Amazing Spider-Man 1, The (2012) [Blu-ray 3D]
Action | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline: His past was kept from him. His search for answers has just begun.

Teenage social outcast Peter (Andrew Garfield) spends his days trying to unravel the mystery of his own past and win the heart of his high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). A mysterious briefcase belonging to his father, who abandoned him when he was a child, leads Peter to his dad's former partner, Dr. Connors. The discovery of his father's secret will ultimately shape his destiny of becoming "Spider-Man" and bring him face to face with Connors' villainous alter ego, the Lizard.

Storyline: Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy, and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr Curt Connors, his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero. Written by Nicky Mitchell

User Comment: *** This review may contain spoilers *** Mek Torres from Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines, 29 June 2012 • For some people, it's questionable for Spider-Man to get a reboot. The first film of Sam Raimi's version was just a decade ago and some considered it as a cult classic. Though, one might complain for not being too faithful to the comic books. The first film rushes a lot to the story. Like, Mary Jane was already the love interest and Peter Parker immediately left High School. This edition tries to be a lot more faithful to the comic book. The result is great. The film works better in the drama. The pacing may be too quick in some parts but it's still fun and heartwarming as it suppose to be.

If you've already seen the 2002 version of Spider-Man then definitely you won't find a lot of thing here new. The only things that are new here is Peter Parker's father and the new ways how Spidey's powers work. Unlike the original Spider-Man stories, the use of his powers is not as simple as it looks. Here, he needs a device to shoot a web perfectly. He accidentally sticks at objects. He always cause a lot of damage. But it looks credible. What's more credible is when he wasn't quite a professional swinger at his first fights.

In some parts, it paces way too quickly and sometimes it feels rushed. This happens in the third act and the montages when Peter was developing his costume. The rest is pretty fine, but the quickness of the pacing of those parts is still noticeable. There are also parts that feels forced like Dr. Conners becoming evil because he became the Lizard. Aside from those, the film is good in drama. It has plenty of genuine emotion and heart. Even in the action scenes. One thing that never fails is the message of being a hero. It's not always about fighting crimes and saving the day. It's all about the hero's character.

Andrew Garfield is indeed the best choice to play Peter Parker. He's a talented actor and he made Peter Parker a realistic character. Emma Stone is also great to her role. She made her character more than just a love interest. In other filmmaking, fans might miss Danny Elfman's music but James Horner's score is effective to the scenes. The action is fun enough and the CGI is works well enough. It has plenty of POVs to make it look exciting in both 2D and 3D.

The Amazing Spider-Man is almost the best Spider-Man movie. It has an incredible hero and an incredible villain living in a world that is close to reality. He is not yet professional to his own powers. He is a teenager who needs to be responsible. The drama is more effective in this film than the recent trilogy. Although I complain too much about the pacing, the depth of the story makes you think that awesome set pieces and perfect filmmaking doesn't quite matter. Because it's a superhero film that cares more than just action. The action scenes are great but the mind blowing effect here is the heart and the man behind the mask.

Summary: A Credible World.

[CSW] -3.0- This movie will hold you interest the entire time and the battles between Spider-Man and The Lizard are pretty breathtaking but it is a new take on a well-worn genre. The new take might disappoint the real graphic novel Spider-Man fans. I simply found it different but not better. There was great chemistry between the leads and the acting was top notch but somehow the story line, like the other Spider-Man movies, left me with the feeling that while it was a good movie it wasn't a great movie. I suggest you rent this one to decide for yourself before going out and buying it. I understand that the 3D special effects are fantastic and the action sequences are extremely impressive in 3D. If the price for the 3D version gets low enough I'll add it to my collection but until then I'll pass.
[V4.5-A5.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box motion codes were available at the time of this rental although they are available now.

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