Amazing Spider-Man Movie Reviews *Spoilers*

[DarkKnightJared]

Peter stole it because he never learned "With great power comes great responsibility"...all Peter got was some long rambling voicemail that sounded like nothing any person would ever call and leave as a message when looking for their lost nephew.

Mac

I don't think that was supposed to be that speech--when Peter comes back from helping Conners with the serum, forgetting to pick May up from work, and Ben is laying it out on him is when we get it. Ben tells him that he was reminded of Peter's father and his example creating that "great power comes great responsibility" line, which Peter comes back with, "If he was so responsible, why did he leave me here?" and storms off.

[iron_patriot]

Okay, I've been thinking about the ending quite a bit, since it bothers me that Peter went against a man's dying wish in at least a couple of days, so I was thinking of a different way to have the big dramatic "I can't see you anymore" but then have the twist of them possibly getting back together. Bit simple, I think. Just have Captain Stacy say "Keep Gwen safe" and Peter interpret it as he should leave her alone, then Aunt May gives her the "If there's one thing you are, it's good." talk, and etcetera.

[MacGyver]

Okay, I've been thinking about the ending quite a bit, since it bothers me that Peter went against a man's dying wish in at least a couple of days, so I was thinking of a different way to have the big dramatic "I can't see you anymore" but then have the twist of them possibly getting back together. Bit simple, I think. Just have Captain Stacy say "Keep Gwen safe" and Peter interpret it as he should leave her alone, then Aunt May gives her the "If there's one thing you are, it's good." talk, and etcetera.

Your idea has been approved by me! Suddenly makes the last few minutes of that movie a bit better.

In other ASM news, domestically it finally made its money back and sits at $230 million...still solidly placed as the least watched Spider-Man movie by leaps and bounds.

Mac

[FSUSpiderFan]

Okay, I've been thinking about the ending quite a bit, since it bothers me that Peter went against a man's dying wish in at least a couple of days, so I was thinking of a different way to have the big dramatic "I can't see you anymore" but then have the twist of them possibly getting back together. Bit simple, I think. Just have Captain Stacy say "Keep Gwen safe" and Peter interpret it as he should leave her alone, then Aunt May gives her the "If there's one thing you are, it's good." talk, and etcetera.

Yeah, Peter is in a no win situation with not being able to be with the girl he loves or break the promise he made to a dying man. It would have been better if Gwen had broken it by not accepting no for an answer. In the end if it goes down like the comics Captain Stacy was right and he should have stayed away.

[AmFan15]

Although I was pretty steadfastly against everything I heard about his movie, my daughter and I finally saw ASM tonight.
(I was swayed by fairly favorable reviews, as well as playing the video game for PS3...best Spidey game in a long time, IMO...but I digress.)

I didn't like it...for several reasons.
First and foremost, Peter Parker did absolutely nothing but whine, mope, and act completely IRresponsible for at least 3/4 of the film.
Then there's the costume...but that almost goes without saying.
Also, in trying to do a new take on the story, they tried to twist and tie together several elements of Spidey's history...but they left so many plotholes, that plot-chasms might be a better word.
(To be fair, I did miss 10-15 minutes of the film, as my daughter had to use the restroom...so some of these may have been answered, and I just missed it. Feel free to correct me!)

- What exactly was Richard working on that made him flip out when Peter stumbled onto it? I know he was researching the cross-species project, and was experimenting with the spiders, but why the intense reaction? It's not like Peter would have understood it...he was just a kid! And he didn't break or destroy anything...besides, if his research were so important, couldn't Richard have just locked the damned door? But nope, as soon as he finds Peter in there, he packs him up and ships him out the door. Seriously, no wonder Peter threw a tantrum when Uncle Ben told him how "responsible" his father was.

- And speaking of slack security, what was up with Oscorp? Seriously, Peter just walks in the door, joins the intern tour WITHOUT EVEN SHOWING AN ID, and not only wanders off on his own, but walks into a top-secret research lab, and even gets so far as to enter the area where the spiders are being experimented on...all without setting off an alarm, or being observed by anyone? And seriously, why doesn't anyone working on this project lock any doors?

