The Amazing Spider-Man

Reboot SuccessfulWhy Marc Webb was chosen to direct this reboot of Spiderman is clearly answered the way he treats the character of Peter Parker an... read more

Reboot Successful

Why Marc Webb was chosen to direct this reboot of Spiderman is clearly answered the way he treats the character of Peter Parker and his romance with Gwen Stacy. So in a way this is a rom com meets superhero action adventure.

If you watch a superhero film only for the action part your wait for it to arrive here is more than an hour. Till then you re watch most of stuff you have seen before but its still good fun because its been almost 10 years since the first one and Marc Webb spins a cool and fun web on this one.

Peter parker gets bitten by a spider and develops super human strength overnight but the webs here are his own creation. He has to stop The Lizard from turning everyone in the city like him who also has a history connected to Peters father.

Its interesting that the writing department features James Vanderbilt (Zodiac), veteran writer Alvin Sargent( he co wrote Spiderman 2 and 3)and Steve Kloves ( writer of 6 Harry Potter movies). It appears that the idea was to cater to all the possible audience from the tweenies to the oldies.

Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spiderman is the spark in the film. I never quite liked Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker so this reboot works for me all the more because of Andrew Garfield. The villain The Dr.Curt Connors /Lizard( Rhys Ifans) is a bit undercooked amongst all the characters. Images of Notting hill started flowing when I saw Rhys Ifans on screen. He is good but the film fails him.

Irrfan Khan in a three scene role has nothing much to do but is in a much more respectable role than Anil Kapoor in Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol.

Dont know if I can call it the weakness of the film but the best high comes in the last scene. The rest of the film is a fun ride but just that one scene makes the word Amazing worth the title.

The 3D is not used to create a show out of it but to give you an immersive experience. Watching it in Imax is highly Reccoed.

One of the scenes towards the end gets so filmy that it reminded me of the pregnancy scene from 3 idiots.

Word of Mouth Rom com meets superhero.

Rating 3.5 (Good)

Ticket Meter worth 250 bucks.
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The latest Spiderman is a pretty straightforward movie with no sub texts or too many emotional overtones to it. Boy becomes Spiderman and fights b... read more

The latest Spiderman is a pretty straightforward movie with no sub texts or too many emotional overtones to it. Boy becomes Spiderman and fights bad men and then an evil giant lizard. Along the way he also falls in love with girl in High school and they exchange sweet kisses.

Andrew Garfield plays Spidey with a touch of humour. He is nerdy but cute. Emma Stone is pretty. The giant lizard is well a giant lizard. And yes, there is Irrfan Khan playing a teenie weenie role in a American accent. Amusing..

The 3D is great. Of late, I have started enjoying the 3D effects Maybe because the glasses that they provide in PVR are lighter and easier to wear. Also, they dont make the screen appear too dark. So you keep the glasses on throughout the movie and swerve sideways when Spiderman swings towards you. Good fun.

Take the kids and go enjoy a simple caper with no hidden agendas but to entertain.
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Spider-Man was the first full-blown superhero film franchise that I saw in the theaters. (Technically Batman and Robin, but lets just scratch that ... read more

Spider-Man was the first full-blown superhero film franchise that I saw in the theaters. (Technically Batman and Robin, but lets just scratch that one out of memory). This spanned from 2002 to 2007. Spidey was never my favorite superhero (Batman and Superman take that spot) but here's a movie that makes me want to reconsider. I still thoroughly enjoyed the first two films, especially Spider-Man 2 (2004), which happens to be one of the best superhero films ever made. Like the majority, I agreed that the third Spider-Man film almost ruined the franchise.

Heres a reboot, which arrives too soon but is so good. It handsomely breathes new life into a franchise which decided to self-destruct. Not only did I unabashedly love this movie, I also liked this better than all the previous Spider-Man movies. We already know the origin story of Peter Parker but here its done with remarkable insight. Making us care for the character. Needless to say, Andrew Garfield nails it. Tobey Maguire was good but didnt quite cut it. This Spider-Man has the teenage angst, the anger, the vulnerability and the arrogance. The detailed action scenes give you enough time for you to involve yourself. Making it easier for you to center yourself into the action. The scene where Spiderman saves a child is crafted so well that despite having seen hundreds of those, it manages to be a nail-biter.

There are 7 basic plots. But, the director of The Amazing Spider-Man, Marc Webb disagrees. He believes there is always only one: Who Am I? Not only does Webb perceptively make the origin story, a self-realization story as well, but he also infuses it with sharp wit that you could easily mistake for a standard teenage rom-com. Its not and yet it is. Not just due to his last name, it's evident why Marc Webb was chosen to direct this after making the brilliant romantic comedy- (500) Days of Summer (2009). Emma Stone is achingly charming as Gwen Stacy. Her chemistry with Andrew Garfield will make even the harshest critics sit up and forget they are watching a superhero film. The biggest change that Spider-Man has gone through in this film is that despite having the most formulaic plotting, it has certain scenes, which unravel moments of naked sensitivity. The humorous banter between Peter and Gwen and their awkward physicality happens to be observational and quirky. Even while the film is preoccupied with being bigger it still manages to have the less is more thing going for it. The ending is also a testament to that.

