Monday, July 9, 2012

Monday Matinee: The Amazing Spiderman (2012)

 On our Lake Michigan vacation, we had the luck to be securely contained under the HEAT DOME.  On the 4th of July, the temperature soared past a hundred degrees, and our rental house air conditioners couldn't keep up.  So on the 5th, we decided the only place to hang was the theater.  Frankly, for me, it was like choosing the lesser of the evils...Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter or Spiderman?  That was the question.  Most of us opted for Spidey.  Let's just say I went in with low expectations.  My kids grew up with Tobey and Kirsten, so that was where my head was at when I walked into the theater.


  
So for those of you who have seen the Tobey/Spidey movies, this is not a continuation of that story.  It is a RE-TELLING of Spiderman's genesis.  This time we have Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) as the  geeky high school kid who covets the cute girl (Emma Stone), raised by his aunt and uncle after his parents' mysterious death when he was a youth.  The bones of the story are basically the same, but a few details vary.


     
This time, his love interest is not Mary Jane (which seems sacrilegious if you ask me) but Gwen Stacy, a brainiac at his school and daughter of the police chief.  While it seems Mary Jane was being cheated on, what is not to love about Emma Stone?  She seems to be able to nail the chemistry with any of her male counterparts on screen.



 And instead of Spidey finding a nemesis in Green Goblin/Norman Osborn, he goes face to face with a colleague of his father's - Dr. Curt Conners who, through experimentation, becomes The Lizard.  I can't say I was all that impressed with The Lizard.


What did surprise me was that I warmed up to Andrew Garfield.  He was fine in The Social Network, but I couldn't see him as a guy who would take on New York City's evil-doers.  In fact, he was a likable, gawky, endearing fellow who shouldered his responsibilities with an earnestness.  Can he carry a new series?  I think he can do it.


As far as the movie as a whole, however, there was nothing going on.  Nothing all that creative or unpredictable, no new effects or clever photography.  If your expectation is to see something mind-blowing, you won't find it here.  But if you need to get out of the heat and want a little summer superhero action, you'll be fine.


3 out of 5 stars


  

12 comments:

Jenny said...

Jason is super into comics so we had to see this, of course, but we both actually liked it better than the one with Toby. I guess Gwen was the original love interest in the comics, and I love Emma Stone, but I agree it did feel like Mary Jane was cheated on, LOL!

caite said...

A different Spidey..not sure I can deal with that!
but A/C..popcorn, darkness with 100+ outside is still a good thing.

Peppermint Ph.D. said...

I'm sure I'll catch this one on DVD one day but I'd rather go see the new Madea movie than this one. I never thought I'd ever say that btw, but she/he makes me snort with laughter :)

Julie P. said...

I'll have to share your review with my husband. He wants to see this movie, but I could care less!

Literary Feline said...

I do want to see this one, but I will go in with low expectations after reading your review. Maybe then I'll really enjoy it. ;-)

My husband is into comics just as Jenny's Jason and so he was giving me some background on Gwen when I questioned why Mary Jane wasn't in the previews. So, I understand where you are coming from!

I do have to say that as much as I love superhero movies, I wish they'd put more time between starting a new Spidey story. Doesn't it seem too soon to recycle the character? For me it does, anyway.

bermudaonion said...

My guys love superhero movies but haven't been interested in this one. I'll tell them you weren't overly impressed.

Zibilee said...

I am a big Toby fan, and to me, he will always be the real Spiderman. I might have to get to this one on video because I don't think I would pay to see the new guy take on one of my favorite actor's roles.

Heidenkind said...

IDK, I'm kind of attached to Toby McGuire as Spidey...

Melody said...

If you ask me, I'd prefer Andrew Garfield than Toby McGuire. And I think the chemistry between Andrew and Emma are sizzling, lol. It's no wonder that they're now a couple (or is it just for the sake of the movie?).

Jenners said...

This is the THE movie of the summer for all the little boys in the neighborhood -- after The Avengers of course -- so we're going tomorrow and I'm hoping the Lizard won't cause bad dreams. I thought Tobey Maguire was a bit of a dud so I'm sure I"ll like Mr. Garfield better.

By the way, have you seen Magic Mike yet? Hubba hubba! I'm in love with Channing Tatum now!!!

Anonymous said...

http://soundcloud.com/capulet7686/spiderman-unfinished

Kathleen said...

Sounds like I can wait for On Demand or Netflix. I wondered why they chose to remake this one after such a successful franchise.