THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN

This cinematic reboot attempts to provide insight into the disappearance of Peter Parker’s parents, his father’s scientific findings and the quest to decipher Peter’s past. But all I saw was the same old “Spiderman origin tale” with just a more moody and angst-ridden Peter Parker. The script relies primarily on the significance of Parker’s inner turmoil, but this “Twilighted” version of Parker is plain annoying. Regardless of the shortcomings of plot and script Andrew Garfield’s turn as Parker is commendable. He flushes out this brooding rendition of the character quite nicely. Emma Stone is competent as the love interest Gwen Stacy but Denis Leary’s portrayal of Captain Stacy takes the “New York Hard-Ass Cop” routine to new heights of over-acting. Even the cinematography and special-effects of 2002’s SPIDERMAN is better and more memorable than this film’s. It’s baffling how a relatively novice director such as Marc Webb was given the task of helming the reboot of quintessentially Marvel’s flagship character. Webb is clearly in over his head. I’ll take 2007’s SPIDERMAN 3, any day over this forgettable variant. Yes, I DID go there! Gimme Tobey Maguire’s Emo Jazz-Walk any day!

Rating: 4/10

S. V. Fernando