No, not amazing !

Film: The Amazing Spider-man
Director: Marc Webb
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Irrfan
Genre: Action | Fantasy

I am unhappy to reveal that my kind heart couldn’t appreciate the insensitivity with which Marc Webb has rebooted my favorite superhero. Yes, Spider-man is my favorite superhero because when I was 12 years old, batman movies weren’t as gruesome & enthralling as they are now & at that time, Avengers were not cinematically present. To be honest there are some very sweet memories attached with Sam Raimi’s Spider-man (released in 2002).

If one’s re-booting a superhero film first thing which need modifications is a storyline. And story of The Amazing Spiderman is absolutely pale and uninteresting. First half of the film will not only make you realize how good Raimi was in constructing simple heartwarming moments but will also make you angry for the absence of novelty this film has. Basketball sequence reminded me of Koi Mil Gaya and even in that film I knew the obvious outcome (like everybody else) but I enjoyed it much more than this one. May be because today I am no more a kid or may be because today’s kids are smarter & they deserve something funnier & clever than utter silliness.  

Director Marc Webb has used his key-strength wisely and luckily, there’s one aspect in this film which is pitch perfect. Romance is marvelously rendered. Peter Parker (played by Andrew Garfield) & Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) have enough chemistry to win your heart. But hey, superhero films are basically about good vs. evil and not romance. If we underline that fact, The Amazing Spiderman fails though not completely.         

Andrew Garfield injects everything he had into Peter Parker and he succeeds. There’s not even a single scene in which one can notice imperfection from his side. And same can be said for Emma Stone. She makes Gwen a believable brave character & comfortably replaces arty Mary Jane.    

I seriously missed parker’s best friend - Harry Osbourne (played by James Franco). He is one of the significant elements of previous spider-man films and James Franco was remarkable in it. Harry’s love and hate relationship with peter parker really was riveting. Story is somewhat changed and I guess there’s no scope for that character but something substantial is much needed to fill that void.  

Coming to the action & CGI part, it’s all getting repetitive & there’s nothing much to say. 3D could’ve been more effective with some more wall-to-wall climbing & swinging scenes. There’s one scene which I immensely liked irrespective of the fact that it was devoid of tension, thrill & suspense. Idea of making 6 cars dangle on the bridge at the same time alone is worth appreciating. Webb has beautifully executed the imagination in that particular scene.

I won’t comment on the choice of villain but his motives seemed vague & Lizard / Dr. Curt Connors (played by Rhys Ifans) wasn’t menacing at all. And he is the weakest point of this ambitious film. Plus predictability also kills much of the film’s gusto.

So far I’ve not mentioned anything about our talented Irrfan Khan. You know why? Because it’s not worth mentioning.

Uncle Ben’s famous words go like this: With great power, comes great responsibility. Sony Pictures have given Webb a great power to reboot the spider-man in his own way and for the sake of good, he should better understand the latter part as soon as possible.

Rating: 2.5/5