The Amazing Spiderman

10/20/12

Last night some friends and I took some time out of our busy schedules to do something fun (and normal!) for a night! The school hosted a showing of the new Spiderman movie starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. (Spoilers ahead!)

(Google Images)

It was actually a really crazy day--I headed to class in the morning as per usual, but then my honors program had a meeting during the last two hours of class. So I had to head there, take the quiz, take the group quiz, and then go over the responses. Then I tried to squeeze in watching the recordings of the lectures in the afternoon before my small group learning session, which of course I didn't finish. Then my small group session did a double session since our facilitator is going to be out of town later in the semester. Afterwards I basically had to head to dinner (pasta! yum!) and then to the movie! So I'm a little behind of where I'd like to be right now, but I don't regret going! It was so nice to get away and do something normal for a change! It was pretty funny, though at one point one of the characters said: 

Dr. Curt Connors: "Subject; Dr. Curtis Connors. Current temperature; eighty nine point seven, steady for forty eight hours. Blood panels reveal lymphocyte and monocyte readings consistent with subject's past. Clotting rate vastly improved, marked enhancement in...in muscle response, strength and elasticity."

This week in lecture we've been studying how to read blood samples and going over the contents of the blood, including defining lymphocytes, monocytes, and clotting factors. My best friend here and I just looked at each other and busted out laughing during that part!

That little reminder of looming academics aside, I thought it was a really fun movie. I had heard this incarnation of the series was "darker" than the previous one, but I can't say I really thought that. It had a good combination of funny lines, truly sad moments, and that inevitable bit of superhero cheesy moments (though they did successfully avoid saying "with great power comes great responsibility" which was an excellent decision). 

Spider-Man: "Ahem, you know, if you're going to steal cars, don't dress like a car thief."
Car Thief: "You a cop?"
Spider-Man: "You seriously think I'm a cop in a skintight red and blue suit?"

I liked the funny. There were certainly cheesy lines and shots, but a lot of laugh-out-loud funny moments. In a way it reminded of a writer trying to be Joss Whedon, who is famous for making it dark and grisly but then throwing in laugh. 

“Make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of God, tell a joke.” 

― Joss Whedon

It was odd seeing it so close to the Avengers. Sometimes I did feel like the humor was a little misplaced or trying too hard to have that Whedon wit, but that said, I still appreciated it. And laughed out loud. 

There was also another little Whedon similarity that nagged at the back of mind. One of the major plot points was the crazy lizard doctor going mad with power wanting to create "better people." People without injury, people who were more than just human. And while I know it shouldn't resonate this way, it really reminded me of Whedon's feature film "Serenity." A big point there was a totalitarian government trying to make better people. I know expecting a big new plot is a lot to ask, but it did bother me most of the movie. Superhero movies I feel are usually given a free pass--it is totally within genre to continuously have recreations and reincarnations, but I'm not familiar enough with the comics to say if that was there originally. Maybe it's just my Whedon obsession that made that similarity both me, but hey, this is my review!

(Google Images)

The other thing that reminded me of the other big superhero movie of the summer, the "Dark Knight Rises," was one of the other big themes at work in the movie. The villain became a type of "terrorist," which of course is the hot keyword right now, which seemed pretty similar to the villain in the Dark Knight. Threatened the whole city with a bio weapon? Been there, done that, saved the world. 

These things aside, I really enjoyed it. It was a good time. At times light hearted, at times, tear inducing. 

(Google Images)

Admittedly it was a bit strange for me--this is the first movie I remember seeing where I saw both the older one (original to me, not sure if there was one before that or not) and this one, the remake. (Now that I'm writing this, it occurs to me I guess "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" counts; I've seen the original Swedish films and the American remake.) I know a lot of people don't like remakes, and I'll admit, it was really strange seeing a movie that I thought was so similar to the original one. There were certainly differences in the portrayal of the human side of Spiderman, but a lot of the plot seemed so similar to me (which is bound to happen, but still strange to see on screen). I haven't seen the older Spiderman for years but it still felt like watching a movie I had already seen. But as I mentioned above, this is pretty in genre for comic books, so I can't complain too much. There are constantly new stories, overlapping story arcs, and new tellings of old stories. That said, I really liked the actors in this movie a lot. I thought Andrew Garfield did a great job; he was funny, moody, and stupid, which a young adult is bound to be at times. I also really liked Emma Stone as Gwen. 

Gwen Stacy: Did you get expelled?
Peter Parker: No! No, I didn't get expelled, I got community service.
[They smile at each other and wait around awkwardly, then Gwen turns to go]
Peter Parker: Um so, uh, you want to, uh... I dunno.
Gwen Stacy: Wanna what?
Peter Parker: I dunno. Just, uh... Um... I dunno, we could, I dunno, we could uh... Or we could do something else, or we could, with no... We, like, we could...
Gwen Stacy: [Smiling] Yeah!
Peter Parker: Yeah?
Gwen Stacy: Yeah, either one.
Peter Parker: Really?
Gwen Stacy: Sure.
Peter Parker: Okay, all right then. Sounds good.
Gwen Stacy: Cool. 

(Google Images)

I don't know why, but I didn't even realize she was in this movie until it started! (I do think it's funny how they picked a girl who looked so much like the girl in the previous series!) But Emma Stone is funny and a really good actress so I thought she did a really good job as well. 

Peter Parker: Hey, where are you?
Gwen Stacy: I'm in OsCorp.
Peter Parker: You have to get out of there right now, okay?
Gwen Stacy: The antidote is cooking.
Peter Parker: No, no, no! Connors is on the way. He's coming to you right now. He means to disperse them with the device, he's gonna infect the whole city!
Gwen Stacy: There's eight minutes left.
Peter Parker: You're gonna wait there for eight minutes after what I just told you? People are gonna die! You leave right now! Listen, that is an order! Okay?
Gwen Stacy: I'm gonna get everybody out.
Peter Parker: Did you hear what...?
[she hangs up on him and leaves to help the others in the building]
Peter Parker: Gwen! Gwen? You mother hubbard! Are you serious?!

All in all, a good way to spend a Friday night. Friends, a good (mostly feel-good) movie, and a break from school. 

Back to catching up! Long weekend of studying and anatomy drilling for me! Next week is supposed to be one of the toughest weeks for anatomy, not looking forward to that!

Have a great weekend everyone!