Peter Parker Swings Back Onto the Big Screen in The Amazing Spider-Man

I’m usually pretty up on big summer blockbuster, but my friend caught me by surprise yesterday when she called to ask if I wanted to see the midnight release of The Amazing Spider-Man. I’d heard a couple whispers of its existence, but I didn’t even realize it was coming out this summer. Still, I’m never one to pass up a major cultural experience, even if I am a bit bemused at the idea of a brand-new Spider-Man film series just a decade after Sam Raimi’s mega-popular trilogy began.

If I’d been actively anticipating this movie, I might have rewatched the 2002 film in preparation, but as it is, my capacity to make comparisons is a bit limited. Still, there are certain key differences between that movie and this, which was written by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Harry Potter scribe Steve Kloves and directed by the appropriately-named Marc Webb. Perhaps the most significant is that Peter Parker’s transformation from regular teen into web-slinging vigilante feels less like chance and more like fate. The Amazing Spider-Man is very much a journey of self-discovery, and that means delving into the past as well as introspective examination.

Andrew Garfield makes an excellent Peter, rather awkward and bumbling but already making a name for himself with his camera. Interestingly, his photography plays only a minor role in the film once he dons the Spidey suit, though it does serve as a catalyst for a major incident late in the movie. Still, there is no explosive J. Jonah Jameson to report to with exclusive shots. Financial concerns don’t seem to trouble Peter much; he’s far too focused on revenge enacted to ease his own fury with himself for the tragic consequences of a particularly angsty moment. He is dark, but he also comes across as a really decent and rather geeky young man.

In this movie, there is no friendship with Harry Osborn and no pining after Mary Jane. Instead, he begins to forge a relationship with sweet, intellectual Gwen, demurely played by Emma Stone. Moreover, he turns to his father’s old friend and colleague, Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), for mentorship, and he becomes one of two men who serve as both helper and antagonist to Peter throughout his journey. Ifans delivers an intense performance as this man who is torn between a genuine desire to do good for the world and the destructive frenzy that comes with the acquisition of too much power.

As before, May and Ben, the aunt and uncle who raise Peter after the abrupt departure of his parents, provide much of the story’s heart, and their gentle influence in raising him is apparent throughout the film. Sally Field is excellent as the very maternal May, but it’s Martin Sheen who makes the bigger impression as the sometimes jovial, often wise Ben. He comes across as a bit hipper than the 2002 Ben but just as powerful a paternal figure. Less instantly likable but still engaging is Denis Leary as Gwen’s dad, the police captain who happens to be intent on capturing Spider-Man and bringing him to justice.

A marquis mix-up caused me to watch this movie a little differently than I otherwise might have. When we arrived, a great big letter R sat next to the movie title, so I waited with increasing puzzlement for the movie to take a turn that would merit such an unexpectedly heavy rating. I assumed that it would be due to violence, especially after the first 20 minutes or so passed without any profanity that I noticed, but while the movie is full of intense action sequences, there is very little gore, and the 11-year-old sitting next to me was only startled a couple of times. The reptilian foe Peter must ultimately face is really the only aspect of the movie likely to cause much alarm, though there are moments of sadness preceding the creature’s debut.

In part because of that misleading marquis – which had been corrected by the time we left the theater – I found the movie refreshingly innocent with plenty of laugh-aloud light-hearted moments like Peter’s clumsy attempts to get a handle on his newfound abilities and a brief scene featuring Marvel legend Stan Lee. Yes, it’s still probably best suited to older kids, but aside from some creepy business with hybrid technology, it’s mostly the story of a good guy trying to find his place in the world with some help from mentors, friends and two very devoted relatives. Did Spidey really need a reboot so soon? No, probably not. But I look forward to seeing where Garfield and crew will take this saga next.

Lord of the Rings Alums Help Me Get Through 2004's Post-LOTR Blues

The biggest media event in 2004 for me was LOST - and I didn't even experience it in 2004, since my VCR failed to tape the first couple of episodes and I knew I wouldn't want to watch the series out of order. It took LOST to fill the void left by Lord of the Rings, but 2004 had a pretty good crop of movies, most of which I didn't catch in the theater. These were my ten favorites.

13 Going on 30 - Probably my favorite movie of the year. I found it much funnier and sweeter than I expected, an endearing story of childhood sweethearts and the mistakes made along the road to adulthood. I loved getting to see Andy Serkis playing a regular old human, and quite a charming one at that, and Sean Marquette and Mark Ruffalo are extremely lovable as the younger and older versions of Matty, the love interest of Jennifer Garner's Jenna. But Garner was the one who really impressed me as the teenage girl in adult shoes trying to figure out just where she went wrong in the 17 years she never experienced.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - One of the strangest movies of the year, it too boasts a Lord of the Rings alum. Elijah Wood's role as an unethical memory wiper is a far cry from the virtuous Frodo. The movie stars Jim Carrey in one of his most dramatic, least frenetic roles to date, while Kate Winslet is his extremely eccentric love interest. I much prefer his character to hers, but they play off one another well in this pleasantly bizarre movie about the importance of one's memories to one's identity. I'm glad I waited for this one to come out on DVD, since I ended up watching it two times in a row. It made a lot more sense the second time...