- Oh, and this film seems very proud of the fact that Peter develops his mechanical web-shooters...that's great, just like the comics.
...Except for the fact that Peter straight-up STOLE the webbing itself from Oscorp! I mean, several times in the film we see them developing "Bio-Cable", even before Peter gets his powers...so is our hero nothing more than a thief himself?

- And on the subject of thieves, did Peter ever actually catch Uncle Ben's killer? I mean, I saw him searching for him, but then he got distracted by the Lizard and the NYPD...and as far as I could tell, Uncle Ben's killer is still on the loose!
(Again, I may have just missed that part...someone PLEASE clear this up for me, as it seriously bothered me.)


And that's just off the top of my head...But for all the plotholes and "liberties" they took, there is one positive thing I'll say about this movie:
This film had the best Flash Thompson I've ever seen.
In the beginning of the movie, he was an obnoxious bully. Then in the middle, after Uncle Ben died, he showed a more human side. By the end of the film, he had become almost a friend (or at least a good-natured rival) to Peter...while wearing a Spider-Man t-shirt, and raving about how cool Spidey is. "And the chicks dig him!"

...That's right, folks: Sad to say, but Flash Thompson is the one that stays truest to form, and has the best character development in this film, IMO...Not Gwen, not Captain Stacy, and CERTAINLY not Peter Parker.

Overall, I'd give this movie a C-, verging on a D.

[iron_patriot]

Peter found a window that had been broken and Richard's files were in disarray. Probably someone stealing some his research, not him being pissed at his son.

I could have sworn that there was an OsCorp box in the Parker basement, but looking at this copy I have(Yes, folks I have a pirated copy. I saw it three times in the theaters, so whatever) there were no boxes of bio-cables, so yeah he must have stolen them. Or I can go into my theory that Richard Parker was developing them and had the formula. I mean, how did Peter have the money to develop them in 616, when it was just him working and Aunt May was too old and feeble?

Nope, he didn't capture the killer, either because of the talk with George Stacy about personal progandas(in which case, they should have shown Peter tear up the wanted poster) or that the Lizard was more important.

I have to say, that is the lowest review that I have seen for this movie. Not calling you out, just an observation.

[AmFan15]

Peter found a window that had been broken and Richard's files were in disarray. Probably someone stealing some his research, not him being pissed at his son.

Ah, I guess I missed that. I saw him look through the window, but didn't quite connect that. Thank you.

I could have sworn that there was an OsCorp box in the Parker basement, but looking at this copy I have(Yes, folks I have a pirated copy. I saw it three times in the theaters, so whatever) there were no boxes of bio-cables, so yeah he must have stolen them. Or I can go into my theory that Richard Parker was developing them and had the formula. I mean, how did Peter have the money to develop them in 616, when it was just him working and Aunt May was too old and feeble?

If it had been explained that Richard had been working on the formula for bio-cable, but HAD NOT completed it, I could have bought that.
Peter simply finishing what his father started would have been far more accaptable than him straight-up stealing it, IMO.

Nope, he didn't capture the killer, either because of the talk with George Stacy about personal progandas(in which case, they should have shown Peter tear up the wanted poster) or that the Lizard was more important.

That's horrible. Admittedly, the Lizard was a bigger threat to the city, but they completely dropped that plot point, and Uncle Ben's killer is still on the loose.

I have to say, that is the lowest review that I have seen for this movie. Not calling you out, just an observation.

It wasn't just the plotholes and inconsistencies...it was also the tone in general. I didn't have fun watching this movie, like I did in the original films or The Avengers. It was just too dark, brooding, and emo for a Spider-Man film.
I'd say it was about on par with Spider-Man 3...which isn't saying much.

[MacGyver]

Although I was pretty steadfastly against everything I heard about his movie, my daughter and I finally saw ASM tonight.
(I was swayed by fairly favorable reviews, as well as playing the video game for PS3...best Spidey game in a long time, IMO...but I digress.)

