Review by Elliott
What another Spiderman!?! Didn’t they just put one out a few years ago? All new actors, villains and story? There’s no need to make another one. Tobey Maguire did a pretty good job didn’t he, (this statement is based on Spiderman 3 never existing). Those movie studios are just greedy. They should wait at least 10 years before making another.
That about sums up most people thoughts when they first announced The Amazing Spiderman. I didn’t care, I was just extremely excited for more Spiderman. Growing up, Spiderman has always been my favorite superhero. But just because he’s my favorite doesn’t qualify him for a reboot. Fortunately that wasn’t the only reason. I won’t go into all the details(the link at the bottom of this paragraph has more info), but they had some good reasons for rebooting the series. One of those reasons was that in 2000, Marvel Comics launched their “Ultimate Marvel” comic book universe, starting with Ultimate X-Men and Ultimate Spider-Man. They wanted to modernize the series and this is what the new movie is based on. http://screenrant.com/spider-man-movies-reboot-comic-book-retcon-kofi-155955/
Although the story is different than the original it still has a lot of similarities and familiar characters. I’ll give a brief rundown of the story but I won’t go into too much detail. Our main goal at LTBM is to examine the moral/spiritual situations in movies. My plan is to give a brief overview of the movie, make some moral/spiritual application and give you my opinion of the movie overall.
This isn’t just a story about someone who gains some superpowers and beats up bad guys. Although those two things happen, that’s just the fluff of the story. This is about a boy trying to figure out who he is, where he came from, and who he’s going to become. It’s about a boy that gains abilities and powers, who then has to make the decision of what to do with them. It’s about choice and responsibility.
As the story begins, it’s a rainy night, Peter Parker(Andrew Garfield) is playing hide and go seek in his families home. He walks into his father’s office, a window is broken and papers are strewn about. His father immediately starts gathering up his work and they leave. His parents take him to his Aunt(Sally Field) and Uncle’s(Martin Sheen) house and explain that they have to go away for a little while, but they will come back. The movie then jumps forward, Peter is a high school nerd. He enjoys taking pictures, skateboarding, and getting picked on by bullies. We are quickly introduced to Gwen Stacy(Emma Stone), the smartest girl in his class and his soon to be crush. He discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, this begins his quest to understand why his parents left, which leads him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr Curt Connors(Rhys Ifans), his father’s former partner. He finds out that his father and Dr. Connors worked on cross species genetics, with the goal to cure mankind of illness and deformities. While exploring Oscorp, he happens upon a laboratory full of genetically modified spiders and it’s at this point that he is bitten, gains his powers and the real story begins.
Application
One of the reasons I really like this movie is because it is full of moral applications. Aside from Peter, my favorite character from this story is Uncle Ben. He is an outstanding father figure and moral compass. Throughout the movie he is giving advice and trying to teach Peter important character traits. He doesn’t just tell him how to live, but he also shows him in his own actions and choices. One of the big moral issues that Peter Parker faces is that of revenge. Very soon after Peter gains his superpowers, his Uncle is shot and killed in a tussle with a thief. In the midst of his anger he searches for the killer, in order to exact his revenge. It’s at this time that Peter develops the reputation of a vigilante,by stopping small crimes and beating up thugs. Despite this, he still thinks it’s fine that he’s taking the law into his own hands.
Although most of us can’t relate to this exact situation, we all deal with people on a daily basis. And we as people tend to intentionally or unintentionally wrong each other. When that happens, it’s almost second nature to lash out and get back at the person who just wronged us. To carry out our own vengeance. But as christians we have to fight against our own emotions and desires and give our anger and frustrations over to God. We have to trust in His justice. It’s not our job, it’s God’s. It’s our job to love and forgive.
Rom. 12:17-21: Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
“With great power, comes great responsibility.”
Although the sayings origin can be traced back further than Stan Lee, it’s partially due to the Spiderman series that this saying is so well known. They change up the saying a little for this movie.
You’re a lot like your father. You really are, Peter, and that’s a good thing. But your father lived by a philosophy, a principle really. He believed that…that if you could do good things for other people, you had a moral obligation to do those things. That’s what at stake here. Not a choice, responsibility.
