I always figured maybe some people didn't love the movie as much as me because some of you guys didn't pick up on everything the movie had to offer. So let me help!
Part 1
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It's no secret I'm the one of the bigger Spider-Man fans on this site. I have read thousands of Spider-Man comics and continue to read them when ever I get the chance (poopy time is Spidey time in my house!). I own all the cartoons, all the movies, all the guides, most of the novels, all the videogames, and even the old live action tv show from the 70's (it's really not that bad). After having watched The Amazing Spider-Man I caught a few things even major fans probably missed. My wife seemed to enjoy the movie a bit more after I pointed these things out that in my opinion help flesh the film out. Here are some of the more interesting things you might have missed:
1.Eugene "Flash" Thompson punches Peter in the face after Peter chastised him for bullying another student. Why did Flash punch Peter just for telling him to leave the kid alone? Because Peter used Flash's real name "Eugene." The reason Flash doesn't like to go by his first name is because his father is an alcoholic and abusive. His father's name is also Eugene. So Flash in turn isn't a big fan of his father, nor does he wish to carry around the name of the man who makes his life so miserable.
note: Sometimes the comics have Flash's father's name as Harrison Thompson. It depends on the writer. But who can blame them, even Stan Lee called Peter Parker "Peter Palmer" on at least one occasion. Having hundreds of characters in Marvel's vast library makes it a real chore to keep them all straight.
2.When Flash tries to talk to Peter after Uncle Ben dies Peter assumes he is going to give him a hard time like he does every day. After Peter slams Flash against a locker Flash says to Peter "It feels better right?" The reason he says this is because in the comics, it has been firmly established that Flash bullies other kids as a direct result of the way his own father bullies him. As bulling others makes him feel better. That's why Flash says "It feels better right?" Flash knows that lashing out when you have all that anger inside you makes you feel better.
3.After having been bite by the spider, Peter goes home and tries to wrap his mind around the zero decay rate algorithm. While reading up on it, instead of siting in his room he sits outside on the roof of his house. He has obviously never done that before as Uncle Ben sees him and tells him to be careful (other wise Ben would have said "there goes Peter on the roof again"). The reason Peter all the sudden has the urge to sit on the roof of his house is because his DNA has just been spliced with that of a spider. And spider's prefer to be in elevated postions for hunting, web making, and avoiding predators. Peter naturally takes on this urge himself without even knowing why. This urge was established in the stories "Peter Parker No More" "The Other" and the episode "Make a Wish" from the Spider-Man animated tv show in the 90's.
4.The reason Peter can make such amazing shots with his webs and such amazing jumps and land so perfect is because of his spider sense. His ability to sense the distance of objects and make the perfect split second calculation is part of his natural abilites inherited from the spider. Take the scene of Peter in his room eating chinese food. After he finishes he tosses not only the box but the two chop sticks perfectly into the waste basket without even looking. That's because his spider sense affords him these abilities. We even see or hear it during the final swing. After he launches himself into the air during the final swing of the film, right before he shoots another web that takes him into the alley way we can hear the "spider sense noise." The reason for that is his spider sense was telling him not only where to shoot the web but how he would need to move in order to transfers the alley in a way only Spider-Man could.
Part 2
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This is the second part of the little things I think some people missed in The Amazing Spider-Man. It's no secrete that I think The Amazing Spider-Man is the best Spidey flick yet. Best Uncle Ben (I was actually sad when Uncle Ben died this time around), best Peter Parker (he actually looks like Peter, unlike Maguire) best acting, best on screen romance (and off screen apparently) it was more loyal to the comics (WEBSHOOTERS! WOO!), and the fact Spider-Man acts like the Spider-Man I grew up with. They didn't even try to make Spidey funny in the first three films. The Amazing Spider-Man blew the other three out of the water. My favorite scene wasn't even an action scene (the scene where Peter can't listen to his Uncle's last message because he's so grief stricken). The movie was all heart, which is what Spider-Man should be. Not to mention the action had meaning. The Lizard and Spider-Man were playing a kind of king of the hill in The Amazing Spider-Man. Spidey was trying to reach the top of Oscorp tower while Connors was keeping him from reaching the Ganali device. It was brilliant. In Spider-Man 2, while the action of the clock and train was great, it was meaningless. It was pretty much "Hey Spidey! Let's fight!" "ok." There was no objective other than to fight. Not to mention the Raimi films were oozing cheese from start to finish.
