The Amazing Spider-Man (With Exclusive Sleeve & Art Cards) (Blu-ray)

I was very sceptical when hearing that the series was being rebooted, but keeping in perspective that Sony did this to hold on to the Franchise rights so it wouldn't go to Disney then made it understandable.

I found within the first half hour that Garfield was somewhat more plausible than Maguire as he seemed like a much more relatable teenager with the he's very distant as he doesn't know who he is or what he's supposed due to the absence of his parents from a young age. As Spider-Man he nailed that essence of the other half of the role on the first take and did in 5 minutes what Tobey Maguire could not do - have humour and crack jokes.

For decades Spider-Man has been a wise-cracking jokester clown that uses his wit as a facade to mask his true feelings. This is best demonstrated in the very popular and still enjoyable 90's Animated Series Spider-Man the animated series. And Andrew became the Spider-Man for the big screen that we have been waiting to see for ages.

Maguire was good for his time but I got the sense that his portrayal as Parker was kinda generic as the Teen he was a dime a dozen whereas Garfield has this very unique way of portraying Parker that stays true to the comics but is also relatable to modern aspects of teenagers and humour.

And that's another thing that this movie really expanded on - comedy. It's not a flat-out comedic romp, but it's humour within action implied.

Sheen and Field feed off each other as their comedic sense and timing is just what the movie needed to add with Spideys humour.

I felt Ifans was good as Connors but the Lizard could have done more. It's still a good Villain for a re-introduction to the story, but it could have done with a more depth and fleshing the character out.

Emma Stone was a joy to watch as Gwen Stacy. Kirsten Dunst was good as Mary-Jayne in the first flick 10 years ago but over time I felt she got flatter with each performance where as Stone is just solid from start to finish in this flick. She is a strong minded female supporting protagonist, resourceful, intelligent and she also displays a tender side that's needed to give the character heart.

I cannot say a bad word about Denis Leary as every line he says is just golden. He has that same blunt attitude that he has in his stand up shows and he carries himself the same way in this but obviously toned down for the PG-12 market and he does it so well that even when he is being a douche you cannot help but like the guy.

Sheen in my mind was a better choice for Uncle Ben, although the late Cliff Robertson was a good Ben Parker, I just felt at times his portrayal could be a little wooden whereas Martins version just feels more organic and you can actually believe the performance he puts in.

Sally Field gives a very good performance as May Parker. Granted, this is a slightly younger version of the character but it's irrelevant as she has such a good conflict with the choices that Peter makes in this flick with her concerns for him as well.

Some have narked on the score by James Horner claiming it's too generic. I never found that, I personally feel that it gave heart to the flick and made it feel dramatic where it needed to be and tender where you had to feel sympathy for the characters.

This movie is best in 3D in my honest opinion and the 3D has improved to such a point that it really does jump out at you and looks so authentic.

All in all, this is a very well presented, new yet faithful take on the origin of the character that in many ways is the version of web-slinger that audiences have been waiting for.

This Spider-Man is Amazing.

This is an amazing film all round, great story that covers the origin again to start with but adds a few twists to it, for a 2hr movie its very well paced with plenty of thrills and action and packed full of quality visual effects, the cast was perfect, Garfield made a very good Peter Parker, its safe to say you can forget about the last three Spiderman films this is a bigger better and more badass marvel offering, the web slinger has now found the right balance, the lizard was an awesome villain too, make sure you check this out, along side the avengers 2012 has been pretty sweet for comic book movies!! This also has to be the most perfect use for 3D in a while with all the swinging around its top notch!!

