The Amazing Spider-man Vs. Spider-man

 

Ten loooooong years ago Tobey McGuire starred in a film about a high schooler who gets bit by a radioactive spider and transforms into the web slinging superhero everybody knows and a large portion of the population loves. On July 3, 2012 Andrew Garfield swung into theaters as the next incarnation of Spider-man in an effort to restart a franchise whose final installment came out just five years prior.

I for one, was greatly pained during those five years between Spider-man 3 and this current version of Spidey. My soul yearned for the day when I would once again see Spider-man swing from building to building and it troubled me to think that I would most likely have to wait at least twenty years for a reboot. Everyday I thought to myself, "Spider-man, oh when ever shall I see thou again?" 

Granted Spider-man 3 was unwatchable due to its bloated plot and beyond cheesy villain, Sandman, I still thought that a reboot of the franchise was premature and unnecessary. What's next? Batman will be rebooted within the next three years? The X-Men will be- oh wait, that already happened. Nevermind. I suppose when it comes down to it, people still want superhero movies and when one franchise has run its course another can begin and reinterpret it because there is a wealth of avenues that the stories can travel down. One  could speculate all the reasons why a studio may green light a reboot so soon, *cough* money *cough*, but in the end, if the finished product is worthwhile, the reasons as to why it was made are unimportant. 

So now I shall take on the daunting task of determining if the newest Spidey flick was worthy of being made or if the original Spider-man film was indeed superior and should have been left to stand as the defining Spider-man movie. Let the webtastic battle begin!

*Ding!*

Round 1: Peter Parker

Tobey McGuire plays Peter Peter as a dorky teenager who acts like a wimp. He doesn't have one ounce of courage (until becoming Spider-man) and at times, comes off as cartoonish. Despite this, he seems to play Parker true to his origins. He also manages to have a friend in James Franco's Harry Osborn. The two are the most unlikely of friends and how they find anything to talk about is an even more perplexing question. When it comes down to it, their relationship doesn't seem plausible.

Andrew Garfield's Parker is a loner/ skater/ photographer/ genius. He is many things rolled into one, but one thing he is definitely not, is popular. His version of Parker is grittier and he doesn't have any friends to confide in. He also has more guts before becoming Spider-man and stands up to a school bully despite knowing that he won't come out victorious. This Peter Parker is more believable to live in the real world. 

Winner: The Amazing Spider-man

Round 2: The Villain

Spider-man's Green Goblin.... Not a terrible choice for a villain however, when you put him in a ridiculous suit with a permanent evil grin plastered on his mask, you take away from potential sinister facial expressions that Willem Dafoe could dish out. The villain looks like a giant action figure toy. In my opinion, he would have been more effective without the mask or with a mask that allowed for facial mobility.

The Lizard was teased in the original trilogy and if he was used over the Sandman in Spider-man 3, the film may have been much stronger. The Amazing Spider-man expertly linked Dr. Connors (The Lizard) to Peter's father and set up an intriguing mystery revolving around Peter's parents. His father was responsible for the radioactive Spider that eventually bit Peter and Dr. Connors worked closely with Peter's father. The filmmakers chose a villain that was more personally linked to Peter's life and further explored the ignored mystery of Peter's parents from the earlier Spidey films. To add to this, The Lizard was an out of control beast who easily overpowered Spider-man and caused damage fairly easily. Scenes featuring The Lizard were often intense and bordered along the lines of a horror film. I never felt frightened when The Green Goblin flew across the screen or like he was a legitimate threat.

Winner: The Amazing Spider-man

Round 3: Mary Jane Watson vs. Gwen Stacy

Mary Jane Watson was played as a naive high schooler who was part of the popular crowd. She lived next door to Peter Parker, but barely ever spoke with him. Mary Jane easily played into the damsel in distress. I think it was also interesting to create a love triangle between her, Peter, and Harry. 

Gwen Stacy was brainier than Mary Jane and a larger portion of The Amazing Spider-man focused on the romantic relationship between Peter and Gwen. This strengthened the danger factor when The Lizard went after Gwen towards the end of the film. It also made me, as the viewer, have a stronger connection to the character of Gwen. I understood why Peter liked her whereas, Mary Jane never seemed right for Peter. She was interested in acting and didn't seem to be on the same level as him. Gwen Stacy had similar interests to Peter and both were the two smartest kids in their high school. 

Winner: The Amazing Spider-man 

Round 4: Uncle Ben

Both movies did a great job creating a sweet older man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was a great guide to Peter in both films and his tragic death was felt intensely in each version.

Winner: Tie

Round 5: The Story

The Amazing Spider-man told a story that was more compact than Spider-man. The villain was linked to Peter's parents and Peter was bit by a Spider that his father was responsible for creating. When the spider bit Peter, it was as if his father was reaching out to him and giving him strength to move forward in life. I really liked the symbolism there. 