Rhys Ifans is endearing as the Lizard. It successfully blends monster movie cheesiness with superhero movie campiness. There is also an action sequence in Peters high school (about time we had one of those). We also get a scene that has Spidey web-slinging his way to a skyscraper. We always thought it was very easy for him to just spit out the silk from his wrists and fly his way through New York. Here we see how he actually gets there. In real time (almost). Movie magic happens right there.

You only have to be a film critic to be disappointed by this marvel of a film. Thankfully, they are only 0.0000001% of the worlds population. A little less cynicism and little more awesome please?

Side-note: The movie also features an underrated Coldplay song. Brownie points to the filmmaker.

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The Amazing Spiderman comes across as a plot torn between an urge to rise above the comic book-ish feel of its predecessors and the need to engage ... read more

The Amazing Spiderman comes across as a plot torn between an urge to rise above the comic book-ish feel of its predecessors and the need to engage with low brow wit. Neither does it have the irreverence of the previous three versions, nor is it sufficiently gritty and dark like the Dark Knight series. End result is a film that is a moderately satisfying outing with one of the most popular comic book hero's of recent times.

Within a decade of the immensely successful trilogy starring Tobby Mcguire, The Amazing Spiderman reboots the series with Andrew Garfield as its new face. The story for most part is setting in the ground work for future sequels in the series, hence there is lot of talking a lot less of actual web slinging fun.

The story is decisively given a more emotional touch and feel. Andrew Garfield's Spidey is vulnerable, vengeful all too boyish unlike Tobby's righteous man. Andrew is an impressive actor with an arresting screen presence, an advantage he utilizes to the hilt. What does disappoint is the fact that we see too much of Peter Parker and too less of Spiderman in the movie. Emma Stone as Gwen is pleasing and much better than Mary Jane of the earlier version.

It is not just the superhuman who is humanized this time, Even Curts as the lizard man is not entirely evil. He comes across as one with a good intent but wrong means, in effect eliminating a lot of the tension that the classic good vs evil showdown should have in a movie like this. The mandatory high octane climax comes far too late in the film to actually dazzle.

The 3D here is utterly unnecessary having very limited effect in enhancing the experience. Irfan Khan disappears as abruptly as he appeared, so much for the Indian connection. Yet despite these shortcomings, it is amazing how the man in red and blue spandex still manages to excite the child in you. One can only hope the sequel packs in enough webs in the plot so as to make us forgive this underwhelming start.


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In less than a decade with an entire trilogy behind it, Spider-Man has been rebooted. I believe this decision has to do with two factors, one being... read more

In less than a decade with an entire trilogy behind it, Spider-Man has been rebooted. I believe this decision has to do with two factors, one being cost, Raimi and his cast were probably getting too expensive for the studio and secondly a younger cast for the youth oriented market. Either way, I believe after the third movie Raimi should have been given a chance to redeem himself since he setup the character and franchise so well, something this movie doesnt quite pull off effectively.

Peter Parkers back story is expanded to include his parents and particularly the association of his father with OsCorp, which determines the existence of the villain; Dr. Curt Conners transformation into a behemoth called The Lizard. He does so to save a dying Norman Orborne and to regenerate his missing arm. The movie tries to juggle this plotline with Peters growing teenage angst and his relationship with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) plus the loss of his uncle Ben (Martin Sheen). At 2 hours 20 minutes the movie has quite a lot of ground to cover and it does admirably well in certain parts while failing to tie up loose ends in others.

The action sequences are grand and use the city of New York well in terms of scale and present a grittier setting than any of the earlier cinematic versions of the film. However the city seems to lose its charm with the small quirks which the previous versions had.
The two stand-out action sequences are the final one atop OsCorp tower (Wayne tower anyone?) and one in the sewers where the Lizard is shown as a truly terrifying adversary for Spider-Man. The effects are top-notch and the 3D effects brilliantly done.

The love story works primarily thanks to the chemistry the actors share over any of the less than satisfactory writing. Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are both very effective in their roles, though Garfield lacks Maguires social awkwardness and puppy-love characteristics.
The movie has a lengthy start and middle which reiterates much of the plot which the previous films touched upon, this could have easily been cut down and streamlined better in the overall film. Plus it lacks Uncle Bens iconic, With great power, comes great responsibility replacing it with a tamer Gifted people have the responsibility to do good for others.

Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are great in their roles. Rhys Ifans makes for an interesting though largely unsympathetic adversary. Irrfan Khan talks in a mumbled fashion trying to put on an accent and disappears half-way through the film never to return.

The Amazing Spider-Man lacks focus and thats its primary undoing especially when compared to the first two films from Riamis trilogy.The great effects and good acting get undone by a script that tries far too many things without resolving them.

I hope with much of the setup out of the way Webb and his team and put together a stronger second film.
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