Episode 1387: The Amazing Spider-Man

Saw The Amazing Spider-Man in Leamington in 3D, although I have to say, there were fewer 3D effects than I was expecting. Not a bad thing though. I much prefer a judicious use of this new film technology to something so in-your-face like Avatar was. I also really liked Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. Some people are saying that surely it's too soon to have a reboot of the franchise (the original trilogy began in 2002 and wrapped up in 2007), but in a way, it isn't really. It was Sony's decision to do the reboot, after plans to make a Spider-Man 4 with Sam Raimi fell through. Tonally, the film actually really reminded me of MTV's Teen Wolf, in that it had a dramatic central storyline that was peppered with moments of comedy. (I like how the film consistently milks Peter Parker's newfound powers for comedic effect, but it's definitely something that shouldn't happen again in the inevitable sequels.) On a different note, I found it funny how all the bit parts seemed to have been given to people I recognise from TV series. There was Chris Zylka from the (sadly) cancelled The Secret Circle, playing bully Flash Thompson, and then two from Royal Pains - Campbell Scott as Peter's father, Richard, and Jill Flint, as a receptionist at OsCorp. As for my favourite bit of the film, that was in the main chase scene, when a crane operator (whose son had been saved earlier by Spider-Man) got all his buddies to align the cranes across the city, so that the injured Spider-Man would have an easier time swinging his way to OsCorp. It was a moment of altruism that could only have occurred on TV/film, which did kind of make me a little sad inside.