I didn't like it...for several reasons.
First and foremost, Peter Parker did absolutely nothing but whine, mope, and act completely IRresponsible for at least 3/4 of the film.
Then there's the costume...but that almost goes without saying.
Also, in trying to do a new take on the story, they tried to twist and tie together several elements of Spidey's history...but they left so many plotholes, that plot-chasms might be a better word.
(To be fair, I did miss 10-15 minutes of the film, as my daughter had to use the restroom...so some of these may have been answered, and I just missed it. Feel free to correct me!)

- What exactly was Richard working on that made him flip out when Peter stumbled onto it? I know he was researching the cross-species project, and was experimenting with the spiders, but why the intense reaction? It's not like Peter would have understood it...he was just a kid! And he didn't break or destroy anything...besides, if his research were so important, couldn't Richard have just locked the damned door? But nope, as soon as he finds Peter in there, he packs him up and ships him out the door. Seriously, no wonder Peter threw a tantrum when Uncle Ben told him how "responsible" his father was.

- And speaking of slack security, what was up with Oscorp? Seriously, Peter just walks in the door, joins the intern tour WITHOUT EVEN SHOWING AN ID, and not only wanders off on his own, but walks into a top-secret research lab, and even gets so far as to enter the area where the spiders are being experimented on...all without setting off an alarm, or being observed by anyone? And seriously, why doesn't anyone working on this project lock any doors?

- Oh, and this film seems very proud of the fact that Peter develops his mechanical web-shooters...that's great, just like the comics.
...Except for the fact that Peter straight-up STOLE the webbing itself from Oscorp! I mean, several times in the film we see them developing "Bio-Cable", even before Peter gets his powers...so is our hero nothing more than a thief himself?

- And on the subject of thieves, did Peter ever actually catch Uncle Ben's killer? I mean, I saw him searching for him, but then he got distracted by the Lizard and the NYPD...and as far as I could tell, Uncle Ben's killer is still on the loose!
(Again, I may have just missed that part...someone PLEASE clear this up for me, as it seriously bothered me.)


And that's just off the top of my head...But for all the plotholes and "liberties" they took, there is one positive thing I'll say about this movie:
This film had the best Flash Thompson I've ever seen.
In the beginning of the movie, he was an obnoxious bully. Then in the middle, after Uncle Ben died, he showed a more human side. By the end of the film, he had become almost a friend (or at least a good-natured rival) to Peter...while wearing a Spider-Man t-shirt, and raving about how cool Spidey is. "And the chicks dig him!"

...That's right, folks: Sad to say, but Flash Thompson is the one that stays truest to form, and has the best character development in this film, IMO...Not Gwen, not Captain Stacy, and CERTAINLY not Peter Parker.

Overall, I'd give this movie a C-, verging on a D.

100% agree. A well done review (complete with honesty that you missed some parts). Not much need for me to add to it...but I did see the whole movie...kept wishing I had a child that needed a bathroom break so I had an excuse to get out of that theatre.

I understand that there's a lot of people wearing rose colored glasses who want to like all things Spider-Man, but this movie will lose that luster some people have for it on repeat viewings. One reason the box office drop on this movie has been so steep compared to other entries in this series is that there just have not been the repeat viewers...certainly can't claim it was due to healthy competition at the box office because when ASM opened all the other studios were terrified to go up against it.

You compare the domestic box office and it's not going to come even close to Spider-Man 3 (the lowest in the series)...you look at those same numbers for adjusted for inflation amounts and it's even a more drastic showing that fewer people wants to see this (or see it again). That'll be more than $100-million short (easily) of the last entry. It's certainly proof that for the majority of viewers this was a "one and done" movie.

http://boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=spiderman.htm

For me, one viewing was more than enough. 'D-' for sure.

Plenty of other critics share your opinion too over at Rotten Tomatoes where the critic rating was a 73% and the average reviewer rating equalled out to 67%...go back to your school memories to remember the grades those percentages equate to. A far cry below the 93% and 89% of Spider-Man 1 and 2.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_amazing_spider_man/

Mac

[iron_patriot]

I understand that there's a lot of people wearing rose colored glasses who want to like all things Spider-Man, but this movie will lose that luster some people have for it on repeat viewings. One reason the box office drop on this movie has been so steep compared to other entries in this series is that there just have not been the repeat viewers...certainly can't claim it was due to healthy competition at the box office because when ASM opened all the other studios were terrified to go up against it.

