The Amazing Spider Man

The Amazing Spider Man is, well... amazing.  It was a great movie--much better than the crap trilogy started ten years ago.  So far, it is the best superhero movie this year.  Go see it.  Enjoy it.  See it again.  They got all the beats right in this movie (although the murder of Peter's uncle seemed a bit of a rehash... would have been nice had they done something different with that, and I'm getting sick of New York City.  I hope Spider Man gets out of the Big Easy in his next outing, if only to chase a baddie down... be awesome to see him web-slinging across a different skyline for once).  This new film will make you embarrassed to even mention the Tobey Maguire series, like the Dark Knight and Clooney's horrendous Batman and Robin.

 I've only seen Andrew Garfield--the new spidey--in one other film (The Social Network).  He does a great job as Peter Parker, being more the rebel than geek.  And Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey walks circles around Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane.  Stone and Garfield have a chemistry on screen that Maguire and Dunst never even came close to.  I hope we get this new Spider Man Mary Jane free, because if Stone has to move over for some other chick, I'm gonna be ticked.  

The tone of this reboot is darker than before.  Like Batman Begins, it goes more in-depth to its main character, really trying to get at the root of what makes a superhero.  I felt the tone was ruined slightly by the very last scene, but I can't deny that it still put a smile on my face (no spoilers).  Parker learns through several tragic experiences that he has the responsibility to make the world a better place, and I think the writers got his character arc perfect in this movie.

The story never goes as dark as Nolan's Batman.  I wish it had--but I can live with where it is.  If The Dark Knight is the perfect adult superhero movie (which it is, though Watchmen and Kick Ass are a respective second and third), then The Amazing Spider Man is the perfect superhero flick for YA audiences.  Writers should pay attention to the smart try-fail cycles, the reversals, and pacing in this movie.  It was all spot-on.

That's all!