The Amazing Spider-man

So, as of yesterday, the next installment in the Spider-man franchise came to the big screen. Obviously, by next installment I actually mean a new origin, a new director, a new cast and the infusion of 3D - these days affectionately, or not, known as a 'reboot'. So don't go into this expecting Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, JK Simmons, Rosemary Harris, Cliff Robertson (RIP), Elizabeth Banks, Willem Dafoe, Dylan Baker or even Ted Raimi. This is a fresh batch. For whatever reason, the original plan of Sam Raimi returning to direct Tobey Maguire in Spidey 4 was shelved. Spider-man 3 was generally frowned on by most people, including the powers that be. Whilst it wasn't up to the level of Spider-man or Spider-man 2 (the best of the trilogy in my eyes), I certainly didn't warrant it bad enough to halt that arc of the Spider-man story and to have all principal players hung, drawn and quartered. Either way that is what happened, albeit maybe not with hung, drawn and quartering exactly happening (just told not to come back would likely be a more realistic description). So that brings us to The Amazing Spider-man.

Spider-man done Star Wars stylee - love it :)

For those who are familiar with the comics, The Amazing Spider-man tends to lean more towards the Ultimates series. For those not familiar with the comics, Ultimate Spider-man basically focuses on Peter Parker purely during his high school years. It also updates the story to go along with modern times, mainly Parker, whilst being the nerd, is also a bit of a skater kid and into all modern gadgets, such as mobile phones, etc. The film embraces all of these elements and you really do get the sense and realisation that behind this big, strong superhero is just a normal, skinny, everyday teenager. There's no Norse God, there's no super soldier, there's no invincible, adamantium boned savage. There's just a boy. Granted, said boy is a science whizkid with the proportional strength of a spider. Still, you find yourself constantly aware that this is just a boy, a normal boy with a caring family (the family members that are still around, that is). He has the every day problems a normal teenager has, the well meaning but often perceived as over bearing parental figures, the high school crush, the school bully, having to remember to pick up eggs on the way home, and the every day occurrence of coming home covered in bruises after having fought criminals throughout New York. Y'know, the usual?!

Clearly feeling the pain of having awesome powers and a stunning girlfriend

Surely by now most people are aware of the story of Spider-man. Socially awkward, yet morally strong and wittily astute, high school science nerd gets bitten by a radioactive spider, thus giving him the proportional strength of a spider, the ability to stick to walls and to shoot webbing from his wrist/webbing devices (depending on which origin you follow). There are a few similarities here to the origin given in Raimi's 2002 Spider-man; mainly involving a thief, Uncle Ben, a wrestling ring and, oh, the red and blue spandex coupled with webbing and superhuman abilities. Uncle Ben is portrayed by Martin Sheen this time around, with Aunt May being portrayed by Sally Field (Smokey & The Bandit FTW!). The couple are perfectly cast and they really portray a sense of sadness and regret at what has happened to Peter over the years. You see, in this film, a large chunk of the story revolves around Peter's parents and their sudden disappearance when he was a child. The story hints at wrongdoings, cover ups and general misdemeanors involving Richard and Mary Parker, all of which Peter is trying to get more information on. The story segue-ways nicely with the fact that Dr Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) used to work closely with Peter's father, Richard, on several science projects, most importantly on cross-species genetics.

The main story with the scientifically brilliant Doc Connors is that he is missing his right arm, with his life's work leading towards growing the arm back through the means of science. This in turn is heavily influenced by cross-species genetics and, in particular, lizards and their ability to regenerate limbs. Peter stumbles across some of his father's old work and seeks out Doc Connors for some answers. It is there that the ever smart Peter comes up with a science equation that could possibly allow Doc Connors to regrow his arm. As is often the case with the realms of comics and all things superhero, this doesn't quite go to plan. There's a tad bit of an adverse reaction, turning Doc Connors into The Lizard. From here on in, Connors slowly goes from an almost humanitarian figure to a full on crazy scientist that believes he has found a way for all humans to achieve perfection - mainly, he wants to turn them all into creatures similar to himself. Of course it falls on Spidey to have to stop him.

Peter about to stick the nut on

Whilst all of this is happening, Peter also finds himself developing a bit of a crush for the ever pretty but super sciencey (I'm not even sure if that's a real word) Gwen Stacy. As with the comic books, Gwen is Peter's first love. Forget Mary Jane, back in the day it was originally all about Gwen. It was only when Gwen was 'out of the picture' that Peter met MJ. Along with Gwen comes her family, most notably her father, Captain Stacy of the NYPD. This is where things differ a little from the comics. In the books Captain Stacy is a believer in Spider-man, with Gwen resenting ol' webhead (Stan Lee represent) for his acts. In this film the feelings of Gwen and the Captain are a little different. That's all I can really say without spoiling parts of the films or what may likely be around the corner in the inevitable sequels. Suffice to say, yes, there is going to be a sequel and, yes, there is the now standard after credits scene which alludes to this. Again, with the film only coming out yesterday, it would be a little bit harsh of me to ruin too much of the film.

