Snap Judgment: The Amazing Spider-Man
Welcome to Snap Judgment, the feature on Flick Rev in which we review an upcoming movie based solely on the advance materials. This week our subject is the upcoming franchise reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, due in theaters July 3rd. Old Web Head has a lot to live up to after the successful trilogy starring Tobey Maguire. Plus it will be following right on the heels of the uber-successful Avengers movie and the highly-anticipated finale of Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise.
Spider-Man’s alter ego, Peter Parker, has always been a high school nerd. The new version, played by Andrew Garfield, looks more like a kid you wouldn’t let your daughter date. Parker’s most famous girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson, is replaced by a character that was killed off in the comics forty years ago. The death of Gwen Stacy is a seminal moment in comic’s history, one of the rare deaths that was never undone. Her inclusion in the film could be a signal of dark things to come, or it could just be a decision by the filmmakers to further divorce this film from the previous incarnation.
The film’s villain, the Lizard, is generally portrayed as a tragic character — not truly evil, just misguided in his human form and mindless in his monstrous reptilian form. In the trailer, Dr. Connors (the man who becomes the Lizard) comes across as more insidious than his well-intentioned comic book counterpart. Peter Parker’s long-dead parents, barely mentioned in the previous trilogy, take center stage in the upcoming version as Peter’s quest to uncover the mystery behind their disappearance seems to be a major theme of the film.
Spider-Man’s trademark quips are in perfect accord with his comic persona. And fanboys will be satisfied to note that his mechanical web-shooters are back, replacing the organic ones from the previous films.
When the film debuts in July, Flick Rev will be there with a full review. Until then, based solely on the materials made available to us in advance, this looks like it will be a good one.
Movie Professor’s Best Guess: A