When I heared they were rebooting the Spider-Man series I could not understand why, as there was nothing wrong with the original trilogy.... well the first two anyway. But although the over blown Spider-Man 3 was only released five years prior to this , on reflection the original Sam Rami movies do show their age in certain places, it's not the special effects that date the three it's actually they feel a little corney as a perfect example is in Spider-man part 2 with the freeze frame at the end of the rain drops keep falling on my head sequence, it fitted the films fine back then but now especially after the Dark Knight's they feel out of place with the rescent Marvel universe. So to go back and take the story in a new direction now seems a good idea.
This Spider-Man is the one for this decade as it's played pitch perfect, he's a geek but not the same geek as in the previous films as times change and what's geeky now is different to what was uncool a decade ago. This is a film that does not let the action get in the way of well written characters and both the leads are excellent. The film is darker in tone, but as usual there are lighter moments especially when Peter Parker gets all cocky with his new powers. The tragedy in Parker's life is especially well done and you do really understand the pain. The action and effects are superb and the 3D in the cinema version was well done and not in your face. The only minor disappointment comes in the shaep of the Lizard as the film does not use this character to full advantage and would have been nice to see the human cost in the transformation of the Doctors life. But he is well realized in 3D and is the centre of some great action, but that's all he is, is a one dimentional bad guy and with a film like this setting up the characters so well it's a pity the same attention was not given to him.
But for a comic book movie the revamp is excellent and although if you love the first three films you should not be disappointed with this and no doubt will continue the adventures for another decade.But for a comic book movie the revamp is very well done if not really needed and although if you love the first three films you should not be disappointed with this and no doubt will continue the adventures for another decade.
It's a very entertaining movie but if you compare it to The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers Assemble it's not quite in their class.
See If you like....
Spider-Man Trilogy (2002 - 2007)
Iron- Man
Iron Man 2
Thor.
Captain America.
The Avengers Assemble.
X-Men Trilogy (2000 - 2006)
X-Men First Class.

When I heared they were rebooting the Spider-Man series I could not understand why, as there was nothing wrong with the original trilogy.... well the first two anyway. But although the over blown Spider-Man 3 was only released five years prior to this , on reflection the original Sam Rami movies do show their age in certain places, it's not the special effects that date the three it's actually they feel a little corney as a perfect example is in Spider-man part 2 with the freeze frame at the end of the rain drops keep falling on my head sequence, it fitted the films fine back then but now especially after the Dark Knight's they feel out of place with the rescent Marvel universe. So to go back and take the story in a new direction now seems a good idea.
This Spider-Man is the one for this decade as it's played pitch perfect, he's a geek but not the same geek as in the previous films as times change and what's geeky now is different to what was uncool a decade ago. This is a film that does not let the action get in the way of well written characters and both the leads are excellent. The film is darker in tone, but as usual there are lighter moments especially when Peter Parker gets all cocky with his new powers. The tragedy in Parker's life is especially well done and you do really understand the pain. The action and effects are superb and the 3D in the cinema version was well done and not in your face. The only minor disappointment comes in the shaep of the Lizard as the film does not use this character to full advantage and would have been nice to see the human cost in the transformation of the Doctors life. But he is well realized in 3D and is the centre of some great action, but that's all he is, is a one dimentional bad guy and with a film like this setting up the characters so well it's a pity the same attention was not given to him.
But for a comic book movie the revamp is excellent and although if you love the first three films you should not be disappointed with this and no doubt will continue the adventures for another decade.But for a comic book movie the revamp is very well done if not really needed and although if you love the first three films you should not be disappointed with this and no doubt will continue the adventures for another decade.
It's a very entertaining movie but if you compare it to The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers Assemble it's not quite in their class.
See If you like....
Spider-Man Trilogy (2002 - 2007)
Iron- Man
Iron Man 2
Thor.
Captain America.
The Avengers Assemble.
X-Men Trilogy (2000 - 2006)
X-Men First Class.

For someone who hasnt seen the 2002 movie or hasnt seen it for a long time at least, they may find this good entertainment.

For those who have seen the 2002 version or more to the point have seen it recently then they may find this new one tracks very closely to it and feels predictible and tedious.

Dont get me wrong it is a good movie but nothing groundbreaking and even if i personally hadnt seen the 2002 version at all i still wouldnt give it anymore than 3 stars. I did find the CGI on the lizard man to be quite poor though, i have seen better graphics on the xbox 360 for instance, so as a Boss it was a bit lame. But overall it is reasonably entertaining for DVD albeit quite disappointing in the cinema.