Spidey redux

I don’t have any deep reasons as to why you should see The Amazing Spider-Man, just that you should. As a recently graduated film major, I suppose I might be expected to pick apart its plot structure and character development, but to the film’s credit, I didn’t really pay that stuff much notice this time. I simply just enjoyed watching the comic book unfold in the theater.

When I initially heard that director Marc Webb (a name destined to direct a Spider-Man film?) was remaking Sam Raimi’s 10-year-old franchise, I wasn’t too interested. But Webb’s spin on the original movie is just fresh enough to warrant a repeat. Casting newcomer Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) as Peter probably helps too. His awkward charm is well-suited for the profile of the quintessential underdog superhero.

The story’s details are a little different than previous Spiders, but the basic structure remains. Peter’s a nerdy high school kid who gets bitten by a radioactive spider in one of OsCorp’s genetic labs, and develops the proportionate super strength of a giant spider.

The succeeding murder of his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) motivates Peter to use his new abilities to fight crime anonymously, only telling crush Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) his real identity.

The film’s different flavor comes in the form of a new villain, The Lizard (Rhys Ifans), who’s also Dr. Curt Connors, an old colleague of Peter’s scientist father. When Connors uses himself as a human trial for a serum that supposedly rids the body of weakness, he transforms into a dangerous lizard-man hybrid who wreaks havoc on New York City. The battle of good versus evil ensues, and though we’ve seen it before, it’s just as exciting, even touching at times.

Kudos to Webb for making a fun summer flick that just lets you swing along for the ride without thinking too much.