I have mixed feelings about the Spider-Man films directed by Sam Raimi.  I was 100 hundred percent behind Columbia pictures decision to reboot the series and have someone else play Peter Parker because I always felt Tobey Maguire was miscast and so was Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson.   THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN is another origin story told in a different way exploring old ground and making it fresh.   As a result, the casting, writing and character development is better than anything in those Sam Raimi films which ends up with the best Spider-Man film so far.  It is fun and exciting even though the 3D doesn't feature up front as in other 3D movies.

 

Andrew Garfield is Peter Parker, who was abandoned by his parents at a young age and left to live with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May.   He finds his father's old briefcase which starts the chain of events that leads Peter to become Spider-Man after getting bitten by a genetically alternated spider in a visit to OsCorp to find answers to what work his father did.  Peter loses his father to a gun shot by a robber Peter could have stopped, gets a girlfriend (Gwen Stacy played by the beautiful and charming Emma Stone), fights the Lizard (caused by a formula of his father's that Peter gives to his father's former colleague, Dr. Curt Connors), and end up on the most wanted list by the police led by Captain George Stacy.   

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN is the start of a mythology you see the seeds being laid down (The Daily Bugle, Peter trying to take pictures for proof of the Lizard, Oscorp, and talk of Norman Osborn dying) in what is supposed to be the first in a new trilogy.   I love that the web shooters are in this new movie and that Spider-Man is the joker I know of in the comics and animated series.   Andrew Garfield is the better choice for Peter Parker- he seems to embody the character of the comics much more. I loved the relationship that is growing between Peter and Gwen.  It is awkward and yet so touching.   I'm waiting to see what happens to Gwen Stacy next (I know of her ultimate fate since I have read the comics and I wonder whether that story will be in the sequel or the third film).    THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN is one of the films I enjoyed as much as THE AVENGERS and I can't wait to see the sequel.  My faith has been renewed in the SPIDER-MAN movies.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

DISC 1-

Audio Commentary with Director Marc Webb, and Producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach

 

DISC 2-

18 minutes of deleted scenes including a couple of scenes that should have been left in and two alternate scenes of sequences improved for the film (they are earlier versions presented here).

 

RITE OF PASSAGE- a making-of documentary that clocks in at around 110 minutes that chronicles the genesis of the re-imagining of the franchise, the casting, production in Los Angeles and New York, shooting on sound stages at Universal and Sony, and post-production work.  It is a very in-depth documentary which is good but not as great as the other documentaries that Charles DeLauzirika has created for the sets of the ALIEN movies, BLADE RUNNER, and PROMETHEUS.  We do get to see bits of the costume tests and the screen tests, but I wish we could see them in their entirety.

 

Pre-Visualization Sequences

Image Progression Reels (with audio commentary from the people at Imageworks) are split up into four featurettes that focus on the Spider-Man vs Lizard fights at the High school and in the sewer, developing the iconic Spider-Man poses for CGI and digital environments, and the Lizard.

Stunt Rehearsals of eight action sequences of the movie- It is weird seeing people in sweats rehearsing the stunts and an Asian guy is standing in for Captain Stacy.

The Oscorp Archives: Production Art Gallery has three art galleries for Spider-Man, the Lizard, and Environments.

 

DEVELOPING THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VIDEO GAME- a promotional; featurette on the video game

 

The DVD of the film has the movie, the audio commentary, deleted scenes, the Stunt Rehearsals, and the Oscorp Archives.

 

Ultraviolet digital copy

 

Target Bonus Disc-

A HERO WILL RISE (18:53)- a featurette focusing on how the characters and story were re-invented for this movie and how it was different from the Sam Rami SPIDER-MAN films.  Unless you want to see this featurette, you can skip the Target bonus disc and go for the regular combo pack.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS: I love this reboot of the SPIDER-MAN series.  I think the casting and chemistry is better in Marc Webb’s version compared to the Sam Raimi trilogy which I always felt was miscast.   Disc Producer Charles de Lauzirika has put together a nice assortment of extras, but I do feel the package is a little hampered by leaving some of the content only accessible by the Second Screen App and not included on the set proper.  I can’t wait for the second film to be made because I enjoyed this first film of the reinvention of the SPIDER-MAN saga.

 

this review is (c)11-12-2012 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com