9 Reasons Why You Should Look Forward to ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’

Over the past couple years, whenever the upcoming Spider-Man movie was mentioned in a discussion, I was often met with disgust and disbelief that they were making yet another one. People saw no reason for another movie to be made, especially so quickly.

Even though I understand full well that Sony is pumping these things out frequently to keep the rights out of Marvel’s hands, I remained open-minded and hopeful. We are now only a week away from the release of The Amazing Spider-Man, and while the recent trailers have done their job in raising interest in the film, it still feels like the majority of the people are hesitant about watching it in theaters. And while the anticipation doesn’t compare to that for The Dark Knight Rises, there are several reasons why I’m looking forward to watching this at the local cinema; 9 reasons in fact.

9. Spider-man 3 left a bad taste in my mouth, and I’m sure it did yours.

In my eyes, Spider-man 2 is one of the elite movies of the aughts, let alone one of the better comic book movies that’s ever been made. Its sequel, Spider-Man 3, had so much promise that it couldn’t possibly have been a flop. And yet there it was, delivering to us emo Peter Parker and a final third act that has become a lesson on what NOT to do at the end of a film. We simply can’t let that be the most recent memory of such a beloved character.

8. Denis Leary

Quick, name the last movie that you saw Denis Leary in! And if you guessed any of the Ice Age movies, that doesn’t count. I understand that he’s been busy with the small screen, but wouldn’t you agree that Hollywood would be better off with more Denis Leary? This time around, he’s playing Captain George Stacey, father to Peter Parker’s love interest and the man in charge of hunting down the vigilante known as Spider-Man. Of all the characters in this film, I think this is the best match-up of character and actor.

7. The use of artificial web-shooters

In the original comics, Spider-Man used artificial web-shooters rather than shooting spider webs out of his wrist like in the Sam Raimi films. While I didn’t completely hate that decision, I do think that having Parker develop his own web-shooters helps develop the intellectual side of his character, which the previous movies kind of got away from.

6. The use of the Red Epic 3-D camera

If you haven’t heard of these cameras yet, be sure to remember them well; They are the future of film. This film and Prometheus are the first major motion pictures to use these cameras. Not only that, but they are being used on the upcoming Hobbit films, as well as any future Avatar films. It’s been quite obvious that filming in 3-D renders a much better quality than converted the film during post-production, and here they are using the best of the best in the technology. And the point of view imagery that we’ve been teased with so far promises to be exciting.

5. The Soundtrack

Try to tell me that you didn’t enjoy the soundtrack from (500) Days of Summer. It’s impossible. Not only were terrific songs chosen, but they fit perfectly into the film and helped set the tone of every scene. Before (500) Days of Summer, director Marc Webb was mostly known as a music video director, which I’m sure gave him easy access to almost any song he wanted to use. And while it appears this film will have a more traditional film score, Webb has brought in Oscar nominated composer James Horner, who has provided epic scores for movies like Titanic and Avatar.

4. Rhys Ifans as a villain

Rhys Ifans was born to play the conflicted villain role. Sure, he hasn’t really had the chance to do so and he’s been quite brilliant playing a variety of other roles, but if he nails this role, I can’t help but think that Hollywood will give him more opportunities. You don’t like seeing actors typecasted, but there are always actors like Oldman and Rickman that are born to play the villain type. I believe Ifans is the same way.

3. Andrew Garfield playing Peter Parker

It’s a shame how many people still don’t know who he is. I typically have to say Mark Zuckerburg’s best friend in The Social Network for people to understand who he is, but he was absolutely heartbreaking in Never Let Me Go, and had a few promising roles before then. Heck, he’s 28 years old and he’ll be playing a high school kid in this film, and possibly future films as well. Hopefully this helps elevate his status, although one has to question why he doesn’t have a single future project listed on IMDB.

2. New director Marc Webb

For romantic comedies, it doesn’t get much better than (500) Days of Summer. A movie that was fun, creative, and developed real characters involved in a real story. And to think that the director of that film had never made a film before was astonishing to me. And from that one movie, he has been given the reins to the biggest cash cow that Columbia Pictures owns, which is a lot of trust to place in such an inexperienced director. But obviously Sony sees something special in Webb, and so do I.

1. Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey

Was there any doubt? After having minor roles in Superbad and Zombieland, Emma Stone took the world by storm in Easy A, having a breakout performance for the ages. And since then, she hasn’t looked back, starring in films like The Help and Crazy, Stupid, Love. She is also set to star in Gangster Squad later this year. Take any young actress in Hollywood right now, and it’s hard to argue that anybody else has a brighter future than Miss Stone right now. Bryce Dallas Howard, Stone’s c0-star from The Help, played a decent Gwen Stacey in Spider-Man 3, but the character wasn’t given much depth. I don’t pretend to be an expert on the Spider-Man comics, but I’ve always thought that Gwen Stacey brings more to the story than Mary Jane Watson, and I’m glad that the new movies are going in a different direction rather than re-hashing the same old romance. Just another stepping stone for Emma Stone on her way to greatness.

Are you planning to watch The Amazing Spider-Man in theaters? What has you excited? Any thing holding you back?