The Amazing Spiderman

 

In the spirit of the recently released Spider-man: No Way Home movie trailer, I thought I would review one of its predecessors. The Tom Holland MCU version of the character is my ultimate favourite and Spiderman Homecoming and Spiderman Far From Home are easily my two favourite Spiderman movies. BUT, unpopular opinion, Andrew Garfield is my second favourite spiderman. I don’t really like Toby Mcguire as Spiderman and I thought Garfield’s was just more compelling and funny. 



I like Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacey and Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker together, to me they have a better-developed relationship than in any of the other iterations. I think MJ and Peter in the MCU version is very rushed and just sort of happens without any build-up. Whereas, in this one there is more chemistry and build-up. I think Zendaya and Emma Stone play better love interests in their respective films. I like that they have a bigger part in the story and are not just playing the damsel in distress.



I think Andrew Garfield’s version of the character is missing the teenage innocence that Toby Mcguire’s version has, and I think Toby Mcguire’s version is missing the witty quirkiness that Andrew Garfield’s has. That is why I like Tom Holland’s version so much because his performance is a perfect blend of the two. His version of the character is also in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which also helps create more interesting and diverse situations that lead to different character developments never seen before. In the Andrew Garfield version, they repeat a lot of the main tropes and ideas from the original film series with Mcguire. Holland’s version skips a lot of the back story and repetition, instead has Iron man and Captain America which I think makes it that much better.



The villain in this movie is questionable and kind of cheesy. I can’t really take a giant lizard running around New York seriously. His motives also do not make a lot of sense, and the CGI does not help bring this character to life very well. The CGI and effects are a little strange looking sometimes and don't always look real, but this was also 2012. The villains in the other films are not much better though in their defense. My favourite Spiderman villain so far is definitely Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio. 



The casting for this film is what really stands out to me about it. But I think the plot and overall storyline do a disservice to such great actors. If Andrew Garfield was not fighting a giant lizard maybe this would have been the best version of the character. I would have liked to see Sally Field play more than just poor old Aunt Maye. I think she had a lot more potential as a character, and her talent as an actor was wasted in this movie. I saw Sally Field in Lincoln after seeing her in this film, and I realized just how much she can do when playing a character with more depth. I love Emma Stone in this movie, this was one of the first things I ever saw her in, she is one of my favourite actors. It is cool to see her do action/adventure, comedies, and dramas, as she has a lot of range as an actor. I think she did a lot more with this character than we see with Mary Jane in the first Spiderman movies. Gwen Stacy is a much more compelling character, has a lot more depth, and adds to the plot. She is not there for him to save, she is smart and she is determined to help even when he tells her not to.



This has kind of become an opinion piece on the different Spidermens and my rankings of them all. I get sidetracked. But, the takeaway is that The Amazing Spiderman may not be the best spiderman movie, but it is still really enjoyable and I really love it. I have watched and rewatched it a few times and it is a fun movie, it may not be everyone’s favourite but I am glad it was rebooted again before the MCU version of the character came along. Honestly, I would love to see Andrew Garfield in the MCU. Maybe as Spiderman in the upcoming film? Maybe a whole new character? Regardless, I really respect him as an actor and have liked a lot of his other works. I look forward to watching him in Tick Tick Boom and rewatching him in some of his older works like The Social Network.