Heh. Count me in as one of those people.

Still, consider this:
-Spider-Man 3 was disliked by a lot of people, but there are people who stick up for it.
-Batman and Robin was disliked by the vast majority of people who were not under twelve years old or approaching it as a comedy.
-Batman Begins was released seven years after B&R and went for a darker tone, which everyone wanted and grossed $372,710,015.
-The Amazing Spider-Man was released five years after Spider-Man 3, had lots of things going against it from a superficial level, like a bad costume, a "Twilight" looking leading actor(even though anyone who has spent time with teenagers knows that's how they dress nowadays) that is not named Tobey Maguire, a love interest that's not Mary Jane, and trailers that made it look "emo" ASM grossed $677,840,648.

[MacGyver]

I understand that there's a lot of people wearing rose colored glasses who want to like all things Spider-Man, but this movie will lose that luster some people have for it on repeat viewings. One reason the box office drop on this movie has been so steep compared to other entries in this series is that there just have not been the repeat viewers...certainly can't claim it was due to healthy competition at the box office because when ASM opened all the other studios were terrified to go up against it.

Heh. Count me in as one of those people.

Still, consider this:
-Spider-Man 3 was disliked by a lot of people, but there are people who stick up for it.
-Batman and Robin was disliked by the vast majority of people who were not under twelve years old or approaching it as a comedy.
-Batman Begins was released seven years after B&R and went for a darker tone, which everyone wanted and grossed $372,710,015.
-The Amazing Spider-Man was released five years after Spider-Man 3, had lots of things going against it from a superficial level, like a bad costume, a "Twilight" looking leading actor(even though anyone who has spent time with teenagers knows that's how they dress nowadays) that is not named Tobey Maguire, a love interest that's not Mary Jane, and trailers that made it look "emo" ASM grossed $677,840,648.

Hmmm well I could compare the Spider-Man movies to the Superman movies...but why bother. This should be apples to apples. Afterall, not every Batman fan is a Spider-Man fan...and then again not every Spider-Man fan is an ASM fan (clearly the data is showing that).

Compare the Spider-Man movies unto themselves. Either way you look at this domesitc adjusted or unadjusted...it doesn't look so good for the new movie in comparison with the other three offerings in the franchise...even one that scored lower with critics and has fans not thrilled with it will outperform ASM by $100+ million domestically.

If you want to compare Batman Begins then remember that (before TDK and TDKR), Batman Begins ended up being the second highest grossing film in the entire Batman franchise (unadjusted) and at least managed to top the previous entry (adjusted). So it followed three (not just one) weak sequels and still wasn't bottom of the barrel.

http://boxofficemojo.com/franchises/cha ... batman.htm

Somehow I don't believe ASM can make the same claim for its own franchise. If it had more repeat viewers I'm sure it would have a better showing in comparison with the earlier films...but it needed to be a better movie for that to happen.

Mac

[AmFan15]

100% agree. A well done review (complete with honesty that you missed some parts). Not much need for me to add to it...but I did see the whole movie...kept wishing I had a child that needed a bathroom break so I had an excuse to get out of that theater.

[Spider-Dad]

Although I was on the fence of seeing this movie, the trailers, the positive reviews and some skeptics on this site even enjoyed it has changed my opinion and now I want to see it. After all, it is still Spider-Man on the big screen...

However, I still have not seen this and probably will not see it in the theaters. Why? No one I know wants to go and I am not the type to see a movie in the theater by myself. (Did it one time, and did not enjoy it...it felt kind of creepy...). The only person I know who wanted to see it, saw it opening night and he did not really like it much and won't see it again, even though I offered to buy his ticket. So for now, looks like I am SOL on seeing this movie in the theater.

Might ask for it for Xmas on Blu-Ray though...

[iron_patriot]

Marc Webb is back on board.

[Aziz]

Marc Webb is back on board.

That's good
But now the movie release is delayed

[RadioCity]

I'm really glad Webb is back as he gave me my favorite Spidey film. Another director would have just been a gun for hire. Marc has been invested in this series from the beginning. He set the tone and should finish it. I believe will only get better. I didn't read where the film will be delayed though.