The Amazing Spider-Man – Movie Review

Directed by Mark Webb; Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, and Sally Field; story by James Vanderbilt

I’d like to share a revelation I’ve had with you. It was when I was watching The Amazing Spider-Man at midnight with a scattering of people (sadly Spidey isn’t selling out midnight openers anymore) and it was the scene where Peter Parker awkwardly tries to ask out Gwen Stacey, who in equal awkwardness tries to say yes… The Sam Raimi Spider-Man films are not that great. It took Raimi 2 movies to get us to feel for Peter Parker; while Webb and Garfield do in about 40 minutes. In a brief breakdown, here are my thoughts for Marvel’s latest reboot…

The Hero: Spider-Man is entering Batman/James Bond territory, in the sense we can start comparing different Spider-Man renditions. Andrew Garfield is in every conceivable way better than Tobey Maguire. Did they change some things about the character? Yes. To the purist, giving Peter a skateboard is like saying Peter kissed Paul, but if you can let go of the continuity reigns, you’ll see that this is still Peter Parker—awkward high school kid, but also realistic. Garfield sells this partly by attending the Mark Ruffalo school of acting. He talks a little awkwardly, fidgets a bit, stumbles over his words. It works very well for Peter Parker. Now, I do have to admit that it was actually my good friend Vonia I Peng (VIP wherever she goes) who spotted that out—also remarking that Garfield is hot like Ruffalo, so for any female readers out there who thought the best scene in Avengers was Ruffalo naked on the floor of an abandoned warehouse, you should totally see The Amazing Spider-Man. Still, while Ruffalo-esque, Garfield isn’t simply trying to be like his peer—it’s what works for the character. He brings something to Spider-Man that Maguire didn’t; kind of like what Downey Jr. did for Iron Man when the mask is on– you’re still watching Peter Parker. With Maguire, when the mask was on, you were watching Spider-Man, the Peter Parker was gone. Not this time. Same persona in and out of the mask. This movie is about Peter Parker, and we have an actor who can give us that.

The Villain: The Lizard was a good choice for this film. One, it took a cue from Batman Begins and didn’t start with one of Spidey’s core villains. I don’t want to say that the Lizard is expendable, but trying to get into the BIG big bad when we still need to learn about Parker would have been unfair to both characters… Yes, I realize that is exactly what Spider-Man did, and yes, it was a mistake. This model sets up for sequel goodness. We went into The Dark Knight with a fully developed Bruce Wayne/Batman. It allowed for the Joker to be fleshed out in a way he couldn’t be if he had been in Begins. Now, with the excessive amount of hints in the movie that OSBORNE IS COMING, we should see what really happens to Peter when a villain like this is introduced.  That was reason one. Two, Dr. Connors is an easy character to develop in a short amount of time. Guy lost his arm and wants it back. You’d have to be a dick not to feel for him. Hell, the first time he “lizards out,” he’s going to stop one of Osborne’s minions from testing the serum on war vets. Of course, he kind of loses his mind after that. Turning into a giant lizard might do that to you, I suppose. Rhys Ifans plays Dr. Connors well. Another lesson from Batman Begins, even for a small part; get actors that know what they’re doing. What Ifans struggles with though, is playing the Lizard; which is of course all CGI, but when the Lizard spoke and it sounded like Ifans, the creature lost its menace. It kind of made you wonder why Spider-Man would struggle against this thing at all. Changing his voice might have been a good idea.

Daredevil #503 – Review

by Andy Diggle (writer), Roberto De La Torre & Marco Checchetto (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Daredevil continues to use the Hand as an instrument to battle corruption.

What’s Good: I continue to enjoy Diggle’s take on Dark Reign, which remains one of the most unique in Marvel’s stable.  While most series simply have Osborn stomping about and occasional cameos by the Dark Avengers and/or the Thunderbolts, Diggle’s book best depicts how the world and society itself has changed thanks to Osborn’s rise.  Daredevil is used to occupying his own little corner of the Marvel Universe, and much of this issue is a wake-up call that even the farthest/lowest fringe of that Universe is subject to this major shift in status quo. The series’ own isolation stands in relation to Matt’s obliviousness to the larger state of things, absorbed as he is in his own crises.  Matt, and the comic itself, can now no longer ignore larger events, which do have an effect on Hell’s Kitchen, whether Matt realizes it or not.

While the theme is great, Diggle also writes some great dialogue this month.  The conversation between Daredevil and Izo was a particularly good.  Both men seem to be speaking in veiled threats and what seems to be the same old conversation we’ve heard a million times between the two takes on a tone of menace, where we’re forced to wonder who is trying to intimidate the other.  Is Izo getting impatient enough to threaten Matt?  Is Matt becoming inflated by his leadership of the Hand?  And which character is the initiator and which the respondent?  It’s a fascinating, multi-layered conversation that bears reading twice.

Other than that, the issue gives us everything we’ve come to expect from a good Daredevil comic.  Diggle writes the kinetic, thrilling action scenes that have been the signature of his career,  Kingpin is an absolute badass,  Becky, Foggy, and Dakota are as lovable as ever, and seeing Matt hold a pep rally for his horde of devil-horned ninjas definitely gets the blood pumping.  Meanwhile De La Torre continues to put out the best work of his career, as it’s clear that he was meant to draw this comic.  It’s shadowy, grimy, and gritty in the utmost, but with no loss of detail or clarity.  It’s quite the achievement, and he makes action and dialogue scenes equally engaging.