If you saw the original Spiderman,
directed by Sam Raimi, then you know about the evolution of this story. If the
been-there, seen-that aspect doesn’t bother you, then what this reboot has
going for it is the performances of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. At 28,
Garfield is slightly older than Toby Maguire was when he played Peter Parker in
2002, but his fresh-faced innocence and wry humor is very appealing. Garfield’s
Parker is still very much a boy. The prologue introduces him as a child,
searching for the father he’s about to lose. Time switches to the present and
we see he’s a good-hearted teen who isn’t prepared for the changes that sweep
his body shortly after he’s been bitten by a genetically modified spider in the
research lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), an old friend of his father’s.
Soon Peter discovers he’s stronger and stickier and he’s made an impression on
Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), Parker’s first girlfriend.
Director Marc Webb, whose last film was the sleeper hit (500) Days of Summer, has a deft hand
with the relationship scenes and Garfield and Stone have great chemistry. Their
dialogue scenes are light and effective. Too bad the action scenes seem
redundant. But we do get a new villain in the semi-sympathetic Dr. Connors,
whose research into the regenerative abilities of lizards causes him to dose
himself with his recent formula. Unfortunately for him, the concoction turns
him into a giant lizard-man and sets up the exciting climatic battle. However,
a few plot lines are left hanging, perhaps for the next Spiderman movie. Nonetheless, fi you don’t nind the feeling of déjà vu, “The Amazing
Spiderman” is slickly entertaining and the CGI appropriately impressive. 6/3/12
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