Trailer Analysis: The Amazing Spider-Man
It is a bit odd to see a reboot on such a successful series so quickly, but with the direction that Marc Webb is taking this looks as if it could surpass Sam Raimi's version. Raimi's version was not entirely true to the source content of the Spider-man comic books and frequently traded in the darker tones for a more light hearted affair. Now, granted, Spider-man the character is a sarcastic young man which neither Raimi or Tobey Maguire capture. Judging by a few shots within the trailers that have been released it seems that Webb and Andrew Garfield have a good understanding of how to convey the character to audiences. It also trades in the light hearted affair that Raimi went with for a much more darker tone focused on the growth of young Peter Parker.
The trailer starts off by showing Peter's romance with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). It is nice to see a different love interest for Peter, especially considering the possibilities of story lines that she brings in. Gwen's father, George (Denis Leary), happens to be running a man hunt on the one that they call Spider-man. When Peter hears of this, he explains to George that Spider-man is simply doing the things that the police force can not, which he does not take well. The impressive thing about the trailer is it seems as if the origins story of Spider-man will not entirely be a big part of the film. Which it shouldn't considering we heard the story not to long ago and it is still pretty fresh in our brain. Peter is also incredibly sarcastic, which Andrew Garfield does a terrific job of making him a terrific choice for the part. I was a bit hesitant about the film when I heard that he landed the part but after seeing The Social Network, I could see it. One of the bigger questions this trailer brings up, is what significance will Peter's father play into the plot? I doubt that it be anything more than Doctor Curt Connors having a relationship as co-workers before his death. The trailer does seem to hint at the fact that his father did some previous work with spiders. It would be interesting then if possibly Peter receives his powers in another method rather than a spider bite. Perhaps, his father's work on spiders is simply because of Peter being born with such powers. The first trailer tends to make people believe he does get bit, while this one hints at spiders having something to do with his past and his father's research.
It was also nice to see a couple of shots of the villain of the film, The Lizard. The villain that was frequently hiding under our noses in the Raimi Spider-man. He is a good villain because he is an ally of Peter's but because of a mistake in a medical experiment, the two created a monster. In a sense then, Curt Connors/The Lizard is a case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or even more so, a werewolf. As when he is in his human form as Curt Connors he does not retain any of his super powers. Ultimately, he brings in a lot of possibilities in terms of story telling as he will be an ally turned monster. It is even shown in the trailer that Peter feels obligated to take him down as he helped create the monster. The final fight between the two is the thing most will talk about however. For those who read the comics, they know that Gwen Stacy suffered a horrible death on a bridge as the Green Goblin had Spider-Man attempt to rescue her as he threw her from the top. Spider-Man used his webs to catch her but the whiplash effect from the catch, caused her death. Now all of that is a moot point, as Emma Stone is signed on for more films in the franchise. However, the final fight is on a bridge but I doubt that they would do something where Spider-Man is forced to save Gwen from falling to her death (ala Spiderman 1 with Green Goblin/Spider-Man and Mary Jane). The final fight on the bridge will not set up a death but rather cement Spider-Man as the protector of the city. Spider-Man will be viewed as a vigilante, an enemy to the city, but the Lizard will be viewed as the bigger threat. Mind you, all of this is speculation from educated guesses. Either way, I am surprised to say that I am actually now looking forward to this film as well.