But I digress. I think some people may have missed some things in The Amazing Spider-Man that helped me fall in love with it.
5."Come home Peter, you're my hero." Why did Uncle Ben say this to Peter on his voice mail? The scene with Uncle Ben and Peter in his room is very important. Uncle Ben plays with a rubix cube Peter completed and Uncle Ben actually messes it up. It's suppose to symbolize the difference between the two men and their intellect. Uncle Ben is just a factory worker while Peter has a very keen mind much like his father. So much so that Uncle Ben says he hasn't been able to help with Peter's homework in years. Uncle Ben, in a way, looks up to Peter. While Uncle Ben sets an example morally Peter's intellect is something Uncle Ben admires.
6.Right after Peter gets bit by the radioactive spider, he catches a fly out of midair. He then lets it go but procedes to put his fingers in his mouth. He is hungry remember? He, on instint, almost ate a fly. Even after letting it go he still can't help himself as he puts his fingers in his mouth like he just had some frosting on them. I like how they gave the film a sense of horror. It reminded me of The Fly by David Cronenberg.
7.The spider that bit Peter got zapped just like the spider in the comics. Don't believe me? Go back and watch. I'm sure that's what eventually killed it as well. I like how they don't come right out and say they were radioactive or anything of the sort. They just kind of leave all that up to the viewer. They were glowing after all. The extra zap I think was just for the fans. And who knows, maybe it got an extra bit of radiation or something. Good art leaves things open for interpreation.
8.Peter tells the car thief he is going for more "those guys that do the louge" after the car thief asks if Spidey is a cop. The reason his costume is a louge outfit is simple. If you read a bit about the louge suit they are very aerodynamic, they also breath very well keeping the rider warm when it's cold and cool when it's warm. They're also tear resistant and very flexable which is great for a guy sliding up and down buildings.
9.At one point it is stated that Spider-Man's webbing is 10x stronger than steel. It was on Peter's computer as he watched the Oscorp video doing a sales pitch of the bio-cables. I just thought that was cool. Most people probably caught that though, so whatever.
Part 3
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10.All three Raimi films have an American flag splashed on screen as a tribute to the 9/11 attacks and because Spider-Man is an American hero. Most people think Webb dropped this homage. That isn't true, he just toned it down. Remember the scene with all the crane operators? The scene where the father of the child Spider-Man saves says "Hey Kowalski, you're getting over time!" Right after that line the camera moves up to a shot of a big American flag on a building. Most people missed this, but it was obviously in keeping with a tradition Raimi started. I for one love the homage and hope we get it again in the sequel.
11.Peter gets himself into a fight in an alley-way while asking some guy when was the last time he was in Queens. After beating the guy up for a few seconds a bunch of the guys buddies run into the alley to give their friend a hand. At this point Peter looks up and runs away from the group of guys. Most people didn't understand this scene seeing as how Peter could beat up all five guys no problem. He did after all beat up an entire group of armed New York City SWAT officers without breaking a sweat. So why did he run away from five back alley punks? Because he didn't want to reveal he had superpowers, nor was he trying to make the news that night. We know this from the fact Peter runs away and does some minor flips here and there. When all he needed to do was take a giant 30 foot leap and make it to the roof. But they had all seen his face and every one of those guys would have called the news to report the fact they just saw a man jump 30 feet into the air after being assaulted by him. Which is also why he climbed the side of the building without sticking to it when all five guys could still see him. But the moment Peter was out of view, he sticks to the wall. He even looks down to make sure they cannot see him before he makes the jump and sticks to the other building. He was being very careful not to show that he had superpowers. That is why he ran. If he had stayed and beat up all five guys, he would be all over the news as some kind of superhuman that five guys could give a discription of what he looked like to the police and media. The way Peter played it out was some parkour kid punched a back alley pimp that was smacking around some poor woman. That doesn't make the news.
Thanks for reading. I hope you guys enjoyed these write-ups! Here's looking forward to the next Spidey film. I'll be back to make sure you guys don't miss a thing.
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