Finding Neverland - I find Winslet a lot less grating in this film, which also stars Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore. Depp is Scottish playwright J. M. Barrie, who seems a little out of touch with reality and is happiest when reclaiming his childhood with the family led by the widowed Sylvia (Winslet). Depp's low-key performance is most endearing, as is that of Highmore, who plays one of Sylvia's sons, the lad who supposedly served as the model for Peter Pan. A lovely score and cinematography and creative incorporation of Barrie's fantasy world added to my enjoyment of this unusual biopic.

Garden State - There were three main reasons I rented this one. An acquaintance of mine had heartily recommended it, and I'd heard that its soundtrack included one of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel songs and that the cast included Ian Holm, yet another Lord of the Rings alum. I'm glad they led me to this movie, which is part romance between the quirky characters played by writer-director Zach Braff and Natalie Portman, part a reflection on dealing with grief, part coming-of-age story, part buddy comedy. It all adds up to a pretty impressive directorial debut.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - I couldn't leave this one out. Third in the Harry Potter film series, it departs more from the books than the first two films but is still in many ways a wonderful adaptation, from the soaring score to the sweeping cinematography. Important characters such as Remus Lupin and Sirius Black are introduced, and while it's a rather painful transition from Richard Harris to Michael Gambon, Emma Thompson is hilarious as the wacky Divination professor. Meanwhile, the visual spectacle of the Hippogriff and the Patronuses are fantastic, and the Dementors are terrifying.

Mean Girls - Lindsay Lohan stars in this story of an innocent newcomer to high school who befriends a pair of oddballs, who encourage her to infiltrate the class's top clique and do some spying. Of course, she ends up getting sucked in and must ultimately decide whether popularity is worth the changes it has wrought to her personality. Based on Queen Bees and Wannabes, a treatise on teen behavior, the movie is a little over-the-top but still fun and occasionally thought-provoking.

Napoleon Dynamite - I saw this one in the theater with my brother, his friend and the exchange student staying with us. We enjoyed it, but we couldn't really think of anything to say about it as we hung around waiting to get picked up afterward. It's an odd, amusing movie about the triumph of the underdog. Jon Heder's Napoleon is awkward and towering, always sounding like he's mad at the world but expressing his frustration with a surprisingly clean vocabulary. Tina Majorino plays the most normal character in the bunch, a shy girl who actually finds Napoleon appealing. The cult hit is full of great catch-phrases that have spawned everything from magnets to t-shirts. I'm a little surprised there hasn't been a sequel, but then one movie's worth of Napoleon may be enough...

Spider-Man 2 - Probably the best of the series, though each installment has its charms. Alfred Molina and James Franco give great performances as men turned sour by tragedy, and Spidey's big heroic train scene is one of my favorite moments in a superhero movie.

The Terminal - This one didn't get a lot of attention and generally seems to have been regarded as a bit of a flop for director Steven Spielberg and star Tom Hanks. However, I loved this fairy tale-like story of a gentle man from a fictional war-torn country in eastern Europe who spends weeks living in an airport, infuriating the airport director (Stanley Tucci) but inspiring everyone else. Very sweet and very funny.

Two Brothers - This was the movie that introduced me to Freddie Highmore, my favorite child actor since Haley Joel Osment. It also stars Guy Pearce. Each of them has a significant relationship with one half of a pair of tigers, the brothers of the title. The boy and the man don't meet until late in the movie, but their scenes together are quite moving. Most notable, though, is the gorgeous cinematography that so perfectly captures the majesty of these creatures.

I've still got some catching up to do on 2004's crop of movies, but so far, what I've seen is a pretty good batch.

Amidst All Its High-Octane Chaos, Spider-Man 3 is Quietly Contemplative

It's shaping up to be a spectacular summer. My trip to the movies tonight reminded me how many blockbusters await over the next few months: Shrek the Third, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, The Simpsons Movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix... Tomorrow I may begin rubbing my hands together in anticipation. But today, I'll simply bask for a while in the brilliance of the film that kick-started the season for me: Spider-Man 3.

The line wound around the lobby of the cinema where I attended a midnight showing of the highly anticipated third volume in the Spider-Man series. Originally slated for two Thursday night showings, the theater had added others; I imagine each of the allotted theaters was filled to bursting, as ours was, with fans who persevered as patiently as possible through countless repetitions of inane trivia, advertisements and, more enthusiastically, previews for some of the summer's most promising films.

And then came the movie, its dramatic opening credits a montage of spider webs and brief footage of key characters leading up to a shot of unassuming Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) gazing, mildly impressed, at an electronic billboard welcoming visitors to the hometown of Spider-Man. It's been a bumpy road for Peter since he was bitten by a radioactive spider, but as this movie begins, everything seems to have settled down in his life. Spider-Man is now revered rather than reviled, and Peter remains firmly in Mary Jane's (Kirsten Dunst) affections.

