Review of Spider-Man (1977) by Chris O — 29 Dec 2017

A darker and more emotional take on the beloved character of Spider-Man.

The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

This might turn into a rant rather than a review, but I'll do my best to keep it so. By this day and age, we've had three live action reiterations of Spider-Man. There's been a lot of ups and downs, and Tom Holland is the current Spider-Man. While I think each series has its positives, I also think they all have their negatives. However, each series has its own personality and niche to it, one that gives each a memorable nod. With this version, I think it's much more emotional and relationship driven, whereas the old Spider-Man was more of a goofy comic book and the new one more of a high school comedy (doesn't mean either are bad).

One thing I love about this film is the actors. I personally think Andrew Garfield is the best Spider-Man and just flat out one of the best actors we have today. Who cares if he's not as unpopular or nerdy as the comic book Spider-Man? Like seriously, who cares. Look at this character for who he is now and realize that Andrew Garfield brings a lot of personality to him. This is a emotionally driven and charismatic guy who's likable and funny. His relationship with Emma Stone is so genuine, which would be chalked up to their real life relationship at that time. However, they work so well on screen and they manage to make me smile. They're rootable and likable and the talent behind them are certainly present.

I think the storyline of this film is the darkest Spider-Man we've had. I think if you want a bit more emotion and darkness, this is the version you should watch. That's not to say it's not fun, but it focuses more on the emotional side. I really enjoy that and it makes for a pretty strong story. It's a story that we're actually invested into and we want to see how everything plays out. The story is well written, save for some glaring plot holes. I think that problem can be attributed to the fact that there were multiple different writers and a different director which means conflicted ideas could've clashed. It's clear sometimes that the tone changes throughout and I think it could've been cleaned up a little better.

The visuals and the action are also done really well. The movie looks great and if anything, Spider-Man looks great doing his web swinging and what not. I think the CGI is done really well and the entire crew did a great job. The special effects were fun, the stunt team did great, the camera work was solid, and the cinematography wasn't too bad. This is a good looking superhero movie and it had some great moments.

In the end, this isn't a perfect film, but it might be my favorite version of this character. I love Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone together, along with the direction they took this character in.