Non-spoilery review of The Amazing Spider-Man
It's good! I honestly wasn't sold on Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker before I saw the film, but he does a really great job of playing Peter as this awkward, adorable kid who is full of all of this mixed-up energy. Emma Stone does a really great job as Gwen Stacy, and my one quibble there is that Gwen didn't have a bigger, active role in the movie. Not that the character of Gwen is passive - she actively engages in the plots around her - but this movie is very much Peter's story, so of course the rest of the cast get limited space. But they're all good; there wasn't a single character who felt to me like the actor was just there to get a paycheck.
I thought that it had a really tight story - there are some loose ends and some plots that get dropped, but in terms of following Peter's growth and Peter's change in priorities, the film does a good job. One thing that I loved is that Peter Parker and Spider-Man are very much the same person - Peter finds such glee in being a hero and finds such potential in himself. I guess I'd compare it to the Nolan-verse Batman movies, wherein Bruce Wayne become more and more Batman until Bruce is less a person and more of a cover. In contrast, it's through putting on the costume and being Spider-Man that Peter Parker learns how to be Peter. (And speaking of the story - all of the press that assured you that this is a prequel, not a reboot? Lies. It's totally a reboot.)
This movie was honestly a pleasure to watch, and I think it ranks up there with the Marvel films that led into The Avengers - it's funny without being flippant, filled with character without being slow, and action-packed without being plotless. Not gonna lie, I cried twice during the film. Once during a sad moment, and once because there was a scene that was just. So. Beautiful. I am secretly a massive sap like that.
I think that the 3D works really well in this film, and probably adds to the experience a little. I really think that the director understands the importance of depth, rather than just the novelty of things jumping out at the audience.
So it's not a perfect film - the character arc is tight but the story of the movie is a little loose in places. There's a great article about the stuff that was cut: Was the Untold Story cut from The Amazing Spider-Man?, thought this article is obviously spoilery as hell, and has a points that are a little nitpicky for my tastes.
I thought that it had a really tight story - there are some loose ends and some plots that get dropped, but in terms of following Peter's growth and Peter's change in priorities, the film does a good job. One thing that I loved is that Peter Parker and Spider-Man are very much the same person - Peter finds such glee in being a hero and finds such potential in himself. I guess I'd compare it to the Nolan-verse Batman movies, wherein Bruce Wayne become more and more Batman until Bruce is less a person and more of a cover. In contrast, it's through putting on the costume and being Spider-Man that Peter Parker learns how to be Peter. (And speaking of the story - all of the press that assured you that this is a prequel, not a reboot? Lies. It's totally a reboot.)
This movie was honestly a pleasure to watch, and I think it ranks up there with the Marvel films that led into The Avengers - it's funny without being flippant, filled with character without being slow, and action-packed without being plotless. Not gonna lie, I cried twice during the film. Once during a sad moment, and once because there was a scene that was just. So. Beautiful. I am secretly a massive sap like that.
I think that the 3D works really well in this film, and probably adds to the experience a little. I really think that the director understands the importance of depth, rather than just the novelty of things jumping out at the audience.
So it's not a perfect film - the character arc is tight but the story of the movie is a little loose in places. There's a great article about the stuff that was cut: Was the Untold Story cut from The Amazing Spider-Man?, thought this article is obviously spoilery as hell, and has a points that are a little nitpicky for my tastes.