Classic Film Review #37: The Amazing Spider-Man
Across the Spider-Verse has been out for just over a month now and has completely taken the world by storm, so much so that it made me want to go back and revisit some other films in the webhead’s canon, particularly those of my favourite live-action Spidey, Andrew Garfield.
The 2012 reinvention had largely been frowned upon until the recent release of No Way Home prompted a reappraisal from some sections of the internet. However, I’m here to tell you that it has always been the case that Marc Webb’s first film is possibly the purest live-action adaptation of the character to date.
It wouldn’t feel right for me to start this review by not talking about Garfield’s performance as Peter Parker. The most common criticism I hear of this interpretation is that he’s simply ‘too cool’. And, on the surface, this may appear to be the case. He rides a skateboard, he’s well-dressed, he stands up to bullies, etc. But, what people forget about is all the loneliness and guilt perfectly shown through the script and the performance.
One of my favourite things about this Peter is that he doesn’t become the hero straight away and that he is fuelled by revenge for perhaps longer than the audience is comfortable with. He’s not completely black and white. It’s only during the attack on the bridge that he truly earns the title of Spider-Man. The saving of Jack is perhaps one of the most inspiring Spidey sequences, as Peter reassures him and eventually successfully delivers him back to his father, leading to the eventual payoff of the crane sequence. I think people forget that the story is full of these hopeful scenes that really capture all the reasons why Spidey as a character is so special.
On top of that, we’re treated to the fantastic score by James Horner, who never disappoints, and here he captures the more subtle, quiet moments, whilst also nailing the more bombastic superhero stuff we’ve come to expect from this genre. In fact, this theme was so perfect that Michael Giachinno and Jon Watts chose to use it again with Andrew’s appearance in No Way Home.
The performances from everyone else are also stellar. Of course, everyone loves Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacey, but a surprise for me on re-watch was Sally Field as Aunt May. While she doesn’t get a whole lot to do, her scenes with Andrew Garfield really establish a relationship the likes of which we rarely see between these two characters. My mind goes back to the scene between them in the kitchen when Peter first comes home late bruised and beaten from his search for Ben’s killer. It’s almost difficult to watch at times and both actors completely sell it.
Now, of course, this film does have it’s problems, such as its wonky pacing and underwhelming villain. But, as someone who has seen all the deleted scenes and the behind the scenes content, it’s clear that these problems appear due to the amount of interference from Sony, and not because Webb didn’t try hard enough. At the end of the day, I think it’s clear just how much love and care was put into this version of Spider-Man, from the costumes to the VFX, to the performances. It may not have ended up being perfect, but it is a very memorable and enjoyable watch and I think it all clearly came from a place of great love for the wall-crawler, so I couldn't have asked for anything more.
