The Amazing Spider-Man

The first thing that must be said about The Amazing Spider-Man is that you must view this film on it's own accord to see how spectacular it truly is.  The second thing that must be said about the film is that it must be viewed in comparison to the other films in the Spider-Man franchise, as well as every other comic book film, to see its faults.  Now I can imagine that those two concepts sound very conflicting, and in fact they may seem like exact opposites.  Essentially, that is what I was going for with those statements.  I believe that there are definitely two factions amongst moviegoers (both frequent and casual) who are both on completely opposing sides of the spectrum when it comes to loving or hating the new Spider-Man film.  One group are classified as those who hate the idea of there being a new Spider-man film so shortly after the last trilogy had ended.  The other group, who apparently have shown themselves to be much more dominate in the box office, are those who had such a bitter hatred for Spider-Man 3 that they welcomed Mark Webb's taking over a reboot of the series.  Truthfully, there are so many reasons why each side has come to their respective conclusions...but I am going to do my best to bring to light a few aspects of each of the film series to help people better understand the issues at hand.



Sam Raimi's Spider-Man

• Following the success of the X-Men film, Marvel Studies went on to produce Spider-Man.  The film completely revamped the superhero film genre and set the standard for many films to come.  
• Also like the X-Men film series, the Spider-Man series delivered quite possibly one of the most successful sequels (at the time...obv Dark Knight, Iron Man 2, etc were more successful).
• Surprisingly, Spider-Man's third movie in the series also delivered what is arguably considered one of the worst experiences in a comic book sequel.  (X-Men: The Last Stand may have that crown.  The final film needed less dancing from Peter, more Venom, and a revamped Harry Osborn that didn't ride a surfboard like glider.)
• Tobey Maguire was a terrific Spider-man and embodied the character exactly as I had imagined he would be on screen.  Aside from his very abnormal appearance in the final film, there really isn't anything bad to say about him.
• The villains in the films (mainly The Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus) set the standard for future generations of villains on screen.  Willem Dafoe will always remain in my mind as the best way of depicting the character.  Alfred Molina played an exceptional role as well, truly embodying the role of Doctor Octopus while also taking his own spin on the character.  The Sandman was also an excellent villain choice for the third film, and to be honest, had the film not been so horribly received I am sure that Thomas Haden Church would have garnered much more attention for his role in the film.
• Lastly, I want to point out the the supporting characters that stood out in this series.  Aunt May, MJ, Harry, Dr. Connors, and most importantly J. Jonah Jameson (J. K. Simmons was hilarious as the editor in chief at the Daily Bugle.  This magnificent casting of one of both Peter Parker and Spider-Man's most important villains could not have been more perfect.  His absence from the new movie can only be described as a tribute to J. K. Simmons).
• There is so much more to say about this film series that has been completely butchered by my lack of detail, as well as the obvious lack of care from all comic book fans following the reboot, that the trilogy is really not receiving the credit it deserves here.

Mark Webb's Amazing Spider-Man

• The overall casting of this film was beyond perfect.  There truly wasn't an actor out of place during any part of the film.  (Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Denis Leary, with Martin Sheen, and Sally Field just to name a few).  I actually really enjoyed seeing a new take on the character of Spider-Man.  However, I realized something upon finishing the movie that struck me as very odd.  I honestly did not care at all about the character.  I cared about what was going to happen to the Lizard, and I was worried about Aunt May, Gwen and even Captain Stacy.  I really just had no love for spider-man in this film.  The last series really made us feel the struggles Peter Parker was going through.  There were motivational quotes, dramatic scenes, and intense emotions that flowed out through the film.  I felt none of that in this film...and that is it's biggest fault. (They even needed a final scene to try and make you care about Peter Parker/his family...which still had little to no effect.)
• Remember how I said that the casting for this film was perfect?  Well it was...considering the fact that they obviously couldn't cast anyone from the last series in this one.  I seriously believe that Tobey Maguire played a better Spider-man than Andrew Garfield.  I also believe that it is completely lame how Mark Webb used the basis for some of the characters from the last series to streamline the audience right into relationships with the characters.  Really...you are using the Lizard...the villain that Sam Raimi built up to for the previous two Spider-Man films?
• Do gentlemen really prefer blondes?  I can't say for sure...but it seems that Spider-Man does.  However, I liked Kirsten Dunst as MJ in the first Spider-Man so much more than Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy in Amazing.  Now I know these are completely different characters, but honestly, I preferred Bryce Dallas Howard's performance as Gwen in Spider-Man 3 over Emma Stone's performance as well.  Flat out...she is a better actor than Emma Stone in my opinion.
• New York City looked a lot better in Raimi's trilogy.  The Amazing Spider-Man was a little too dark to see how beautiful the city can truly be.  It also made the main villain a little difficult to spot since he is dark green.  (Yes, I would have preferred a lab coat as opposed to the naked lizard we received)
• It was honestly a little too soon to make a reboot of the series.  It would be comparable to rebooting Iron man in 3 years...get the point?) 
• The Amazing Spider-Man was not a family movie.  Spider-Man (2002) was a lot of family fun and was a movie that could be enjoyed by all ages.  However, this movie is definitely fan service and not successful in sincerely being the best option for all viewers. 
• Lastly, it was smart of the new film to not go with Norman Osborn as the main villain in this film.  Just as Batman Begins waited until the second film to bring back the Joker, The Amazing Spider-Man played things smart by sticking away from contesting with the talent of Willem Dafoe. 

Conclusions 
I am going to tell you the one thing that you have been waiting to hear/read since you saw this...GO SEE THIS FILM.  It truly is an amazing movie as the title says, but that doesn't make it free from criticism just because it is a reboot of a series.  Also, just because Spider-Man 3 was not the best comic book film of all time, it should not damaged the reputation of the other films to the point of being forgotten.  There were some memorable performances in Raimi's trilogy.  (Bruce Campbell was also hilarious in all three films...and let us not forget Macho Man, R.I.P. ...) 

There is much more that needs to be said but I will leave you with this...
Give the new movie a chance, but don't forget the old trilogy either.