The Amazing Spiderman may not amaze, but it should entertain

As a kid I loved Spiderman. My mom made embroidered me a Spiderman jacket (a prize I still cherish today). I subscribed to every comic Spiderman was featured in: The Amazing Spiderman; Marvel Team-Up; Marvel Tales; Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spiderman; Spiderman; The Electric Company’s Spiderman as well as purchased (or dreamed of purchasing) the countless other comics Spiderman would show up in to aid a fellow hero (X-men, Avengers, Cloak and Dagger, etc).

Yet, when news came of this “reboot” of the Spiderman franchise I felt a bit superheroed-out. I felt indifference.

But of course, I went anyway and was reminded about why the character is so much fun.

The lastest Amazing Spiderman reboot is an orgin story, but doesn’t labor on it. It stays true to the spirit of the comics (though a note to the producers: don’t have Spiderman’s mask come off so often) and starts the characters at an earlier age, which is fun too.

Andrew Garfield captures the spirit of the earnest outcast Peter Parker (aka: Spiderman). He’s banters with criminals more like the comic character, and he moves like a Ted McFarlane animation come to life. Emma Stone captures the beauty of Gwen Stacy and even Flash Thompson the bully that plagues then befriends Parker, is given a prominent roll.

The main villain in this outing is The Lizard, the alter-ego of Dr. Curt Conners, played by Rhys Ifans (most famous for his quirky role in Notting Hill). Much negative buzz has slammed him as ineffectual in the role, but I didn’t feel the buzz had merit. Ifans did a fine job. The Dr. Conners of the comics was mild-mannered and a friend to parker–it was only when The Lizard took over that he was dangerous. And the adaptation of the lizard here is a lot of fun. I missed the white labcoat it wore in the comics, but there was a nod to that in the film as well. A fight scene between Spiderman and Lizard at the high school really made the comic come to life.

I think comic fans will appreciate this new approach for it’s loyalty to the comics, while less devoted fans will just have a good time watching their friendly neighborhood hero come to life again.

Even though it serves as a “reboot” I think it’s better just to recognize that, like James Bond, people just love this character and thanks to Sony, they won’t have to wait a decade to wash the flavor of Spiderman 3 out of their memories.

The Amazing Spiderman may not be amazing, but it’s a heck of a lot of fun.

BONUS: Stay in your seats for a little bonus scene. It’s not much, but it appears to feature a classic villain….