The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man- PG-13

By Jonathan Goodsell

I extremely enjoyed this movie. It was really well done and worthy of the Spider-Man saga. I couldn't really have asked for much more. This movie restarted where the old series started, with a young Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) in high school living with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. After finding a clue to his father's mysterious death, he goes to visit his father's old colleague, Dr. Connors (Rhys Ifans), at his lab and befriends him. While there, he gets bitten by a genetically engineered spider and develops his Spider-Man powers. After the murder of Uncle Ben, Peter dons the mask and searches the streets for the murderer by night and works with Dr. Connors and spends time with his new girlfriend Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) by day. With the help of Peter, Connors discovers a new formula to help re-grow his lost arm, but the formula goes wrong and turns Dr. Connors into The Lizard who runs rampant through the city with the will to destroy. Peter, as Spider-Man, goes to stop The Lizard while he himself his being pursued by the police for his vigilante actions.
Essentially, The Amazing Spider-Man was, well, amazing. I loved it! This was kind of a coming of age story as the nerdy Parker must over come his fears and fight back to prove himself and save the city as he tries to learn about his past. It actually had a very good plot, I was pleased. Like I've raved about before, most superhero movies don't, but I liked this one. There was a lot of character development and the acting was all fairly decent. Even though the movie was obviously full of special effects, it wasn't overwhelming and wasn't even very noticeable. It was all very inconspicuous. The movie was very stunning in it's visual effects. A lot of the movie I just sat there stunned at the sights and visuals, especially as Spider-Man is swinging through the air. The fight scenes between The Lizard and Spider-Man were also excellently done and sometimes rather humerus. The romance between Peter and Gwen was rather entertaining to watch and really well done. They both did excellent acting in pulling off the nerdy and somewhat socially awkward characters they are, which is what added to the humor in their romance. It reminded me slightly of Harry Potter 6 and it's comical romantic side. The only thing I didn't like was I was expecting more of a story line revealing what happened to Peter's parents. It was only a minor phase in the beginning of the film. Though it's hinted in the end that there is a lot more to tell and reveal on that plot, and more is definitely to come.
This movie was a classical superhero film, and so the rating was expected. There a plenty of fight scenes between The Lizard and Spider-Man and Peter and school bullies. The fights with the bullies were almost comical, though all the others were a little tense especially in the end as it built up to a climactic fight to end the movie. There was very minimal blood, mostly just scratches and cuts from the fist fights. There is a very emotional and kind of bloody scene when Uncle Ben gets shot, you see the bullet hole in his shirt and his shirt starting to turn red from the blood as Peter tries to save him. There is some kissing between Peter and Gwen and there is also a brief scene when Peter accidentally pulls off a woman's shirt revealing underwear in a subway train after receiving his powers. I was surprised at the lack of language there was. I can only recall two swear words that really stood out, but there were other mild exclamations that aren't extremely noticed. The best part of the movie was how well they did The Lizard, however he was a little frightening and there are a couple jump scenes that he surprises you. To really little kids, he could be rather frightening. But for the bad guy he's supposed to be, he was excellent. But I'd say, this is a movie that most ages could see. If your kids have seen Harry Potter or any of the other superhero films, this is more than fine.
So i'll say it again. I loved this movie. It was really good and definitely a step up from Sam Raimi's series. I was a little worried that all the advertising, because there was a ton, had gone over the edge and I had my hopes up, but it lived up to all the rave. It had sides that everyone can enjoy; there was humor, romance, action, and some drama. I can't think of anyone that wouldn't like this movie. It was just plain amazing. I'm looking forward to any sequels they come out with in the next couple years. So in my reviewer opinion, The Amazing Spider-Man earns a powerful 8/10