[Crazy Dud]

The Amazing Spider-Man

***1/2 out of ***** (7/10) Good

The Amazing Spider-Man is a film which has been faced with harsh criticism well before the movie was actually made. Sam Raimi had originally been in pre-production for Spider-Man 4, but was "fired" from the project when he refused to give into the studio's demands (as he did in the third film, to its detriment). It was then decided that the franchise would be rebooted with an entirely new cast, and would keep Peter Parker in high school in order to make the film appeal more to the current teenagers. Needless to say, this wreaked of everything wrong with Hollywood today . . . sacrificing the creativity of an already established franchise in the name of marketability and essentially remaking a film that is only ten years old. As was to be expected, this film is largely a retread of the original Spider-Man. The origin story here changes many of the details, but the essential plot points remain intact. The second half of the film is not nearly as guilty of repetition, but, in many ways, Curt Connors is a repeat of Norman Osbourne, mixed with certain aspects of Otto Octavius. While repeating Parker's origin was more or less inevitable in this film, the villain was new and should not have borrowed heavily from villains in the previous films. However, this film is very different in terms of execution. The tone here is much more serious and dramatic, and the pacing is much more deliberate. One thing about this film that is actually an improvement over the original franchise is the acting. Every performance in this film is quite solid, and that really does make the film quite delightful. Furthermore, the direction is superb, the action is very well done, and the special effects are top notch. To put it simply, this film was unnecessary and should not have been made; however, the film is also very well-made and highly entertaining. The best that can be said for this film is that it has the necessary elements in place for a truly outstanding sequel. No longer bound to having to retell the origin story, the sequel should feature little of the repetition found here, and should deliver a truly remarkable Spider-man experience. As it is, the movie is very good, but also very familiar. It is definitely worth checking out eventually, but I would not pay full price for it.