Webb's take is better!
Lindsey35
Lindsey35 - 1/17/2013, 9:12 AM
@ batz

True that.
If anyone read this article thinking I hate Sam Raimi's movies, then your wrong. I love his trilogy and ALWAYS will, no matter how much I think Marc Webb's take is better!
CavEl
CavEl - 1/17/2013, 9:23 AM
Nice article, but, you mock the people who say that Peter not finding his uncle's killer was a plot hole, but you prove that that was a plot hole.

You say Peter somehow "learns" that his powers are about responsibility and not vengeance, but where does Marc Webb show us Peter learning this?

That's a plot hole, Peter just magically learned this without Webb giving us the reason or justification for it? That's a HOLE in the PLOT.
AC1
AC1 - 1/17/2013, 9:32 AM
People seem to think Peter is like Satan's spawn in this film, and I truly have no idea why. He's a teenager, teenagers are prone to mood-swings and irrational behavior. With that in mind, Peter's actually a pretty decent human being. He's (arguably) a 'dick' to Uncle Ben ONCE, and it's obvious that he mistakenly thinks Uncle Ben is out of line mentioning his father in that context. Peter has just achieved something revolutionary by helping Conners create a cure for injury, advancing medical science by possibly 100s of years, but in doing so he forgot about meeting Aunt May. He feels guilty about this, but then he has Uncle Ben making him feel more guilty, when he's done something that should be celebrated, as no one knows it'll go wrong. It's reasonable for him to flip out like he does.

Granted, he has a tendency to mistreat Aunt May at times, but it's evident that he also really cares for her, and only acts out as he's struggling with his own grief, his new responsibility toward her, and his activities searching for the killer and later as a superhero.

Finally, the Captain Stacy thing - Peter agrees to this so that Captain Stacy's last moments aren't spent worrying. He just wants this man's last moments to be peaceful. And he does try to keep his promise, but despite his superpowers he's still only human, and he sees Gwen as his one shot at true happiness, and so he makes the mistake of going back on his word. What must be remembered is that responsibility is a major theme with Spider-Man, but it doesn't mean he won't make mistakes - he always strives to do the right thing, and when he goes against his responsibilities, he is punished (getting back together with Gwen will probably lead to her death).

TASM is also my favourite superhero movie, along with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, with Avengers close behind. A lot of people seem too critical of this film, especially in comparison to Raimi's films, but this version actually gives the characters personalities that are realistic. Raimi just took the characters right out of the sixties and put them in a modern backdrop. I loved the first two Raimi Spidey's as a kid, and still like them for sentimental reasons, but in my eyes TASM is vastly superior.

Not perfect though, it has plenty of it's own problems, but the good outweighs the bad IMO. I didn't really like the basketball dunk for a start (it was played out too goofy for my liking, although I liked the intial part of him taunting Flash), and the pacing gets a bit weird in the second half. Dr Ratha just disappears half way through, and a few scenes appear to have been cut shorter than they should have been.
Spideyguy94
Spideyguy94 - 1/17/2013, 9:36 AM
@ACira I agree with everything you just said.
Spideyguy94
Spideyguy94 - 1/17/2013, 10:30 AM
@AcidicHeart You think all marvel movies that Arn't made by marvel studios suck, so it's not like your opinion is a fair unbiased one.
FirstAvenger
FirstAvenger - 1/17/2013, 10:33 AM
Good article, the movie was good not great but it was okay. I think him breaking the promise he gave to capt. Stacy will make for a great sequel and Gwen's death that much more emotional for Peter. Now that was clever!
Spideyguy94
Spideyguy94 - 1/17/2013, 10:51 AM
@AcidicHeart I wasn't insulting you, I was saying what I had seen you comment on other articles before. And fair enough you didn't like the movie and I did I can respect that, but insulting me because I was only pointing out something that I had seen before was it necessary?. I wasn't personally attacking you yet you attacked me for no reason. Also its not that i don't like you i never said that, i actually agree with a lot of what you say. And by the way the only spelling error I made was aren't and I'm on my phone so It's easy to make mistakes. But good day to you sir
AC1
AC1 - 1/17/2013, 11:06 AM
@PatriotsSuperguy that's shown in the dinner scene, Captain Stacy's words to Peter about Spider-Man have a clear effect on him and he begins to realise that revenge and responsibility aren't the same thing.
Lindsey35
Lindsey35 - 1/17/2013, 11:11 AM
Wow! I wasn't gone long and I come back to a bunch of comments. Thanks to all who have read and complimented! Means a lot :D
jessepostal
jessepostal - 1/17/2013, 11:39 AM
@levi, the dunk was showing off his superpowers, just like the sink, the pole in the subway,the toothpaste, and whatever else he couldn't control.

Peter wasn't a dick, he was a teenager, teenagers act like dicks
DrHorrible
DrHorrible - 1/17/2013, 12:10 PM
I loved the movie and can't wait for the sequel.

That is all. Good day. :)
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 1/17/2013, 12:48 PM
I'm glad you liked it @ Linds!

I would never go an say its the best cbm of all time, it don't touch SPIDEY 1 or 2 even, but...

Did enjoy it A LOT... so much more than that butt [frick]ing Batman got in RISES (Last 10 minutes).

Yeah wasn't looking forward to the reboot much, but was pleasantly surprised :)

Good acting, gr8 effects, didn't like the messed up new Spidey outfit much but it was near classic so what can u do :p

LIZARD was awesome!

AVENGERS my fav movie of 2012 tho easy, then this and DREDD, then Rises much further down :p

P.S. Just so you know - I love the fisrt 2 movies: BEGINS and TDK.
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 1/17/2013, 1:03 PM
I'm just gonna say this one last time. I'm not gonna be a dick about it either. I love all the Spider-Man movies. Despite how bad Spidey 3 is, I still appreciate it was made. It's also my OPINION that, The Amazing Spider-Man is the best of the movies and TASM 2 is gonna be better than the third as long as they change everything bout the shit villain known as Electro. That's my opinion. Take it or leave it. I'm tired of defending the damn movie.
EdgyOutsider
EdgyOutsider - 1/17/2013, 1:05 PM
Also, no comicbook movie is the greatest movie of all time. That's my opinion and that my opinion also consitst of no comicbook movie will be as good as, The Avengers unless it's a sequel to The Avengers.
Lindsey35
Lindsey35 - 1/17/2013, 1:05 PM
@ Sotojuice

In case you didn't watch TASM, we actually got to "see" how Uncle Ben died, much unlike how Uncle Ben died in teh first one.

And, since it sounds like you didn't read any of the article, allow me to say this:

"2. THE STORY.

Let's start with everyone's biggest nit pick of all, the so called "rehash," they claim. In no way shape or form do I see this film telling Raimi's first Spider-Man movie over again. In some ways it is, but when you watch it, it is told completely different. Yes Spider-Man is bitten again. Yes Uncle Ben is killed again. And yes Peter is in school again. But these are told in a very different way. But why did they have to go with his origin all over again, you say? Because it obviously has something to do with the trilogy as a FREAKIN' WHOLE. DUH. This is their take on Spider-Man, therefore they must install things to fit into their universe. So quit bickering."
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