The Amazing Spider-Man

I was very lucky to grab a ticket to the "regional" premiere of the new Spider-Man film that took place a few days ago. Although it meant a lot of waiting around and nearly 4 hours of sitting down in the cinema, I was well chuffed to see the film before its official release. While the actual premiere was taking place in Leicester Square, selected Cineworld cinemas (Greenwich O2 in my case) welcomed Sky customers, freebie-hunters and comp winners alike to watch the relayed red carpet footage live on the screen before showing the film simultaneously. Alex Zane quizzed the cast, director and producers on our behalf and thankfully didn't throw in his own spoilers (because he has already seen the film, as he likes to point out). We were treated to various clips from the new film (yes the one we're about to see, so much for avoiding trailers!) and we watched Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield heroically sign a thousand autographs, before finally sometime before 8pm the lights went down and the film got under way.

Spider-Man is 50 years old this year and this is a fresh start with a new cast, but certain things will have been covered previously in the 2002 Spider-Man film. Shy teen Peter Parker lives with his aunt and uncle, gets bullied at school, secretly fancies a girl (a different one this time - Gwen Stacy not Mary Jane), and wonders why his parents disappeared when he was a child. One day he discovers his father's briefcase containing some secret documents which lead him to Dr Connors, his father's old buddy. Dr Connors meanwhile is a one-armed genetic scientist at OsCorp desperately trying to find the right formula to re-grow his missing arm. OsCorp is also where Gwen Stacy just happens to work part-time, and when Peter sneaks into the building to have a snoop, he stumbles upon a room full of spiders. Elsewhere, Gwen's father, a Police Captain soon has to deal with a masked vigilante and a mysterious reptilian creature wreaking havoc around New York. Can you guess how this all ties together?

Unlike the super-hyped Prometheus and The Avengers earlier this year, I had low-ish expectations for this Spider-Man reboot especially as it comes so soon after Sam Raimi's trilogy. But I was pleasantly surprised. Was it amazing? Well it certainly was good fun, it had several decent action scenes and plenty of humour, and despite the lengthy running time of 136 minutes, it didn't drag at all. The plot involving The Lizard didn't provide much in the way of surprise, but I still enjoyed seeing it unravel on screen. But... the film overall didn't blow my socks off in the way The Avengers did. Amusing but not quite amazing! The CGI effects and the 3D were hit and miss, and the score by James Horner though suitably dramatic felt a little overblown and distracting in places. As for the intriguing "untold story" relating to Peter's parents' disappearance, well it was partially touched upon but not fully dealt with so we'll have to wait for the next Spidey film to see it explored further.

I wasn't initially sure about Andrew Garfield being cast as Peter Parker but pretty soon he won me over. Although I liked Tobey Maguire, I think Garfield nails Parker's character better, especially the vulnerable side. Spidey's love interest by comparison is a no-brainer in this case, Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy looks smarter and cuter, and is generally more likeable than Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane. Having said that, Stone wasn't that stretched in this role and could have sleepwalked through it with ease. Compared to Sam Raimi's films, I feel the Garfield/Stone combo works better than Maguire/Dunst, so it's a definite plus point. It was great to see Martin Sheen and Sally Field in supporting roles as uncle and aunt Parker, but the casting highlight for me was Rhys Ifans as Dr Connors/The Lizard. He was excellent, even if his crazed lizard alter-ego is somewhat ridiculous.

While director Marc Webb did reasonably okay I can't help but wonder what Matthew Vaughn (Kick Ass, X-Men: First Class) or Joss Whedon (The Avengers) might have done with Spider-Man! We'll never know. Still, I look forward to the inevitable sequel! The Amazing Spider-Man opens in a couple of weeks' time on July 3rd, and I'm sure Marvel fans will mostly be happy with the reboot. As per usual, watch out for the Stan Lee cameo and the extra scene during the credits!

UK release date: 3rd July 2012