by Phantom Roxas » Tue Jul 03, 2012 4:23 am
I didn't want any hate on this film to ruin my opinion of this film. Fortunately, they did not, as I felt any criticism I had towards the film was purely my own. As such, let me get those out of the way first. In case I haven't made myself clear on this site already, I'm not fond of Sony. While I get their product placement was just that, it really felt like Sony beating you over the head with the fact that Sony still owns the rights to Spider-Man. On to the characters, I feel torn on Martin Sheen's Uncle Ben. He was good, and while I shouldn't make comparisons, he was no Cliff Robertson, or even Ultimate Uncle Ben. His death is an example of one of the ways the film carefully avoids being like the Raimi films. While the Raimi film stuck with the classic origin of the wrestling match, this went very differently. I don't know whether to roll my eyes or what, but the idea that Uncle Ben's death was caused all my Peter trying to get a bottle of milk was appreciated just for being different. It's probably more in line with the Ultimate version, which I have no problem with.
I felt the development between Peter and Gwen's relationship was rushed in between, at least between the moment Uncle Ben sees Gwen and whatever interaction Peter and Gwen had before that. Other than that, I thought their relationship was handled very well, particularly when Peter brings Gwen in for a kiss. It managed to make its own unique kiss while also serving as a way for Peter to reveal his identity to Gwen. I wish we saw more of Gwen's family beyond her father, but what little we did see of them was entertaining.
One of the oddest things is how this film plays around with various threads. I don't think Ben's killer was actually got, and of course Dr. Ratha and Norman Osborn are being saved for the sequel, although the former probably has a role to play in the video game. Speaking of Norman, I found it utterly ridiculous that Sony pretty much spoiled the stinger through the trailers. I'm actually rather surprised that Connors actually survived the film, although that was spoiled for me when I looked at a guide for the game and saw Connors listed, although how he gets out of jail is beyond me. To me, the Lizard is one of the best arguments for why this film had to be made. While it doesn't justify it being a reboot, I do believe that the Lizard was a wasted opportunity from the Raimi films, so using him as the villain of this film was another way this film went to establish itself as a unique entity. One thread I really liked was the payoff of Peter saving the son, making Peter's actions as a hero have some form of meaning.
Sally Field's portrayal of Aunt May is probably my favorite interpretation of the character yet. I want to say that it's because Aunt May's attitude was toned done and her caring side was emphasized, but I feel that that would be giving Rosemary Harris' portrayal too little credit.
And of course, we have to focus on the main star himself, Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker. I've been anticipating his performance, and I must say he did not disappoint. While I know that people probably don't like his "emo punk" (For lack of a better term) personality traits, I thought that they did a great job of showing his scientific side without being forced. There were also some very subtle bits to the character, like how he abandons the contact lenses so he can wear his father's goggles, or how he listened to Ben's voicemail to help him cope. Once again, in a way that it sidesteps the original film, I was a bit disappointed that Peter says Ben is a good dad, while they end on such a depressing note that practically ignores that. What I liked in the original film is that Peter tells Ben he shouldn't act like he's Peter's dad, only for Peter to recognize him as his father at the end of the film to show how much he truly cared about Uncle Ben. The voicemail serves a similar purpose, as it shows just how much he truly missed Uncle Ben.
With those points, it really makes me baffled how people could even think this film was way too similar to Raimi's first film. I think the only real one people could use is that someone pointed out how Curt's split personality was just a rehash of Norman's, but here it literally only matters in one scene, and both Curt and Norman have split personality disorders in the comics anyway, only they're different there. If anything, it succeeded in setting itself apart from the original. If it sounds like a grasping at the straws to say that this film was really different, then I'd like to suggest that people are making an equal amount of effort to claim that this film is really a rehash. What I will say is that the comparisons to Nolan's Batman trilogy or the Avengers film are simply unfair, because Batman and Spider-Man are completely different characters, and this film does what it can to be as serious as those films while staying true to the nature of Spider-Man. This film did not just choose its title to match up with the main book that has endured for as long as it has; the film is, simply put, truly amazing.
Last edited by
Phantom Roxas on Tue Jul 03, 2012 10:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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