The Amazing Spider Man (3D) : REVIEW

 Marvel does it Again !!

True to it's name, the reboot of the world's favorite superhero is truly amazing. The emotions, the action, the story and the actors all blend perfectly to give new life to the web-crawler. Trying to be different from the first three installments, director Mark Webb (suitable name ...) makes sure to impress both the die-hard comic fans and the general audience !

The movie starts with young Peter being dropped off at his Uncle's house after his parents discover the threats that loom upon him due to his father's discovery. A flash forward and we are face to face with a teenage boy (Andrew Garfield) who has always felt incomplete and is the victim of school bully Flash Thompson. One day, while cleaning his basement he finds his father's briefcase which ultimately leads him to Dr. Curtis Conners. In his lab, he encounters a radioactive spider which bites him and makes him "Your friendly neighbourhood Spider Man".
Meanwhile Dr. Curt Conners, a scientist working on cross-species genetics who has always been fascinated with how reptiles regenerate limbs is being pushed to the limit by Dr. Ratha to find a cure for critically ill Norman Osbourne. Despite his hardwork, he continues to make little progress until Peter hands him an equation he found from his father's papers. This formula helps him regenerate lost limbs but it has a horrible side effect .... it transforms him into a giant lizard. Peter takes it as his mistake and uses his new found powers to capture the now, evil Doctor.

Most of the people who know Peter Parker would have seen (or read about) him since he was a high school dumpster or since he first donned the Spider Man costume, however hardly anyone would know about his parents or how he ended up with his Uncle and Aunt. And this is the first department where the movie scores ..... the Story/Script. Altough not perfect, it is fresh, clever and does not induce a feeling of deja-vu (only exception being Uncle Ben's death ....... but that is an absolute necessity).

The direction is freakishly awesome with the intimate scenes being the best points of the film. The emotional scenes involving Gwen-Parker, Gwen-Captain and Peter-Aunt May are simply spectacular and heart warming. They are so well written so and well shot, that you fall in love with each of the characters. The thing I never liked about Sam Raimi's films was the excessive emotions. Thankfully, Mark Webb does not commit the same mistake and balances action and emotion pretty well. The action scenes are fantastic and look great in 3D. These scenes are never hazy and do induce the WOW effect occasionally. Another thing that I wish to acknowledge is the small, yet clever scenes that the movie is full of ...... like Stan Lee's cameo appearance, Spider Man closing the sewer, Flash Thompson's condolences and his descent into Spidey Fandom, the different version of the wrestling ring (where Peter first thinks of the name Spider Man) etc.

Besides the script and the direction, another superb part that will help make this movie a blockbuster is the Acting. Both Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy) and Andrew Garfield are simply fantastic and make a great pair. I was happy that Webbs opted for the original version of Gwen and not the rock-Gwen that followed in the later comics. Emma Stone portrays the role perfectly and her chemistry with Garfield is mind blowing !! She is cute, sexy, intelligent and charming ............ all at the same time.
Coming to Garfield .......... Altough he had a minor role in The Social Network, he amazed the whole world (including me) with his performance. I was super excited about him playing Peter Parker and I am proud to say that he didn't disappoint me at all. He too, was perfect and it was a joy to watch him evolve from nerd-Peter to amazing- Spider Man. Peter's frustration of never knowing his parents and his inability to open-up could be seen through Garfield.

Dr. Curt Conners is a complicated character because throughout his time as the Lizard he always kept wondering whether what he was doing was right. The Lizard was never a true villain because Conners never had any evil motives. The mistake he committed was because of his strong desire of getting his arm back. Rhys Ifans did justice to Conners but felt short of being the perfect villain.
Both Aunt May and Uncle Ben were delightful and their old-couple arguments were hysterical. Sorry to compare, but they are loads better than the previous renditions of the same.

The movie had certain drawbacks and nuts too ..... the first one being an incomplete villain. The Lizard never looked intimidating (unlike the comics). His first evil objective was to catch Dr. Ratha but that was left incomplete. He then created a small lizard army but that was not explored further. Also, Connors' evolution into the Lizard was skipped everytime and was never fully shown (CGI not sufficiently developed ??). Webbs focused more on the human side of the Lizard (ie. Connors) than the actual evil side. The dual mind/personality of Connors (post the transformation) was also left underdeveloped.
The 3D was average and it's only contribution came in the scenes where Spider Man swinged around in New York and the action scenes. I was disapointed with the issue regarding Uncle Ben's death. Parker totally forgot about the murderer and never really felt the guilt, which is an integral part of the series. Finally, I really missed the dialogue "With great Power, comes great Responsibility". It's like having James Bond without him saying "The name is Bond .......... James Bond".

Overall, it is a perfect reboot and a wholesome entertainer with just a few, small nudges. Altough it is amazing, I really don't want a sequel. Cause the next villain is going to be the Goblin (hint hint) and all die-hard Spidey fans will know what that means ............... Gwen Stacy's DEATH !!


Star Rating : ★★★★

PS. There is a mid-credits scene but none after the credits........... So Don't Wait !