It’s been a crazy week for comic book fans and that’s largely due to the release of the teaser trailers for next year’s three big comic book movies. We’ve had The Dark Knight Rises teaser, and a leaked trailer for The Avengers. Next up is next year’s The Amazing Spider-Man, directed by Marc Webb, starring Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker Spider-Man, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey and Rhys Ifans as Dr Curt Conners, aka The Lizard.
So what did I think? Well firstly I am a huge fan of the change of tone this series seems to be taking. I personally found the Sam Raimi trilogy guilty of skipping pass the important issues that really define who Peter Parker is. Some fans are sceptical of the writers choosing to revisit Parker’s origin, but the trailer shows just how dramatic and serious his origin is actually meant to be, and that going back to basics give them a chance to pull off a origin story similar to that of Batman Begins. Spider-Man should not be dark, but I wouldn’t call losing your parents at a young age, losing your uncle during your teenage years, then becoming a superhero which the public and the press are constantly sceptical of a light story nevertheless. What makes Peter Parker such a relatable character is how he picks himself up and fights through these issues whilst remaining as upbeat as possible. The Amazing Spider-Man looks to have captured that tone perfectly.
One of the main criticisms of Tony Maguire’s Spider-Man was that he didn’t look a skinny nerd. This is where Garfield looks to best his predecessor, as he seems to pull off both the Peter Parker look and The Spider-Man look with ease. I was worried they were cutting out some of Parker’s humour, but early reports from Comic-Con footage suggests the film finds a perfect balance between drama and humour which is essential to the Spider-Man mythos. We haven’t really had much of wise cracking Spidey film, so I can’t wait to see what Garfield brings to the table next year.
We saw a glimpse of Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey, and whilst it’s too early to judge her performance, from the brief moments we say her and Peter together, they seemed to have good chemistry. If Garfield and Stone can keep the chemistry going, this could easily been the definitive Spider-Man film yet. We got a glimpse of Rhys Ifans as Dr Curt Conners, and it’s a safe bet he will act like a father figure to Parker before becoming the monstrous Lizard.
Towards the end of the trailer we see some first person footage of Spider-Man swinging through the streets of New York. Whilst for now it looks a bit too similar to the video game Mirrors Edge, it at least gives us something different. I can’t wait to see how Webb and crew have handled the practical effects, as seeing a real life Spidey swinging over the streets gives us a much more realistic viewing experience.
All and all I have been completely one over by the Spider-Man reboot. The teaser trailer was great, and now the film’s already in pre-production with over a year until the film’s release to go, there’s lots of time for Webb and crew to get the film as polished as possible. Maybe reboots aren’t such a bad thing; The Amazing Spider-Man truly does look amazing.