Spider-Man

A while back when I read about a remake of Spider-Man coming so soon after the Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man movies, I was skeptical. I enjoyed the Sam Raimi directed movies, the second one especially (third one not so much), and enjoyed the cast enough to question the wisdom of replacing it already.

Well, I am here to admit that I was wrong. Whoever at Sony had the vision to start anew and turn over the franchise to Marc Webb deserves a cut of the profits. Webb has made a career of directing music videos; he has under his belt only one feature film, though it was a lovely independent movie. Choosing him for this big budget, high expectations movie was a gamble that paid off.

The Amazing Spider-Man is one of the most solidly entertaining movies I've seen in a while. It has it all: good story and pace, tension, escapism, action, romance, humor, great cast, and a dash of schmaltz. If I watched it in slow motion and analyzed the timing of every plot element I'd undoubtedly spot curious jumps of logic, but I have no desire to do that. It's just solid entertainment. The movie involved me from beginning to end. I would watch it again. I'm glad I didn't wait until it came out on dvd. There aren't many movies I'd say these things about.

I had worried that Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, now aged 29 and 24 respectively, would require imagination to see them as high school students Peter and Gwen, but I was wrong about that too. Whether through lighting, makeup, good direction on body language or what, they looked perfect. (If I may take umbrage with one thing in the movie, it's Gwen's work attire; high school student worker wearing thigh high stockings with a mini skirt, leading a tour of interns at a high falutin' genetics company? I don't think so. That was a choice for eye candy, pure and simple.) The supporting cast includes Sally Field, Martin Sheen, Rhys Ifans, and Denis Leary (and a minor role by C. Thomas Howell).

This isn't a film just for particular groups or interests; it's for everyone. If you like movies, you'll enjoy The Amazing Spider-Man.