Now Watching: The Amazing Spider-Man

I’m just in a really good mood. We live in a world where there are fucking four Spider-Man movies. What can I even complain about in life? Nothing.

Amazing Spider-Man is a reboot of the franchise made famous by Sam Raimi. This also means it is crippled by the franchise made famous by Sam Raimi, since ol’ Evil Dead went and stole all the origin sequences from the comic books. So, The Amazing Spider-Man improvised. And, personally, I think it worked quite well.

Everything sort of compiles nicely into one neat little universe. It does not at any time feel forced or convenient, however—it just works. Comic nerds, get off your soap boxes—yes they fucked with the origin, but you know what? It doesn’t fucking matter. It’s the same ol’ Spidey, thwip-thwipin’ his way across NY. Except, actually, this is a better Spidey. My original prediction was that Garfield would be a superior Spider-Man and Macguire would remain the superior Peter Parker. Not so! Garfield excels at both. It’s really exceptional.

But, you know what was beter? Dr. Curt Connors.

I didn’t know who the fuck Rhys Ifans was before this movie, but I actually love him now. Okay, that’s not true—I love him as Connors. Why? Because he’s pitch-perfect. Admittedly the new Lizard design is a bit Killer Croc for my tastes, but as a villain he’s played marvelously. There’s some really stand-out confrontations, and every battle in this film feels much more comic book than any of Raimi’s films. 

Don’t get me wrong—I love the original Spider-Man trilogy. They are, however, much more cinematic. Amazing Spider-Man, despite all the changes in continuity, feels much more comics. And I love it.