Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Andrew Garfield | ... | ||
Emma Stone | ... | ||
Rhys Ifans | ... | ||
Denis Leary | ... | ||
Martin Sheen | ... | ||
Sally Field | ... | ||
Irrfan Khan | ... | ||
Campbell Scott | ... | ||
Embeth Davidtz | ... | ||
Chris Zylka | ... | ||
Max Charles | ... | ||
C. Thomas Howell | ... | ||
Jake Keiffer | ... |
Jack
(as Jake Ryan Keiffer)
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Kari Coleman | ... | ||
Michael Barra | ... |
Peter Parker (Garfield) is an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero. Written by Columbia Pictures
There is no comparison really.
This movie when compared to the previous Spiderman movies far outshines the old Tobey Maquire movies.
Where to begin.
The acting...they used real actors. When Spidey gets the crap kicked out of him, you feel it. You see blood, you see wounds and bruises. Not the kind that Tobey got where 2 seconds later he was all better. It felt more real. Andrew Garfield is a Superior actor over Tobey. Sally Field, Martin Sheen, and Emma Stone completely surpassed their previous incarnations, however I felt that the Aunt May character and Gwen Stacy character were a bit underused.
The truly wonderful thing about the movie is, the lame humor of the past is gone. There isn't a Russian landlord chasing Peter for rent. And Peter doesn't feel like a whiny, little girl like Tobey portrayed him. For instance in those movies, in all three he screamed like a girl when hit.
The story was solid, but not strong. They had it in the right direction, but I think they needed to build on a few things. I didn't buy the main plot of the Lizard. OK..whatever but I was thinking...really? The story was still good enough to be called good and by far the best of the Spidey movies.
Fight scenes, Spidey web slinging through the air, and the CGI all great. No complaints there.
The chemistry between Peter and Gwen, they have what Tobey and Kirsten Dunst did not have. They need to seriously expand on that in the next movie. The man is what drives the hero. They need to get the balance right, and they need to develop his relationships a bit more.
One of my main gripes of the old movies was that in every one of them the other characters insisted on calling Peter by both his first and last name, all the time. Peter Parker this and Peter Parker that. It was ridiculous and nobody talks like that. Sadly they did carry that into this movie as well. Although without quite the hokiness of the others.
They need to keep a sense of realism. Don't get silly with it. Make dreams come true and not just transfer the dream to screen. I want to believe that its possible that a man with spider powers can fight a giant lizard man on a tall skyscraper. Which they did pretty well in this one.
It is absolutely and completely worth your time to go see.