I Supposed That It Does Not Matter Who Wears The Spidey Costume...

I Supposed It Does Not Matter Who Is Wearing The Spidey Costume…

There has been over a half dozen James Bond and different faces donning the garb of The-Cape-Crusader, and now too another playing the role of ‘The Amazing Spiderman.’ No disrespect to Toby McGuire, but the new kid on the block portraying Spiderman has fit snugly into the costume; and, granted, that the new minted young Peter Parker is a throwback to the Kurt-Cobain-Grunged era, at least in his appearance, and has that brooding spaniel smile that in a twinkle-of-an-eye can mimic pity, loathing, Nerdom, and bravado. The Amazing Spiderman movie begins with the young Peter Parker accidentally invading his father’s private study, which is ransacked…, upon the father seeing his office in disarray… Peter Parker and the audience realize that by looking at the chalk board with the strange formulas and the secret compartment of his father’s desk that Papi Parker is into the “cloak and dagger” game or into something that warrants hush, hush secrets. Just before Senior Parker and wife disappear… Peter Parker is left with the Aunt May (Sally Field) and Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) we are familiar with.

It is indeed amazing how the writers crammed everything into the Amazing Spiderman movie, which is tantamount to a reboot of the franchise and succeeded. The new Peter Parker, played by Andrew Garfield, has the acting chops to be the geeky Parker being preyed upon by school yard bullies; the precocious book-smart teenager; and the physical comedy it took to pull off the hilarious mishaps when he first discovered and yet to adjust to his new found powers. The new Spiderman movie is also about choices and how that even something that seems inconsequential like taking someone’s spot in a study group… that there are consequences - sometimes dire. It is these so called inconsequential choices, like in real life, that will cause Peter Parker the pain of loss in the death of his beloved Uncle Ben… and these same choices and their consequences that will shape Peter Parker’s destiny… mirroring what happens in our respective lives.

The action scenes are breathtaking and incredible because they seem to take place in the crowded claustrophobic settings of the New York badlands and yet Spiderman still has room to skillfully maneuver - there is one action scene in particular where Spiderman inadvertently put a “beat-down” on a group in a crowded subway car, which is funny, scary, and awe inspiring, especially knowing that Spiderman powers were in the infant stage then. Do not fret, there is a Reptilian bad guy, who, again, is borne out of choices and Peter Parker’s pass; and it is a lesson that no matter how gifted man becomes in mental faculties… his attempt to improve the Human condition is fraught with danger, even with ‘good’ intentions. One may think that casting comedian Dennis Leary as the police chief is miscasting, but it is indeed brilliant. Mr. Leary brings that tinge of sarcasm and skepticism about the so called web hero running around in New York to the screen; watch Leary eat up the dialogue and relishing the lines when he is rhetorically asking if he is the mayor of New York when he is told about a giant lizard loose in the Big Apple.

The Amazing Spiderman ends with redemption and the heroic destiny for Peter Parker, but we also see the burden of heroes and what they must give up… like love because of the inherent danger for those the heroes care about. We get the feeling that promises may be broken because the tug of the greatest drug - love/passion - may cause these heroes, including Spiderman, to take the chance and break well intentioned promises, and dare fall in love, notwithstanding the mortal danger to the mere mortals involved… but isn’t why that the love portion is so addicting, even to Superheroes….