Posted by The too-soon reboot of Spider Man has returned with a vengeance. There is actually quite a lot of vengeance in this movie, but I enjoyed it.
First off, as Jump the Shark pointed out in the theater: Spider-Man is fun again mostly because Peter Parker, as played by British actor Andrew Garfield, is witty once more. Spidey is not a Harry Desden smart-ass, but he never stops joking to deal with the pressure. This concept was almost completely absent from Tobey Maguire’s mopey emo Spidey, and it continues to be a breath of fresh air to have him back.
A seven-man team of writers put this film together, and it shows. The screen play was full of witty comments, and every line was tweaked until it squeaked. Good writing, great special effects, and a nicely nuanced performance by Dane DeHaan as the Green Goblin/Harry Osbourne.
This film and its predecessor go to show you that casting counts, folks. Andrew Garfield made his chops in the razor-sharp British Drama scene with edgy indie work like Boy A. Dane DeHaan’s ability to slide into madness on cue, with total credibility, hit the screen with Chronicle. The casting was inspired because Garfield must play a boy thrust into an alien world, half-crushed by the pressure, and moving forward. DeHaan had to step up and match such dramatic greats as Willem Dafoe (he leaves James Franco in the dust).
The plot wasn’t remarkable apart from the opening scene and the raw amount of event that takes place in a single film.
Visually pleasing, dramatically solid, action-packed, and excellent, this is not the epic Captain America is because it lacks the deeper truth and unity of that story, but it is one of the best Spidey stories I’ve come across in a long time.
Lagrandil 