Plot
Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner.

Release Year: 2012

Rating: 7.7/10 (7,810 voted)

Critic's Score: 73/100

Director: Marc Webb

Stars: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans

Storyline
Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy, and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr Curt Connors, his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

Writers: James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent

Cast:
Andrew Garfield - Spider-Man / Peter Parker
Emma Stone - Gwen Stacy
Rhys Ifans - The Lizard / Dr. Curt Connors
Denis Leary - Captain Stacy
Martin Sheen - Uncle Ben
Sally Field - Aunt May
Irrfan Khan - Rajit Ratha
Campbell Scott - Richard Parker
Embeth Davidtz - Mary Parker
Chris Zylka - Flash Thompson
Max Charles - Peter Parker (Age 4)
C. Thomas Howell - Jack's Father
Jake Keiffer - Jack (as Jake Ryan Keiffer)
Kari Coleman - Helen Stacy
Michael Barra - Store Clerk

Taglines: His past was kept from him. His search for answers has just begun.

Details

Official Website: Official Facebook | Official site [Japan] |

Release Date: 3 July 2012

Filming Locations: Immanuel Presbyterian Church - 3300 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $215,000,000 (estimated)

Technical Specs

Runtime: 136 min

Did You Know?

Trivia:
Ashley Greene, Mia Wasikowska, Scout Taylor-Compton Teresa Palmer, Amber Heard, Dianna Agron, Brooklyn Decker, Imogen Poots, Lindsay Lohan, Emma Roberts, Emily Browning, Lily Collins, Anna Kendrick, Ophelia Lovibond, Sara Paxton, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Georgina Haig, Hilary Duff and Dominique McElligott were considered for the role of Gwen Stacy, but were beaten out by Emma Stone.

Quotes:
[from trailer]
Gwen Stacy: [sighs] I'm in trouble.

User Review

Webb Not Strong Enough

Rating: 6/10

The Amazing Spider-Man begins with Peter Parker in high school. Though an amateur photographer, Peter's main interest is science - and he bluffs his way into an audience with his deceased father's ex-partner Dr Curt Connors. After impressing Connors with his knowledge of cross- species genetics, Peter enters a classified area and is bitten by a mutated spider. As his powers and secret identity develop, so too does his relationship with Connors protégé, and Parker's classmate, Gwen Stacey. But when the desperate Connors attempts to fight his personal weaknesses using the same untested method, he undergoes a more disastrous transformation into "The Lizard", a creature with a twisted view of how best to 'cure' humanity.

The Amazing Spider-Man's origin story is undoubtedly an improvement on Raimi's Spider-Man, a decade prior. The characterisation is a lot more realistic, which makes it easier for the audience to feel Parker's teenage pain, awkwardness and ultimate escapism when he dons the guise of Spider-Man. Emma Stone's Gwen Stacey is also a welcome replacement for Mary-Jane, who's sole purpose in Raimi's films was either to moan or scream. Stacey by contrast, is an intelligent character in her own right, who doesn't shy away from getting her hands dirty when Spider- Man's in trouble. Rhys Ifans portrayal of Curt Connors has the same Jekyllian vulnerability seen in Mark Ruffallo's Bruce Banner earlier this year, although his motives are distorted somewhat as the film progresses.

However, such interesting character development unfortunately does not hold together perfectly with the action. Of course, Spider-Man is foremost a movie that has to entertain; yet the cocky web-slinging CGI hero seems too unlike Garfield's brooding Peter Parker. The quality of the special effects is largely inconsistent, with POV scenes of Spider- Man diving around the city impressing greatly, whilst his actual battles with The Lizard are considerably less ambitious. The weighty retelling of Parker's familiar back-story also means that during the dénouement several large plot points, which could have expanded the action, are left undeveloped – and so the ending is a little too simple and unsatisfactory.

Webb has successfully addressed the new demand for superhero movies to be deeper and more human; yet he is not a director adept at providing big-budget action to an audience in the same way as Joss Whedon or Christopher Nolan. The Amazing Spider-Man is therefore the sum of two films, a satisfactory coming-of-age movie and an unchallenging action film. Unfortunately, Webb is not strong enough to convincingly hold the two together.

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