The Amazing Spider-Man

2012
PG-13
2h 16m

FLIM REVIEW

This reboot comes just a short amount of time after the third and final film in Sam Raimi's trilogy and features Andrew Garfield taking over the role of Peter Parker. In this film, Parker is trying to discover the secrets of his parents when he's bitten by a spider, which of course turns him into the title character. Spider-Man must then battle The Lizard while also trying to keep the girl of his dreams (Emma Stone). THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN is certainly far from amazing but I think it was good enough for a summer blockbuster. One could argue if it was too soon to start the franchise up but I'll leave that for someone else. Overall I thought the screenplay was pretty good as it mixed in plenty of drama, laughs and some good action sequences. I'm not sure how many mainstream movie goers would agree with me but I thought the high points was the personal drama. The story of what's going on with Parker was extremely well handled and I thought the screenplay devoted just the right amount of time letting us get to know this character. The Parker here is certainly a lot different than previous movies so I'm glad they really built the character up. The same is true with his relationship with Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and even the love story has some good moments to it. The performances are all a major plus as well. Garfield has no problem pulling off both sides of the character and Stone makes for a very good love interest (not to mention the mini skirts on her are great). Denis Leary is terrific as the girl's father who also just happens to be the Captain of the police. Sally Field is strong as Aunt May, although I'd argue that the script doesn't do much for her character. I thought the real standout was Sheen who was simply terrific as Uncle Ben and stole every scene that he was in. Rhys Ifans was okay as the villain but I thought this was the weakest aspect of the film. I must admit that I was bored each time The Lizard was on screen as I didn't find him to be a good villain and the doctor's backstory was also rather boring. I also didn't think there was enough imagination to the action scenes and this is the one spot that was really lacking from previous movies. Still, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN is a winner thanks to the screenplay and performances.

Directed by

Marc Webb

Writing Credits (WGA)

James Vanderbilt	...	(screenplay) and
Alvin Sargent	...	(screenplay) and
Steve Kloves	...	(screenplay)

James Vanderbilt	...	(story)

Stan Lee	...	(based on the Marvel comic book by) and
Steve Ditko	...	(based on the Marvel comic book by)

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete


Andrew Garfield	...	Spider-Man / Peter Parker
Emma Stone	...	Gwen Stacy
Rhys Ifans	...	The Lizard / Dr. Curt Connors
Denis Leary	...	Captain Stacy
Martin Sheen	...	Uncle Ben
Sally Field	...	Aunt May
Irrfan Khan	...	Rajit Ratha
Campbell Scott	...	Richard Parker
Embeth Davidtz	...	Mary Parker
Chris Zylka	...	Flash Thompson
Max Charles	...	Peter Parker (Age 4)
C. Thomas Howell	...	Jack's Father
Jake Keiffer	...	Jack (as Jake Ryan Keiffer)
Kari Coleman	...	Helen Stacy
Michael Barra	...	Store Clerk
Leif Gantvoort	...	Cash Register Thief
Andy Pessoa	...	Gordon
Hannah Marks	...	Missy Kallenback
Kelsey Asbille	...	Hot Girl (as Kelsey Chow)
Kevin McCorkle	...	Mr. Cramer
Andy Gladbach	...	Physics Nerd
Ring Hendricks-Tellefsen	...	Physics Nerd
Barbara Eve Harris	...	Miss Ritter
Stan Lee	...	School Librarian
Danielle Burgio	...	Nicky's Girlfriend
Tom Waite	...	Nicky
Keith Campbell	...	Car Thief
Steve DeCastro	...	Car Thief Cop
Jill Flint	...	Receptionist
Mark Daugherty	...	OsCorp Intern
Milton González	...	Rodrigo Guevara (as Milton Gonzalez)
Skyler Gisondo	...	Howard Stacy
Charlie DePew	...	Philip Stacy
Jacob Rodier	...	Simon Stacy
Vincent Laresca	...	Construction Worker
Damien Lemon	...	Taxi Driver
Ty Upshaw	...	Police Officer with Sketch
James Chen	...	Police Officer
Alexander Bedria	...	Officer (SWAT)
Tia Texada	...	Sheila (Subway)
Jay Caputo	...	Subway Guy
John Burke	...	Newscaster (News Chopper)
Terry Bozeman	...	Principal
Jennifer Lyons	...	Second Girl (Subway)
Michael Massee	...	Man in the Shadows
Amber Stevens West	...	Ariel (as Amber Stevens)

Produced by

Avi Arad	...	producer
Tom Cohen	...	associate producer
Matt Daly	...	producer: Arc Productions
Kevin Feige	...	executive producer
Michael Grillo	...	executive producer
Kyla Kraman	...	associate producer
Stan Lee	...	executive producer
Beatriz Sequeira	...	associate producer
Matt Tolmach	...	producer
Laura Ziskin	...	producer

Music by

James Horner