This same idea is reflected in Luke 12:48:
48- But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
This is one of the most important moral applications of the movie. Its at this point that Peter has to decide how he’s going to use his powers. For his personal gain or to help others. As we all know he makes the right choice. Although none of us have superpowers, we have all been blessed by God with all sorts of things; abilities, talents, jobs, money, family, and on and on… This idea of moral responsibility is something that our society has all but forgotten. When we see something that needs to done and we have the ability to take care of it, we need to have the moral courage to take action. What will you do your blessings? Keep them for yourself or use them to help others?
My Thoughts
If you can’t tell yet, I really like this movie. Andrew Garfield does an awesome job as Peter Parker. He’s nerdy, funny, and full of sarcasm, which is exactly how Spiderman should be. Not only does he have his superpowers but he also builds his own equipment. So he’s basically a combination of Superman and Batman, only better! I really like how they tell the story. He’s not just some random guy bitten by a spider, the story is much more involved. Although not fully explained yet, his fathers research has ultimately lead to him gaining super powers. By the end of the movie, we still don’t know how any of this ties together or what became of his parents. The goal of this movie was to establish his back history and get the story rolling and it does an excellent job at both. With that said, this is the first of 4 movies, which will tell the rest of the story. I for one can’t wait till next the movie, which is slated for May 2, 2014 and will feature Electro and the Rhino as the villains.
Really looking forward to the sequel 😀
I find the huge polar divide between those who like the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies and this one interesting. I like them all and own all four (but that could be that Spider-Man has always been my favorite of the super heroes, and I’m not a purist). The things I liked best about this latest reboot is that it restored some of the comic book Spider-Man traits which were not in Tobey’s Spider-Man (and which were not Tobey’s fault)–like the web being something he created and added to his costume rather than part of his powers). I always thought that one of the best parts of Spider-Man was his wit and intelligence. He didn’t just fight with brawn, but with brain. I think the Amazing Spider-Man movie restored that very important character trait. Also, while many people were surprised by Gwen Stacy’s replacement of Mary Jane Watson, I must point out that Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker’s first paramour in the comic book, so this movie definitely righted some “wrongs” in the first trilogy. That said, I loved Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. I will always enjoy watching those earlier movies.
While I don’t see that it was really necessary to rephrase the most famous line in Spider-Man, I find it interesting how it was rephrased. A vast amount of people in our current society would probably take umbrage at being told they have a “moral obligation” to do anything, and the idea that “responsibility” should take precedence over “choice” is a message that is daily disparaged and ignored. While we are busy slinging around excuses for why we don’t take responsibility for anything important (let alone the consequences for our own actions), it’s always good to reflect on the fact that God took personal RESPONSIBILITY for OUR rebellion and CHOSE to die on the cross so that we might have salvation. WOW!
If anyone cares to check it out, I did a podcast episode (http://areyoujustwatching.com/ayjw030-the-amazing-spider-man-2012/) on this movie while it was still in the theaters with my occasional guest, Chris Jones. I will warn you in advance, though, that I misheard the Uncle Ben quote during initial pre-release viewing of the movie and spent quite a bit of time in the podcast on a completely irrelevant discussion on how to define “good.” The danger of taking notes in a dark theater . . . .
Totally unnecessary re-boot, but it was still very fun and entertaining. Also, Garfield was a nice choice for Peter Parker even if I do miss Tobey Maguire just a tad bit. Just a tad, though. Good review Elliott.
I thought it was pretty early for a reboot, but in hindsight I’m glad they did. Garfield is light-years better than Maguire as Spider-Man. He has the edge, the attitude, and can also pass for the independent nerd type. Excellent job by him. Good review Elliott.
I have to say I don’t dislike Tobey Maguire’s as Spiderman. At the time I really liked and pretty much everyone else thought the same way. For some reason it’s popular to bash Tobey, but I think he did a fine job. However I don’t really remember his movies very well so I think I need to go back and re-watch them. Regardless I do think Andrew did an excellent job. Eve… I completely agree with what you said in regards to this. They definitely did a better job fleshing out Spiderman’s character. I’ll check out your podcast, thanks for sharing.Thanks everyone for all your comments. Less than year till the next installment!
I admit, TAS is my favourite Spider-Man movie by far. What I really appreciate about the new series is that Peter is actually developing. He is not stuck in the ever same circle.
It’s a little bit like a tape player. You get one and think that it is the greatest thing ever. And then the CD comes around and then the I-pot and you realized what you missed all this years…there will always be the nostalgia for the tape, and you will always appreciate that it existed at one point, but truly going back to it isn’t an option either.