Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man
The background
It seems the flagging Spider-Man film franchise is back in business, after critics roundly praised latest installment The Amazing Spider-Man. Despite coming fourth in the series, the film goes back to the beginning, to when Peter Parker was just a sulky, distinctly un-super teenager until that fateful encounter with a genetically modified spider.
Spider-Man 3, starring Tobey Maguire and directed by Sam Raimi, was widely panned. But with new stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone and director Marc 500 Days of Summer Webb, The Amazing Spider-Man may yet win back fans.
Action meets emotion
“Webb successfully treads a fine line between keeping the hardcore superhero-movie fans happy and injecting a dose of meaningful affect,” wrote Andrew Pulver in The Guardian. “It’s the successful synthesis of the two – action and emotion – that means this Spider-Man is as enjoyable as it is impressive.” However, the film suffers from a CGI-overdose at the end when Rhys Ifans goes on the rampage as Spidey-nemesis Lizard, said Pulver.
A gentle Spider-Man for a younger audience
“Garfield is a kinder, gentler, sweeter Spider-Man than his predecessors, and may be intended to appeal as much to teenage fangirls as fanboys,” said Kate Muir in The Times (£). Muir also praised Stone’s “punchy” performance as love interest Gwen Stacy, but pointed out that both actors look a little old for their teenage roles. “The adult irony we saw in the more accomplished Avengers Assemble is missing here, but The Amazing Spider-Man is aimed at a younger audience,” Muir wrote.
A superhero movie for women
“Amid all of the soul-searching and lip-biting, it suddenly struck me: Webb has created the first superhero movie aimed primarily at women,” said Robbie Collin in The Telegraph. There’s still plenty of action to satisfy the fanboys, but the central romance is key to the film. “Raimi’s films were for the teenage boys who used to dress up in Spider-Man pyjamas; Webb’s is for girls whose other halves may soon be dressing up in Spider-Man pajamas for their benefit,” Collin wrote.
