Review of The Amazing Spider-Man

Image from www.en. Wikipedia.org

Spider-Man pin

My husband, son and I were lucky enough to go see The Amazing Spider-Man on opening day. In anticipation of crowds we purchased our tickets in advance, and went to an early showing at our favorite theater (the plush, big recliners at AMC cannot be competed with!). Because we purchased our tickets ahead of time, we were given an adorable Spider-Man pin and washable tattoos (both a huge hit with my son).

Let me begin my actual review by saying I am not a comic book person - I literally have no previous knowledge about any of the superheros unless my husband has told me (or I saw it in one of the other big hit movies that have come out). Within the first hour of this movie, I understood the entire story of Spider-Man. The first part of the film is dedicated to explaining Peter Parker's beginnings while still with his parents, it shows why he went to live with his aunt and uncle, and really delves into his character. While my husband (big comic geek) and I were enthralled with the back story, our four year old son definitely was not and had a hard time paying attention to the film; however, after Parker is bitten by the spider  there is almost non stop action that completely captured every one of us in the theater.

The graphics in this film were absolutely fantastic, especially when compared with the previous three movies (which I was a fan of, but now am in love with the new, more accurate version). It gave all of the action sequences such fluidity that it seemed real and at no point was I questioning whether the shot was live or not. One thing to keep in mind with the graphics/action is that it has given this film a PG13 rating. My husband and I discussed whether or not that should keep us from taking our four year old son, and decided to give it a shot anyways. Some of the scenes can be intense for young kids, but I will say that all of the children in the theater (of varying ages) handled it well and were very involved with the film by the end. Basically, if you have a young child and are interested in seeing it, go unless that child cannot handle the villains in the animated Disney films.

Also, the cast in this film was completely fantastic with Sally Field as Aunt May, Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy (absolutely loved her and feel she is leaps and bounds better than Mary Jane), Dennis Leary as Captain Stacy, and Rhys Ifans as Dr Connor/The Lizzard. Andrew Garfield played Spider-Man and, though I have never heard of him, he was absolutely fantastic! He gave the character edge, depth, believability, and a sense of humor.  At the end I truly felt that an average boy was going out to take on his responsibility of ridding the world of evil. The moral of the whole movie, as given by Uncle Ben, is it is one's responsibility to do good and change situations if it is within their power and ability, which is shown and said several times from beginning to end. I love that there are movies like this that are out for boys that really emphasize the need to do good!

All in all, this movie was fantastic and a must see (I may even go and see it again). The ending fortunately left way for a sequel, which I will definitely be lining up to see. I give this film 4/5 Mickey's, and it would be a perfect score except that it was a little long, and cannot quite hold itself against The Avengers.