The Amazing Spider-Man

Simply Amazing

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Rated: PG-13  Sequences of action and violence.
Release Date: July 3, 2012
Runtime:  2 hours 16 minutes

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Director: Marc Webb
Writers: James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent, Steve Kloves, based on characters created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
Cast:  Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field

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SYNOPSIS: Young Peter Parker is left in the care of his Aunt May and Uncle Ben by his parents. As a high schooler, Peter finds clues to who his parents were, the work they did, and the associates they kept - becoming a powerful superhero in the process.

REVIEW: (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb, also known for video documentaries for 3 Doors Down, No Doubt, and Green Day, gets bitten by an irradiated spider in a web of superhero films for the some say too-soon reboot of the Spider-man franchise. Based on the character created by Marvel Comics' Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and written by the team of The Losers James Vanderbilt, Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 scribe Alvin Sargent, and Harry Potter franchise screenwriter Steven Kloves, Marc Webb has a rich comic history to draw from to reinvent the onscreen teenage hero once more.

When their house is broken into in search for hidden documents Richard (Campbell Scott,The Exorcism of Emily Rose) and Mary Parker (Embeth Davidtz, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) take their son Peter to the young boy's Aunt May (Sally Field, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde) and Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World) to care for. Leaving their son behind, Richard and Mary Parker disappear and do not return. As a teenager in high school, Peter (Andrew Garfield, The Social Network) is an awkward loner who takes his fair share of abuse from fellow student Flash Thompson (Chris Zylka, Shark Night 3D) while he looks out for the other cannon fodder in Flash's path. When he finds his father's briefcase in Uncle Ben's flooded basement, Peter finds scientific evidence that links his father to both Oscorp and former colleague Doctor Curtis Connor (Rhys Ifans, The Five-Year Engagement). Investigating further, Peter goes to Oscorp to find out more from Connors, but also gets bitten by a genetically engineered spider of his father's own creation. Gaining powers from the bite, Peter finds that he can stand up to Flash and whoever else stands in his way. But when his change in behavior and poor decision-making results in his Uncle Ben's death, Peter dons a costume of his own design to exact vengeance on the man responsible. As the masked vigilante Spider-Man Peter swings rampant through New York City in search of his Uncle's killer, gaining the attention of police captain Stacy (Denis Leary, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs). He also gains the attention of fellow classmate Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone, Crazy, Stupid, Love) in a more favorable way. When Peter gives one of his father's equations to Doctor Connors, the geneticist is able to complete a regenerative serum that his boss Norman Osborn needs to survive. Forced to the point of testing the serum on himself, Connors regains his missing arm but also turns into a hulking lizard-like monster. In spite of being hunted by the police, Peter's alter-ego Spider-Man must give it his all to protect Gwen, his aunt, and the city from the rampaging and destructive Lizard (see The Amazing Spider-Man: Who is the Lizard?).

Marc Webb and his team of writers reimagine the popular Sam Raimi and Toby Maguire Spider-Man franchise by tearing the lead character down to his roots with a new web spin of one of Marvel's most beloved characters. With this controversial reboot launching only a few years after Raimi's Spider-Man 3, it is near impossible to not draw comparisons between the two franchises. Pulling inspiration starting from 'The Amazing Spider-Man' #365 and the 1997 'Untold Tales of Spider-Man' #1, this version opens with the introduction of Peter's parents as scientists working on something so important that others are trying to take the work for their own ends. Instead of Mary Jane Watson as Peter's love interest, we are treated with Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy, Peter's original love interest. Raimi may have cast for Mary Jane because she is more recognizable in the Spider-Man mythos, but Gwen Stacy is a pivotal character in Peter's life ('nuf said!). I will also say that Emma Stone is wonderful and breathtaking as Gwen, drawing more than just Peter Parker into her confidence. The origin of the radioactive spider bite has changed with the times (again), this time dealing with genetically altered arachnids that Peter's own father helped to create.

Webb's Peter Parker is a young brilliant mind in the body of a withdrawn loner, more comfortable behind the camera lens as the high school photographer than being part of the human dynamic. Raimi did the same thing with Maguire's Peter, but Garfield is more skater and hoodie than Maguire's straight-laced boy scout protagonist. Looking at this movie, I realize that Garfield's portrayal is much more faithful to the comic version of the character than Mcguire ever was - in look and in style. Garfield adds in facial ticks, eye aversions, and social awkwardness that add layers onto the character. Raimi's Aunt May (played by the incomparable Rosemary Harris) looked exactly the way you would expect her to look if pulled straight from the comics, but Sally Field more embodies May's fierce, capable and loving nature. And while a fan of Cliff Robertson, Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben is more vibrant and alive, with years ahead of him before he sleeps.

This time around, we get to see a Spider-Man rogue that hasn't appeared in any of the previous films. Well, that is not entirely true. Dylan Baker played Doctor Curt Connors in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, but never evolved (or devolved?) into the monster known as The Lizard. While I feel for Baker and his time 'on the bench', Rhys Ifans does a spectacular job in the reboot of the franchise. His villainous reptilian monster is more than capable in dealing with the novice hero. I miss the elongated alligator-type snout of The Lizard from the comics, but I understand that choices had to be made for practicality in order for the Lizard to speak intelligently - not just hiss mindlessly. The numerous battle scenes between Spider-Man and The Lizard are brilliant, with brutal thrashings and stomach-dropping aerials. And Webb does his arachnid homework by introducing the interesting concept of the sensitivity of webbing as a tracking device just like a spider on its web waiting for a fly to buzz to close. In Amazing Spider-Man faces off against a worthy adversary in the hulking form of The Lizard. And along the way, we also find ourselves sympathizing with Doctor Connors as a redeemable individual, not just a villain.

