This is supposed to be a review of “The Amazing Spider-Man,” not an analysis of Sony Picture’s decision to reboot the series a few years after the conclusion of a hugely successful trilogy. Generally, more time is allowed to elapse before a reboot is considered, but as Sony ramped up to make a fourth Spider-Man with actor Tobey Maguire, director Sam Raimi and other established cast and crew, it became concerned about rising production costs and canned the project in favor of an all-new series with different people in front of and behind the camera.
And they decided to retell the all-too familiar story over again from the start.
As a result, a sense of “Why?” pervades every frame of the new movie. Why do we need to see kids at school make fun of Peter Parker again? Why do we need to see Parker bitten by another spider? Why do we need to see Uncle Ben shot again? Why do we need to see Peter struggle with falling in love, this time with Gwen Stacy? When Parker falls through a roof and into a wrestling ring, and then sees a poster with Spider-Man’s famous mask on the wall, all but mirroring a scene in the 2002 movie, all I could think was, “Why does this movie even exist?”
It exists to breathe new life into a lucrative franchise. But no matter how hard it tries, and despite the addition of the word “Amazing” to the title, the new movie feels less like a breath of fresh air and more like a retread. From beginning to end, too many story beats echo the 2002 origin movie.
There are moments of brilliance. I liked the blue collar earnestness actor Martin Sheen brought to the role of Uncle Ben. When he gives Peter the famous “With great power comes great responsibility line,” he’s earned the right to say it. I also liked the scene in a vacated industrial zone during which Parker, who has just become comfortable with his powers, swings from chains hanging from the ceiling of a building. By that point, the movie was in desperate need of a burst of energy, and director Marc Webb delivered. Also, Andrew Garfield does good work as Parker when the mask is off. He’s awkward with Stacy when he should be charming, he cowers around bullies and he’s devastated when a thief he could have stopped shoots and kills his uncle.
But when he puts on the mask, everything falls apart. He becomes arrogant and prone to spouting ludicrous one-liners like “Somebody’s been a bad lizard!” as he’s fighting the villain of the movie. While the filmmakers might have thought that’s how a high school kid would respond to his newfound powers, it creates an imbalanced character. On one hand, Parker realizes he has a responsibility to stop the Lizard, and on the other hand, he sounds like an immature bully when he’s chasing bad guys.
The movie as a whole falls apart when Parker slips on the mask. For example, with the exception of the best Stan Lee cameo of any Marvel movie, the action is forgettable and the computer animation is merely passable. Since the fight scenes are CGI intensive, this “Spider-Man” looks less convincing and cartoonier than past installments.
Also annoying is the writing, which relies on contrivance. In an early scene, Parker goes to the headquarters of a large company to talk with a scientist who used to work with his dad. The receptionist mistakes him for an intern and waves him through, then he hooks up with a tour group lead by – gasp! – none other than Stacy, then he bumps into a man carrying a folder, and when the man drops the folder, he sees two symbols that look just like the symbols on papers that belonged to his dad, then Parker turns a corner and sees the two symbols above a door, and then someone walks up to the door and enters the password as Parker watches! C’mon! The filmmakers should have worked harder to set up the major turning points in the story.
“The Amazing Spider-Man” is not a bad movie, but nothing sticks enough for me to recommend swinging by the theater to see it.
Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action. Two-and-a-half stars out of four. Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.