Aside from that, here's an article with how they promoted the Amazing Spider-man with the movie trailer at the bottom of said article:
Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone at Empire State
That done, what can I say about the film? In a perfect world, this should have been the first Spider-man movie shown to people - as it has plot contents that, when viewed now, are retro-centric... at least, that is how I, as a long time Marvel and Spider-man fan, see it. Let me explain.
Gwen Stacey:
For fans of the Sam Raimi directed Spider-man trilogy films, let me get a few things straight. Gwen Stacey was Peter Parker's first true love, and would have remained, had she not died during a fight between Peter and the Green Goblin. Retcon stories try to make it come out that Gwen even had an affair with Norman Osborn - but I think this was stupid. It was never in her character to fall for Norman.
Emma Stone's portrayal of Gwen is - to borrow a British term, 'spot on'. She got Gwen right down to the looks and moves. So it's no surprise to say I enjoyed this movie's move to bring in Gwen Stacey. Latter fans would have gotten introduced to Spider-man with Mary Jane, but people need to know that MJ and Peter only got closer - and more serious with each other after Gwen died. Prior to that, MJ was indeed being paired off to Harry Osborn, who yes, was Peter's friend, and equally grieving the loss of his dad who also died in that same fight with Spider-man where Gwen died.
While I'm on the subject of Gwen, let me also say that having Captain Stacey in the movie, complete with his ultimate sacrifice and all, was a nice touch. Great acting by Dennis Leary too. How a loud mouthed, know it all actor could transition into a well respected Police Captain is a great thing to see. His scenes with Andrew, though not comic book history, were still nice to watch. After all, aside from Uncle Ben, Captain Stacey's death was one long shadow on Peter's shoulder... only to be eclipsed much later by Gwen's.
The Web-shooters:
Fans of the Spider-man cartoons would probably remember this as well, but the web-shooters were originally part of Peter's costume. It also helped emphasize his Science background. In fact, it was considered the Parker (bad) luck when he'd run out of webbing in the middle of a fight, or a swing. The three Spider-man movies presented an organically produced webbing... something the comic book transitioned into. Peter originally had the proportional strength, could stick to walls and his Spider sense... but no organic webbing. So seeing this new movie using the mechanical web-shooter is a step back.
Puny Parker:
Peter Parker got his powers while he was still in High School. Though all films show this, I have to say that Andrew Garfield's Peter looks more puny (in a scrawny way) than Tobey Maguire. In that sense, Garfield can pass off more as a high school kid. I mean, can you imagine how this Spider-man will look when he stands side-by-side with Chris Hemsworth's Thor? He will indeed look small - and easily taken for granted. A mistake many of Spider-man's enemies make. The only thing Tobey practiced more as Peter, that Andrew did not do too much was to be the introverted Parker to his friends and loved ones.
So those are the reasons why this movie feels retro-centric when compared to the first three films.
Now what makes it different?
Flash Thompson:
I need to review the first three to see if Flash ever came out - something tells me yes he did. But he was not given too much exposure time. Flash was the jock to Peter's geek/nerd, and yes... in the earlier issues, Flash would pick on Peter. Later, though, they would become friends as Flash would mature - and yes, he would be a big fan of Spider-man, not realizing that he's sharing High School with his idol.
Peter's parents:
This part of the movie I liked... in fact, I wished they'd explore more about it. Who knows? I'm sure it will be further touched in the next movie (at the rate this new movie is raking in the bucks, I'm sure they will make one). For a time, it was a mystery until the comic book made a story about it. In this movie, it seems they - or at least, Peter's dad, was involved with Doctor Connors in a joint research. Because of something he did not want divulged, it seems like he (with his wife) was killed, leaving Peter to the care of his Uncle Ben and Aunt May.
Comic book fans would know the real story, of course. How they were posing as scientists/researchers of Hydra (yes, the same Hydra in the Captain America movie, for you movie buffs), thus giving Peter another stigma in his already struggling every day life. Peter would then uncover what he can about his parent's supposed Hydra links and would later triumphantly discover that they were actually S.H.I.E.L.D. agents planted into Hydra. Again, in an ideal world, this would be the perfect time for Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury to suddenly appear at the movie's end to recruit Spider-man into the Avengers initiative. I can only hope that this particular comic book history would find itself into the next Spider-man movie... Avengers recruitment, or not.
>Oh... by the way, did I mention that Spider-man was eventually the reason why the Avengers beat Thanos in their encounter? Yeah... that bad dude seen in the after credits of the Avengers movie.
The Lizard:
Doctor Connors was already in the first movies. This made me realize that it was just a matter of time before they would finally introduce the Lizard - though he had to take a back seat to the Goblin, Doc Octopus and Venom. I bet, had Spider-man 4 with Sam Raimi happen, it would have been the Lizard. Still, this movie finally makes the Lizard front and center, and I like how he was portrayed and the CGI effects showing him move and fight. What I did not like too much was his half human, half lizard transitioned face. He should have looked a bit more reptilian.
What I missed, and hope will come out in the next movie:
J Jonah Jameson - I mean, c'mon... Peter in the Daily Bugle, or Spider-man having the banter with Jameson - the first three movies had this down pat. I wished this movie had even the beginning of it. After all, it had the camera taking action shots... so why no Jameson?
Over all, it was a fun movie. It had heart, and I admit to getting teary-eyed when the construction cranes lined up to help Spider-man swing to Oscorp's tower. But then again, that was the trademark of the other Spider-man movies... how New Yorkers helped him. But knowing it could happen - and seeing it happen in the movies is a different feeling altogether.
At the end of the movie, I could discern the Goblin's tones, so I guess he'll eventually come out too - after all, if they follow the comic book, he'll be a great factor in Peter's next tragedy. And with the Goblin comes Norman Osborn, Harry and possibly MJ too. Overall, I'd give this movie a 4 stars out of 5. I did not expect this to be as good as it came out to be, and maybe it's because I was curious to see how different - how new it would come across. Nice to know it did come across as entertaining. Oh yes, before I forget... the cameo appearance of Stan Lee has got to be the best one so far among all the Marvel movies. And a rather lengthy one too (comparatively speaking).
In the meantime, I'm looking forward to getting the movie when it comes out in DVD format - or if I finally get a BluRay player, in BluRay as well.
Comments