In truth, I was blown away by Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. I enjoyed Toby Maguire as Peter Parker and Spider-Man. I loved the antic of J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons, Contraband) and the semi-campy nature of the films. I also considered Doctor Octopus from the first sequel as the best of the series' villains, unhappy with the mechanized Green Goblin from the first film. Marc Webb and his collaborators take Peter down a darker road (a la Batman Begins) with strong ties to the source materials. There was still a little feel-good campiness in Webb's version that I was distracted by, namely a bunch of crane operators, but The Amazing Spider-Man will delight and awe.

The Amazing Spider-Man, in spite of the supposed rush to reboot and revitalize the Sony property as a tent pole franchise, delivers on its promise. A great untold story surrounding Peter's superhero origin, coupled with great character casting, unbelievable action aerials and fights (check it out in IMAX 3D!), and fine comics drama, you will be caught in this movie's web!

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WORTH: Friday Night and Blu-Ray

The Amazing Spider-Man: Who Is The Lizard?

The Lizard

THERE MAY BE CONTENT BELOW THAT COULD BE SPOILERS FOR THE UPCOMING 'THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN'

Read full review of The Amazing Spider-Man now!

Doctor Curtis 'Curt' Connors is a gifted surgeon who first appeared in issue #6 of The Amazing Spider-man in 1963. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Doctor Connors and his alter-ego that came to be known as the Lizard have become mainstay characters in the long standing run several of the Spider-man series.

Originally from Coral Gables, Florida, Doctor Curt Connors became a gifted surgeon who eventually enlisted in the U.S. Amy and was sent off to war as a surgeon for the troops on the battlefields.  During one battle a bomb blast injured his arm, requiring the appendage to be amputated. When Connors was discharged from service and returned to civilian life he became a genetic researcher, becoming obsessed with trying to take reptilian DNA to regrow appendages in lab animals. Showing promise and success, Connors decided to inject himself with the serum in an effort to regenerate his own missing arm. Unfortunately, the major side-effect to the serum proved to be that Connors turned into a monstrous reptilian humanoid - The Lizard. Losing his mental faculties in place of a more aggressive primal instinct, Connors as the Lizard was eventually subdued by the Amazing Spider-man and returned to his natural form with a serum cure.

As Doctor Connors, the geneticist and surgeon has been an asset to both Peter Parker and his alter-ego Spider-man on many occasions, both assisting in combating several of Spider-man's villains with his scientific skills and even saving the life of life of Peter Parker's Aunt May. Unfortunately, the cure that was originally administered to reform Connors to human form was not permanent. Whenever Connors was overly stressed or came in contact with a combination of the chemicals that were ingredients in the original reptile formula, his would lose his command on his human form and revert to the seemingly unstoppable Lizard again. Each time the Lizard would make an appearance, Spider-man would have to battle him into submission to administer a modified version of the anti-formula to return Doctor Curt Connors to his original form.

Several of the Marvel Studios films have based their origin stories for their heroes on updated and modern variations or have pulled inspiration from the Marvel's Ultimate Universe. As an update, Tony Stark's capture was moved from the jungles of the Asia / Pacific Rim to the dry sands of the Middle East. As a nod to Marvel's Ultimates, Captain Steve Rogers awoke from his icy stasis in a hospital bed in New York City under SHIELD supervision versus found by the original Avengers in a submarine in the arctic. From The Amazing Spider-Man trailer, Peter's father and mother leave him in the care of his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. In the original series, the readers were never really given a reason as to why. But in modern tales, Peter's mother and father have taken on the roles of scientists and, possibly, spies. In the Ultimate Universe, Peter Parker knows that Connors and his father worked together on projects, trusting him when he was injured as Spider-man. Connors took DNA from Peter and inadvertently created the symbiotic evil force known as Carnage. Some of these story threads made find themselves into Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man.

The Lizard has many heightened abilities similar to that of a lizard or non-specific reptile. 

• Superhuman strength, speed, agility, reflexes, stamina, and durability.
• A heightened healing factor.
• Hardened scale-like skin.
• Razor-sharp teeth and claws.
• Dangerous 6 foot long tail.
• Ferocious, bestial nature.

A personal favorite story arc from Marvel Comics came from Todd MacFarlane's launch of Spider-Man The Spider-man villain Calypso used magic to control the Lizard, reducing the creature to a mindless bestial state. In the first four or five issues of the series were filled with gorgeous artwork from MacFarlane, with battle after battle between Calypso, the Lizard and Spider-man. The wall crawler eventually defeated both villains and assumed that both had perished.

I will have to say that I feel bad that actor Dylan Baker, who played the one-armed Doctor Kurt Connors in both Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 never got his due to play one of Spider-Man's rogues in either of the films or the rumored 4th Sam Raimi film. Rhys Ifans is a phenomenal actor and will play Doctor Connors as well as he played the stalking friend opposite Daniel Craig in the 2004 Enduring Love, but who have to feel a little pity for Dylan for being the Spider-man villain who never got off the bench.