by Braden Rendano

Audience Age/Rating: PG-13 for some sequences of action and violence

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Thriller

Director: Marc Webb

The Amazing Spider-Man provides a new twist on the Spider-Man Series.

Peter Parker is a teenage boy who lost his parents when he was young. He lives with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Peter is a smart kid who gets bullied by Flash Thompson and attends Midtown Science High School in Manhattan.

Supposedly, Peter’s parents were killed in a car crash. However, when water starts leaking in the basement, Peter’s dads briefcase is uncovered. He finds a picture of Dr. Curt Connors and follows up on the lead by visiting him. He visits a science company called Oscorp, where Dr. Curt Connors works. He goes to see Connors, to help gather some information. Connors was Peter’s dad’s partner.

Dr. Curt Connors is a scientist who knows about reptiles. One of his arms is not fully formed, and he is trying to develop something to help regenerate the arm.

While at Oscorp, Peter starts to snoop around the building and finds an interesting looking room with webs. He is bitten by a spider and experiences new changes to his body. He is also stronger and has better reflexes. With his newly found superpowers, Peter becomes Spiderman. He starts to develop a costume and fights crime. Peter starts by catching thieves, but then he gets a better motive to fight crime.

A new villain appears in NYC, and Spiderman has to suit up and help keep the city safe from mass destruction. The Lizard starts to bring problems to NYC. He is hiding out in the tunnels underground. Spider-man has to help the city and keep the lizard from releasing a harmful substance in the society.

If you have enjoyed previous Spider-man movies, then you will probably enjoy this one. This was a very good reboot on the Spider-man series. This movie introduced new characters such as Gwen Stacy played by Emma Stone. The movie was original despite the previous movies before it. The Amazing Spider-Man revisits some things that were included in the previous movies; however, the plot is a lot different by introducing new actors, characters, and a new villain.

One thing that could have been better is the plot. It seemed to drift away from certain aspects in the movie. Peter would get caught up with something, and then it just dissolved into a bigger plot. I think that they didn’t really wrap up some things, such as what happened to Peter Parker’s parents. Leaving things open, sets the movie up for a sequel, but I think a bit more could have been revealed about his parent’s disappearance.

Super-hero fans will appreciate this movie. This movie had a lot of action between catching thieves, the scene on the bridge, in the school, and in the tunnels, yet still focused on problems in Peter’s life and character development. Peter has a crush on Gwen Stacy, and throughout the movie, they try to stay together, but complications tear them apart. Her dad is a cop, and her family is not all that fond of Peter as Gwen’s boyfriend. Spider-man sometimes gets a bad rap from people such as the cops of Manhattan. They may feel like he is a masked vigilante; however, he actually helps the society and protects it instead of causing problems.

Overall, this movie is very good. It is not in theaters anymore, but once it comes out on Redbox, DVD, or Netflix, get together with some friends and have a movie night with your friendly neighborhood Spider-man!