How Amazing Is This Spider-Man?

Celebrating the release of the bluray, I thought it would be the perfect time to have a look at The Amazing Spider-Man. 

Spectacular visual effects...

Spider-Man is amazing. And the same can be said about the extensive visual effects. Sony Picture Imageworks garnered tons of respect for their work on Men In Black 3 and this one shouldn't go by unnoticed. All the web-swinging action shot in native stereoscopic 3D is breathtaking. There is this one particular shot of the Oscorp Tower from above which, when seen in 3D, is particularly jaw-dropping. I myself haven't had the best of experiences with post-converted 3D but there's a huge difference. And for those of you that really don't care when it comes to 2D or 3D, lets just say that Amazing Spider-Man is best-watched in 3D.

Andrew Garfield plays a true-to-the-comics Peter Parker...

I don't know about you but I prefer Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker way over Toby Maguire's. He plays our friendly neighbourhood geek in the most convincing manner. Unlike Toby, Andrew reacts much better when faced with his fears and overcomes them while keeping his innocence intact. For example, I thoroughly enjoyed watching him stand up to a bully. This is a Peter Parker who already has a 'superhero mentality' even before he's bitten by a radioactive-steroid-infused spider. 

Not too keen on Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy...

I'm not an Emma Stone fan, okay? And seeing as how I'm not an Emma Stone fan, I can't judge her acting. Essentially, I think any actress could have played her part and done a great job. Aside from her hair, I don't think there was anything particularly interesting about Gwen Stacy - aside from the fact that she is Peter's love interest...and her father is always at Spider-man's throat as the Head honcho of NYPD. Probably because her presence wasn't very noticeable in the earlier Spider-man movies so there's no material to contrast to. Anyway, she's cool. 

The Lizard is the single greatest thing about this movie...

Yep, you read it here first. Rhys Ifans plays what will go down as one of the greatest villains in comic book history: The Lizard. Dr. Kurt Connors, a colleague of Peter's father is on the brink of evolving the human species through scientific means. And that's where it all goes downhill. Having spent his life's work on research that will apparently turn humans into a better species---wait did I say that already? I mean't lizards! Yeah, lizards! That is Connors' idea of a perfect species. 

Rhys Ifans plays a Connors as if no one is more capable of doing so. Despite the Lizard being all CG from top to bottom, you can see the character beyond the scaly skin. This Lizard has a personality; a plan. And his plan is only one small step for an amphibian, as you'll see in the movie. Spider-man barely poses a threat to him, and that's not cool. On one side we have a hero that's being hunted by all of Manhattan's finest. But on the other hand, he literally gets squashed like a bug. 

The film concludes with a lot of emotion. Obviously, I won't give it away. But for those of you planning to pick up bluray copies, be willing to sit through a not-so-happy ending. 

That's it for my take on The Amazing Spiderman. Cheers! :)