Last year, we had four summer superhero films, of which two turned out to be fairly unqualified successes — the Marvel pictures "Thor" and "Captain America: The First Avenger" — one a moderate success — "X-Men First Class" — and one that tanked like Lori Petty — "Green Lantern." As we said sometime last week, this summer is less complicated when it comes to comic book fare, with two of the three films based on graphic novels being solid gold hits regardless of anything, namely "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Avengers."
But the third, while likely a hit, is more of a question mark; it might be a continuation of the single most successful superhero franchise to date, but it's also a reboot that's attracted ire from fans since its announcement two years ago: "The Amazing Spider-Man." It's got solid talent on board, to be sure: "Zodiac" writer Jamie Vanderbilt, "(500) Days Of Summer" helmer Marc Webb and a cast that includes Andrew Garfield as your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Emma Stone as love interest Gwen Stacy, Rhys Ifans as villain The Lizard, and Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Irrfan Khan, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz and Annie Parisse in support. But no one's quite demonstrated that starting from scratch again is necessary (even if only one of the Sam Raimi outings, the second, was really any good), and a super-early trailer last summer didn't help the claims of emo-Spidey.
But on the back of worldwide screenings of sneak peek footage, Sony have debuted a new trailer for the film in the early hours of the morning, and it looks solid. Really, really solid. Garfield looks great, the effects look strong, and there's a better sense of the humor of the character than ever came across in the Raimi movies. The brief glimpses of the all-CGI lizard are promising as well. What we're not quite sold on is the meld of tones — the mix of humor and a darker feel than previous films, which sits a little uneasily. And the marketing angle of 'The Untold Story,' hinting that Parker may have always been destined for superpowers thanks to his father, an Oscorp employee, still feels off. Maybe Webb & co will be able to genuinely surprise with the storyline, but it almost feels overly defensive.
Even so, we're still a good six months away, so Sony's great hope for the summer is in as good a place as you could want it to be at this stage in the game, and we're genuinely looking forward to seeing more. "The Amazing Spider-Man" hits theaters on July 4th.
Looks boring. I do not understand the appeal of Emma Stone. Maybe it is her that is throwing me off when I watched the trailer.
Ehhh. Nothing pulls me in or makes me want to spend $10. The leads seem out of place especially Emma Stone. They tried to be funny but it is just so underwhelming and looks boring, reminds me a bit of how I felt when I saw the Green Latern trailer. Well at least Batman looked amazing! I'll wait to catch this one on HBO or Showtime.
I've been looking forward to this for a long time, such a great cast & it's great to see a take that's more focused on Parker as a person than comic extravaganza (akin to Bruce Wayne finally being fleshed out and the center of attention with Batman Begins) & Andrew Garfield & Emma Stone are both great talents. I have to say though I think you're probably pretty off base with your whole "destined for superpowers" thing, it seems this falls in line with the Ultimate Spider-Man comic series and the parents' backstory is important and sets certain things in motion, but it's not that telegraphed.
can we get some felicia hardy in this one.
(and how about avengers 2: civil war???)
i got some ideas
Well, I liked it quite a bit. But then, I'm a comics fan, so I was pretty much going to see it whether it was good or not anyway, so i guess I'm not the guy you need to convince. Most audiences apparently need to be convinced it's a whole new story with something new to say and prove, which I guess is a little difficult when you do another origin tale. For comic fans, though, constant retelling of origin stories from different angles is really common, and we generally like seeing what different creators can bring to the story and how the hero can be presented in different ways that bring out different angles of his character. Of course, that's a lot cheaper and easier to do in a comic book than in a 100 million dollar movie, and there's much less downside if you screw it up.
nomp , what the heck are you talking about ??! Please, stop with the self-indulgent wording. I happen to be a fan of Marc Webb's " (500) Days Of Summer , " but this trailer was not satisfying.
I'm still excited to see this, but that trailer was underwhelming…..again. And something about Garfield's americna accent seems off at times, like it veers into hayden christensen territory of woodenness. idk.
Why the revisionist history on the Raimi films? There is little wrong with the first movie and the 2nd is one of the two or three best superhero films ever. Shame Spiderman 3 was such waste, but still, let's not just dismiss them.
you were actually optimistic about that? It was INCREDIBLY underwhelming. Boring.
The guy sitting next to me says that Marc Webb is a rival to Nolan in the comic book genre. While I don't agree, I'll wait until I see the film to preserve judgement.
….hinting that Parker may have always been destined for superpowers thanks to his father, an Oscorp employee…" Sounds like a plot point from Ang Lee's HULK.
how does february 7th-july 3rd=6 months??
Three things:
1. The nighttime shots, as CG as they may be, are far more vibrant. Comic book style like whoa.
2. Martial arts look way more badass than Raimi's version.
3. Spiderman fighting Lizard in the goddamned sewers.
What's not to like about this?
Just based on the trailers, I'd rank them: TDKR, Spiderman, Avengers
I think this is a strong showing and actually makes me somewhat enthused. My only issue is the whole mask coming off thing again. I know he's just a kid who very few people could recognize, but make SOME attempt at keeping at least part of it on, so we can tell it's him, leaving some semblance of suspense and mystery?
Oliver, this trailer didn't wow me ( this trailer is similar to the other Spiderman trailers with the same excessive CGI ) . Plus, Andrew Garfield looks like he is just going through the motions and Emma Stone's performance seems flat and boring . Now, the always reliable , Rhys Ifans looks brilliant.