The Amazing Spiderman

BEFORE heading into this week’s review, PNG’s only multi-cinema complex Paradise Cinema broke records over the weekend when it pre¬miered the fourth installment of the Ice Age franchise massing an incred¬ible 4,157 people going to the movies last weekend breaking the previous box office hit the Avengers which brought about 3,500 people.
Ice Age 4 was particularly popular with children who are now on school holidays. However, the majority of the audience that turned up for the chil¬dren’s comedy adventure were adults which was an invited change from the usual teen-oriented audience.
The weekend thriller Abraham Lin¬coln Vampire Hunter also proved to be a hit but did not see as many viewers as earlier.
Get ready for a massive July of block-busting, heart-pounding movie madness at the Paradise Cinema.
Opening yesterday was The Amaz¬ing Spiderman in 2D and 3D and a Hindi movie Teri Meri Kahaani.
Following on the next weekend will be Snow White and the Huntsmen, followed by The Three Stooges, Tom Cruise in Rock of Ages and to close the month, the long awaited The Dark Knight Rises which is sure to draw another attendance milestone.
Be sure to get the latest Paradise Cinema movie schedules by checking out their Facebook page, visiting their website www.paradise cinemapng. com or calling their hotline on 302 8574.
The Amazing Spiderman is the fourth in the franchise, which began in 2002; it was originally intended to be a continuation of them until origi¬nal director Sam Raimi left the proj¬ect. Now reborn, new director Marc Webb has decided to reboot the series by reliving how the grumpy suburban, nerdy teen Peter Parker; has arachnid-like superpowers foisted upon him, then turns into a crime-fighter and romancer, before facing off against a super villain.
This film, which we are forced to call a “reboot”, tinkers extensively with the original story. Parker, as played by Andrew Garfield, is no helpless super-nerd, but a dorky skate¬boarder who, though perhaps not that popular with the ladies, has no trouble in catching their eyes. Moreover, the central love interest here isn’t Mary Jane Watson, but the considerably less likely Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), promoted from a more incidental role in Spiderman 3.
Perhaps most radically, we are also introduced briefly to Parker’s parents, never seen, and only rarely mentioned, in the earlier films. Parker’s abandon¬ment issues have nevertheless loomed large in all Spiderman films, and those looking for deeper shading of Parker’s emotional make-up will no doubt be pleased to see them in this film.
Be that as it may, Webb successfully treads a fine line between keeping the hardcore superhero-movie fans happy and injecting a dose of meaningful drama.
In re-engineering Parker into the introspective, uncertain male more typical of his previous film, Webb is aided by a terrific performance from Andrew Garfield, who brings a mod¬est, cool acting tone that allows him to negotiate the often ridiculous demands of the superhero plotline. At the same time, Webb also shows an unarguable facility for the more traditional ac¬tion elements of the story, and the 3D certainly helps: he pulls off some neat stunts as Parker dives off skyscrap¬ers, rescues children from falling, and other acts of that sort.
It’s the successful synthesis of the two – action and emotion – that makes this Spiderman as enjoyable as it is impressive: Webb’s control of mood and texture is near faultless as his film switches from teenage relationship is-sues to exhilarating airborne acrobatic techniques. It’s only toward the end, when there is no choice but to revert to CGI – as Rhys Ifans as the bad guy Lizard goes on the rampage – that The Amazing Spiderman gets a little less amazing and a little more cartoony and unbelievable.
The bad guy in this film is Doctor Lizard. Prior to him becoming the film’s villain and Spiderman’s worst nightmare, the Lizard is actually a respected chemical scientist who is on the verge of discovering a cure for diseases and tissue damage. All is well until he chooses to try out his experimental solution on himself; an action that ends with him waking up and finding that he has become a su¬per reptilian creep who can regenerate skin tissue thus being almost invulner¬able. This villain will rock the socks off viewers but, be warned, as the film is more emotionally-oriented instead of leaning towards action sequences, you might not see this monster of a bad guy as many times as you’d like.
The Amazing Spiderman promises to impress and stun all audiences. So this a film that I would highly recom-mend for all viewers interested in catching a film this weekend.