The only trouble is Harry Osborn (James Franco), who still carries a torch for the girl he and Peter both admired as school chums and is none to happy with Peter, who he blames for his father's death. Unfortunately, this is big trouble indeed, since Daddy dearest is haunting Harry from beyond the grave, compelling him to avenge him by becoming the new incarnation of the Green Goblin and going after Spidey. And that's only the beginning...

There's a lot going on in this movie, whose action is driven more by events in the first film than in the second. We have the ongoing romantic trials of Peter and Mary Jane, who is struggling mightily as an actress, though Peter is too wrapped up in his own concerns to notice. We know that they love each other, but they hurt one another - and Peter is especially culpable in this department, particularly when he evidently lets his publicity go to his head and indulges in a rather steamy trademark Spidey kiss with a fellow college student during a photo op. He does this shortly before he intends to propose to Mary Jane, knowing that she must be watching, and even if she isn't that it will soon be plastered all over the papers; why would he ever think locking lips with another woman would be an acceptable idea?

Then there's the matter of the antagonists, and there are three: Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), who covets the same position of staff photographer at the newspaper that Peter does; Flint Marko (Thomas Hayden Church), the skulking petty thief who put a bullet in Uncle Ben; and Harry. It was this last who I figured would be the most important of the figures, and I think I can truthfully say that he is, though not quite in the way I expected. Each of the characters comes to a critical moment in which he must decide whether or not to forgive past wrongs. Because this is Peter's movie, the greatest focus is on him as he becomes infected with a mysterious black ooze that amplifies the worst traits in the person to whom it has attached itself. Initially drawn to this dark force by a lust for revenge on the man who killed his uncle, Peter finds himself irresistibly entangled in its influence, to the point that he barely knows who he is anymore. He must choose between the visceral power that comes with the mysterious substance and the security of being in control of himself, even if it means getting hurt in the process.

Maguire does as fine a job in this third installment as in others. At times, he is delightfully dorky, chugging along on his bike, getting spit-balls thrown at him in class, explaining the acoustics of the theatre to a self-conscious Mary Jane. But gentle, often goofy Peter fades as he begins to wear his new black suit at all times. Soon he is like Clark Kent on red Kryptonite, swaggering his way down the street, using his powers cavalierly, snapping at anyone who tries to talk a little sense into him. At still other times, he is humbled, reverent, somber. We see all shades of him, and it makes him very human.

The other cast standout is Franco as Harry, who spends half the film in a euphoric daze following a near-fatal incident that leaves him with no short-term memory. Conveniently, among his lost memories is the fact that he now hates Peter. The two are awarded a clean slate, a chance to repair their tarnished relationship, which they do, beautifully. And then, all at once, the seemingly possessed portrait of Harry's father speaks, and everything comes rushing back to the younger Osborn. Now he remembers what happened between Peter and his father, and he too must make a conscious choice. As nice as it is to see plenty of Franco's lop-sided grin while Harry is wandering through life in blissful oblivion, the dark emotions with which he wrestles upon receiving his revelation are what give his role in this film real depth.

If this all sounds a bit heavy for a blockbuster... Well, it is, but there is plenty of light to balance it out. The audience laughed aloud many times, including during every scene in which abrasive, tantrum-throwing editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson (J. K. Simmons) took part. They chortled at the first sight of Bruce Campbell, who appeared briefly but memorably in the first two films and took on a similarly comical role here as a maitre d' with a ridiculous French accent. Grace's aspiring professional photographer is entertainingly irritating, with constant snappy remarks and an attitude compelling him to do whatever it takes to get to the top. Always a treat: Peter's paternal, heavily accented landlord (Elya Baskin) and his daughter (Mageina Tovah), who chirps out messages for Peter and admires him from across the hall. And there are all sorts of moments throughout the film involving the main characters, from a botched proposal dinner to a reading from a play Harry wrote in high school, that elicit laughs.

So, too, is there plenty of web-slinging action to keep everyone happy, to say nothing of the impressive effects of the poisonous goo and the sand allowing Flint to morph into forms far more threatening than his original body. As a villain, he certainly is ominous, lumbering around town like Frankenstein's monster wreaking havoc. We know, too, that he killed Uncle Ben in cold blood. But the first time we see him in this film, he is risking life and limb to return to his home and see his terminally ill daughter, so we're inclined to be a little more sympathetic to him. But is Peter?

Spider-Man 3, directed by Sam Raini and written by Raini and his brother Ivan, is at once exhilarating and devastating. It ends not with a bang, but with a whimper as characters in the aftermath of traumas attempt to find their way together. Not only lives but souls are at stake; some are lost and others are found. The conclusion is a deeply satisfying one, albeit tempered by the realities of grief and loss. There were no throaty cheers that escaped the audience just as the credits began to roll. But there were minds in gear, spirits challenged, hearts opened. This is a movie that deserves all the ticket sales it will undoubtedly garner. If Spider-Man 3 is any indication, this will be a fantastic summer at the movies indeed.