The villain too, was more personally linked to Peter and I found that to make for a more interesting face off between Spidey and his foe. Despite the obvious size difference between The Lizard and Spider-man, I still felt Spiderman prevailing in the end was realistic. He struggled greatly to succeed and as a viewer, I felt his pain. I have the image of Spider-man limping across a building rooftop after he was shot. Giant cranes moved in order to help him get to Oscorp (where The Lizard was located). It was a very powerful moment and showed a city that eventually came around to helping their superhero succeed.

Spider-man started off with Peter in high school and had, in my opinion, a lame wrestling match for Peter to attempt to win a car that would impress Mary Jane. I didn't buy that a genius would think that a car would win him the girl he's been crushing on since he was a youngster. Peter, throughout the film, always seemed to be in this confused state and even as Spider-man, I found it difficult to believe he would be able to take down The Green Goblin. Speaking of the Green Goblin, a great set up was ultimately a let down in the end. The story could have used less cheesiness from both Spidey and his supposedly menacing villain. I understand Spider-man is a high schooler and his wisecracks are one of the things that make him fun to watch, but it was spread on a little too thick for my personal taste. 

Winner: The Amazing Spider-man

Round 6: The Tone

This round definitely comes down to personal preference. Each film felt quite different than the other. Spider-man had a more family friendly quality, while The Amazing Spider-man took a darker route that felt like it borrowed a note or two from the recent Batman flicks.

Winner: The Amazing Spider-man (I've always been a Batman fanatic so seeing Spider-man in a Batman-esque realm made me smile wider than a pie)

Final Round: Spider-man

Both versions of Spidey have their funny one liners while in the suit and add to the charm of the character. I thought The Amazing Spider-man did a better job of showing Peter's transformation after he was bit by the radioactive spider. The audience witnesses him on a subway car and gets flashes of his increased spatial awareness and incredible reflexes. He beats up an entire subway car full of people with his hand stuck to a pole and he is trying to defend himself rather than attack. It's an uniquely comical and action packed sequence.

In Spider-man, Peter Parker's "ooh ah" moment comes while he is in his bedroom at home and then follows while he is at school and he uses his web to spill a tray of food onto the school bully. He then proceeds to beat up the bully and there are moments of slow motion when the bully attempts to punch Peter. This suggests that Peter has increased reflexes, yet it isn't nearly as effective or visually exciting as Andrew Garfield's first use of his abilities. Plus, Tobey Mcguire's Spiderman tests his powers in a wrestling ring because he wants to win a car. The coolness factor definitely went missing during that sequence. 

I'm also a bigger fan of Peter Parker developing a web substance to use and strap to his wrists as opposed to web magically shooting from his wrists like in Spider-man. It doesn't make sense why his wrists would unlock the web. A spiders' legs don't unleash web. If the 2002 film were truer to the anatomy of a spider, Parker would develop a stinger on his tailbone that would produce web. That would be pretty lame if he were swinging through a city using his butt. So I understand why that was more realistic approach was ignored. 

The Amazing Spider-man further displays Peter's genius by having him develop his web capabilities and apply a device to his wrists. It also adds an additional element of suspense because Peter's wrist devices could either run out of web or get broken.

Moving forward to both Spidey's in action. They both display exciting moments swinging through the city however, it is The Amazing Spider-man that truly dazzles, especially when he is wounded and desperately tries to get to Oscorp to try and stop the apparently unstoppable Lizard. 

While watching both films, it was the newest Spider-man movie that really had me fearing that Spider-man was in serious danger and thinking that The Lizard was much more powerful. It seemed like there was no way Spider-man could defeat the villain whereas The Green Goblin, though somewhat menacing, was too cartoony to feel like a legitimate threat.

Winner: The Amazing Spider-man

The Breakdown: If you made it this far in the review, I'm sure you figured out that I enjoyed the newest Spidey flick more than the original 2002 film. The Amazing Spider-man was grittier and made you feel the pain of Peter not just as Spider-man getting beat up, but also as a teenager struggling to understand his past and find a path for his future. I give the film 3 and 1/2 stars. It gets marked down slightly because I felt their was a great opportunity that was missed. After the Lizard transformed several police officers into giant lizards, we should have seen them wreck havock on the city. Why go through the trouble of transforming them and not capitalizing on the added threat? 

As for Spider-man, I recall loving the film when it first came out. After watching it a couple days after viewing the new film, I must say, it doesn't hold up very well. The dialogue is weak and Peter isn't very relatable. Don't get me wrong, it's still a decent film, just not as good as the newest flick. I give Spider-man 2 stars.

The Amazing Spider-man is superior to its predecessor and is a great example of a very well made superhero film that effectively balances the characters and the exciting over the top action. 

Bottom Line: The newest Spider-man film is simply more AmAZiNg than the 2002 version.