The Amazing Spider-Man begins with Richard and Mary
Parker leaving their son Peter with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Richard is a
scientist who covers his tracks and erases his black board before he and his
wife die in a car crash.
The scene
flash forwards to the present with Peter Parker meeting Gwen Stacy in high
school. Peter discovers his father was working with Dr. Curt Connors who is a
geneticist at Oscorp Industries. He sneaks into Oscorp where he meets Gwen
Stacy and Dr. Connors. After being bitten by a genetically altered spider,
Peter discovers his amazing abilities in a subway car. Later Peter doesn’t
prevent a convenience store robbery, which leads to the death of his Uncle Ben.
The movie
moves forward as the inspiration for Peter’s costume comes from a wrestling
mask while his web-shooters are developed by materials from Oscorp. Peter
dresses up in costume and catches the bad guys which draw the attention of
Captain George Stacy, Gwen’s father, as well as the NYPD.
The movie
is fast-paced, action-packed driven storyline. The first hour sets up Peter
Parker and the cast. The second half of the movie begins the transformation of
Dr. Connors into the Lizard and his relationship with Gwen Stacy. His
relationship becomes complicated when Peter reveals to Gwen he is Spider-Man as
the Lizard is on the loose. The Lizard discovers Spider-Man’s identity and
confronts him at his high school. Peter soon tracks Dr. Connors underground lab
where he discovers the Dr. Conners will turn the city in lizards using Oscorp Tower
Meanwhile
Gwen Stacy heads to Oscorp to find a antidote as Spider-Man wrestles with the
NYPD. Captain Stacy discovers Peter is Spider-Man and a city-wide evacuation is
ordered. The Lizard heads towards Oscorp to carry out his plans while construction
workers create a make-shift bridge so Spider-Man would be able to each the Oscorp Tower
The
Lizard disables his web-shooters and unmasks him as Captain Stacy arrives to
help. Captain Stacy gives Spider-Man the antidote before the Lizard fatality
injures him. Spider-Man manages to substitute Gwen’s antidote causing the
Lizard to revert back to Dr. Connors. The funeral for Captain Stacy is held as
both Peter and Gwen have lost loved ones. After watching the action-packed Avengers film in May, The Amazing Spider-Man is an emotional,
heart-felt film bringing the character back to its Marvel roots however lacks the suspense needed to surpass the first Spider-Man trilogy which was release only 10 years ago.
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT – 3 OUT OF 5
