As an avid fan of Marc Webb’s career to date I found myself growing more and more excited as I approached the impending screening date last week. As many reviews across the land have already sung, it was truly amazing.
A well known local indie girl, I go into my cinema with different things in mind than your average Hollywood consumer. I look for smart writing, great directing, a good score, and great chemistry. In the case of comic and book adaptations I also look for a film that above all stays true to the characters. The Amazing Spider-Man had everything I was looking for.
When it came to directing clearly I had no fears in this department as both 500 Days of Summer and Webb’s music video career show an excellent use of directing, lighting, filters, and effects. With The Amazing Spider-Man Marc Webb takes us on a cinematic journey that is one part perfect indie romance, one part heroic action, one part classic teen comedy, and one part intense monster film sci-fi.
I was quite struck by how great a film like this was for all ages. Typically films have been coming out grittier and darker for adults or lighter and giddier for children, The Amazing Spider-Man hits these cinematic elements but also had a level of growth and humor that can draw in the American teenager in a way I haven’t seen since the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
This isn’t because it’s aimed at teens, but more because it captures Spider-Man and Peter Parker’s full personality. Not any one part, sure there’s the drama of his life but there’s also that amazing sense if humor that was so key to the Spider-Man series over the years. Also the film shows time and time again how smart Parker is. This is a very intelligent film in it’s use of science on all levels, which I of course found massively entertaining as a huge sci-fi buff.
There were also so many touching displays of the human spirit as we got to watch Spider-Man grow and the citizens around him as well. On that note I loved seeing Gwen as a heroine. Too often female leads are nothing more than damsels in Hollywood action adaptations but that was not the case with Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man.
Every scene was full of beautiful imagery, right down to one of the best and most epic Stan Lee cameos I have ever seen. (You’ll love it, trust me.)
All in all it was just a great film, and at the end of the day that’s what I think all adaptations of any genre should strive to be. Just great films about our favorite characters.
Feel free to sit back and enjoy this one fellow comic book fans. –N