Now, enough about the plot. The lead role of Spidey was always going to be a tough one to fill, especially given the huge success of the previous 3 films with Tobey Maguire firmly cemented in the red and blue spandex. That said, Andrew Garfield is fantastic as both Peter Parker and Spider-man, bringing a sense of emotion, power and the classic Spider-man wit to the character. There's a lot of humour sprinkled throughout the film, with it ranging from being heart-warming in it's sincerity to being one of of Spider-man's classic one liners. Garfield pulls off the teenage Parker brilliantly well and takes the character to places that Tobey Maguire never quite reached. I'm a fan of Maguire as the character but Garfield is the perfect fit for the new direction that they are taking the character in, that of the Ultimate Spider-man books, that of the troubled, everyday teen. Maguire seemed to get buff for the role, whereas Garfield has just the right look to pull of the gawky high schooler who has all of this power within. His relationship with the inspired casting choice of Emma Stone is perfect. They have the perfect balance of banter, emotion and torment, especially towards the end of the film. The tone of their relationship is just fantastically well done and is truly one of the highlights of the film. Again, the casting of Denis Leary as Captain Stacy and Rhys Ifans as Doc Connors proved to be strokes of brilliance, with each bringing the required dynamic to each character; Leary playing the honourable, strong, badge loving Captain, and Ifans expertly juggling the sympathetic and outright crazy aspects of the Doc Connors character.

Rhys trying to reenact the bath scene from Twin Town - "Fuckin' had you!"

The film is also a joy to look at, bright, vibrant and with several key set pieces standing out; one in particular that looks great involves an incident on a bridge with Spidey having to save a young child from a falling car. The film also incorporates many point of view shots - that view being of the hero in question. You get to see the New York skyline, the bright lights, the buildings, the people, the vehicles, all whilst Spidey is swinging from platform to platform. One aspect where the film does fall down, however, is the actual appearance of The Lizard. The CGI used doesn't look particularly horrendous, it just feels like it isn't up to the level of CGI used in other recent films and appears that the character will date pretty badly; almost having a Mummy Returns feel at times. One big gripe from me is the lack of a snout on The Lizard. This is merely just a pet peeve of mine as I grew up reading the books, watching the cartoons - all of which involved The Lizard having a very reptilian like snout, even leaning towards a crocodile at times. As I said, that's likely just a personal grip of mine and those who are only coming across the character for the first time now won't bat an eyelid at his current depiction. Harping back to the original character design, it was nice to get an, albeit brief, scene with him wearing his customary lab coat when under The Lizard guise. I also can't helping feeling sorry for Dylan Baker in all of this. He played Doc Connors throughout the first three Spider-man films with countless references and hints towards him becoming The Lizard, yet here he is missing out on his chance of playing the role of the big, bad supervillain. I can't help that he put in so much groundwork for it but was left with no payoff. That said, this is a reboot so I guess all previous work is to be forgotten. It's still a big shame though, much similar to Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent in Tim Burton's Batman films.

The Lizard rocking the pants, lab coat and snout look

All in all I'd say to get yourself and see Spider-man whenever you get a chance. The film absolutely flies by, lasting at over 2 hours 15 minutes yet only seeming to be in front of your eyes for 1 hour 30 minutes. Marc Webb makes sure that the pace is fairly frantic from the get go and covers a lot of ground in seemingly little time. It doesn't seem long until Spidey is swinging through the streets, but then you realise that so much has been covered in the time leading up to that, Peter's parents, Aunt May and Uncle Ben, the introduction of Doc Connors, even Flash gets some entertaining screen time. There's a few hints throughout the movie of what's to come, yet it also leaves enough answers blank to keep you guessing which direction the inevitable sequel will go in. Also keep your eyes peeled for arguably the best Stan Lee cameo so far.

Is the film worth the risk of restarting an already successful franchise? Is it better than the previous three Spider-man films? That's a whole new debate - one I may even write another blog on - but I'd say to just get yourself along, enjoy it and make your own mind up.

Red State!

I recently got the chance to see a film that has had my attention since it was first announced. I'm a Kevin Smith guy, I love his films, I love the characters, I love the whole in-jokes thing, I love his Star Wars fascination, I love his comics obsession, I love his references, I love his dialogue, I love that he was the man that first showed me Jason Lee, I love the tight-knit group of actors that he uses in all of his films. So, yeah, there's a lot of Kev love from me. I also happen to be a big lover of the horror genre. My most traumatic experience as a kid was watching Jaws at the age of approximately 4. I never recovered. To this day, I still don't go in the sea. I also hate flying due to my shark phobia. That's why they call these things irrational films. Anyways, from as long as I can remember I've always been a horror fan. Jaws, Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday 13th, The Thing, Scream, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, It, An American Werewolf in London, Switchblade Romance, The Devil's Rejects, The Changeling (no, not the one with Mrs Brad Pitt in it), Trick 'r' Treat, Body Bags, Shivers, Creepshow - all favourites of mine. I'll watch any horror film, the worse the better. The low budget shit that gets shown at 3am on a Tuesday night on Zone Horror? I'll watch it. The sequel to the film that used to be good 6 sequels ago? I'll watch it. The totally unnecessary crossover of horror characters? I'll watch it. The one about a girl who is bullied at camp but then ends up being a transsexual serial killer? I'll watch it (see Sleepaway Camp). The point is, I'll watch any horror film going, regardless of quality. I even went to the cinema to watch Boogeyman. Right, so keep up, you've got Kevin Smith, director of some of my favourite films (Mallrats!!!!!), user of some of my favourite vulgarities (cunt rag), fanboy galore of all things comics-related, and who is now branching out to the field of horror. It's a perfect mix for me. The only hitch was that Smith was releasing the film in a totally unique way. He was basically cutting out all studio involvement and releasing the film himself, marketing the film himself, selling the film to himself. From there on out he's been moving across the USA and touring the film from cinema to cinema, town to town, state to state. I didn't hold out much hope of the film getting released over on this side of the pond, but there are scheduled showings set up at the moment, some involving Q&A sessions with Smith. Luckily for me, I managed to watch the film over the weekend. I've been looking to get tickets for the Red State showing and Q&A session at Odeon, Manchester later on this week, but the tickets have sold out. Either way, I've managed to view the film this weekend. Here's the trailer for anybody that hasn't heard of the film or has no idea as to what the film is about:

The film initially focuses on a group of three teenage friends, one of which arranges to meet a girl that he has met on the Internet. It turns out that he's managed to get this hot girl to agree to a foursome involving the three guys. It's probably best to point out now that the film actually opens by showing a group of people protesting outside of the funeral of a gay US solder. As it happens, after the three friends arrive at the trailer of the aforementioned hot lady it turns out to be a case of false advertising. Instead of the hot, young girl that has been talking to one of the friends, the person they find upon arrival is a middle aged Melissa Leo. The friends decide to go for it anyway, with one thing leading to another and them waking up amongst a cult. The cult are against homosexuality, sex, drugs, alcohol, etc. Generally all the good stuff - bar the homesexuality, although that's a matter of choice. Rather than tolerate the differences of others, the cult has their own methods of dealing with those that do not see things in the same way that they do, and their methods are extreme. Just as things start to take shape, John Goodman and his team of special agents turn up to help out the local Sheriff. Everything goes a bit bat-shit crazy once Goodman's boss gives him certain orders over the phone. That's all I'm going to say about the plot so that I don't give away too much. That said, "simple just shit itself" is my favourite film quote of recent memory. Genius from the man Smith!

Whilst Red State was classed as a horror I'd tend to lean more towards thriller/chiller than out and out horror. The horror aspect is more the extremities that these type of people go to in order to force their opinions on people. It's a great film that really pulls at the emotions at times. There's a few familiar faces in there, even a more filled-out Jen Schwalbach popping up along the way. I'd definitely recommend Red State but I'm not sure to who. I'm not sure that it's got a particular target audience. It's not an out-and-out horror, it's not a completely psychological affair, it's not an action movie, yet it seamlessly mixes elements of all three. It's a big change from Smith's usual fare although there's still certain parts of the dialogue that stand up there with some of Smith's more memorable. One thing I do have to say is that Michael Parks is fantastic again. Absolutely fantastic. According to Smith, Parks ad-libbed large parts of his diatribes. That's not a totally unheard of concept but you'll really appreciate that once you see how good Parks is in this. If you get the chance, get yourself along and watch Red State in the coming weeks. You won't be disappointed. If you are then you're of no use to me anyway.

On a sadder note, I've just heard that Cliff Robertson has died today at the age of 88 from natural causes. Being the superhero geek that I am, Cliff was Uncle Ben in the Spider-man trilogy to me. That said, he's one of those faces that you always see pop up in so many films and shows over the decades. To others he may be more remembered for his role in Charly and the Oscar that came with it, but to me he's Uncle Ben. Rest in Peace, sir.

Food time for me. I think it may be a Pant yr Ochain kinda day.