By now, most of you have seen the new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man. If not, check out the trailer below before you continue reading.
The first thing I noticed was how drastically darker it seemed from the previous Spider-Man trilogy. Let's be honest, people will be comparing the two series from now until they decide to reboot the series again 10 years from now. Then we can compare all three trilogies! Needless to say, this trailer has me excited for the reboot.
From the very beginning, we had a sense that this movie was going to take a darker approach towards the story. This trailer emphasized that feeling. The overall tone of this trailer, from the lighting to the soundtrack, looks like the movie will shape up to be a darker, more serious look at the journey of Spider-Man. It seems to be taking the same approach as the Batman reboots, with less of a gimmicky comic approach. That's not to say that the story isn't going to follow the comics. On the contrary, it looks like it will be more true to the comics than the original trilogy. After all, they are including Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker's first love. Honestly, how could the original just blatantly leave her out until the third?
So why does this movie seem so much more intense? Judging just by the trailer, the cast seems to be playing a huge difference. Tobey Maguire did a fantastic job in the first film, but after that the character of Peter Parker took a turn for the worst. He seemed to struggle with the identity of Peter Parker. Maybe it was the acting, or maybe it was the script, but to put it simply, the first trilogy seemed too childish towards the end. It felt like they struggled in whether or not to distinguish Spider-Man as dark, serious story or a funny, light romp. Even the transformation in the third film of Peter Parker into the more vengeful Spider-Man because of the extraterrestrial symbiote was immature. God, I hope this film doesn't have Spider-Man covering his eye like an emo kid while dancing down the street, winking and pointing at girls.
Now I can only judge from this trailer, that The Amazing Spider-Man will not follow that same path. It seems that they know the direction they want this reboot to follow. I think the actors in this cast (Emma Stone, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen) are too talented to get mixed up in the portrayal of their characters.
My only gripe in this trailer is the first-person view they give us as Spider-Man. Was it awesome to look through the eyes of Spider-Man and see what it's like to swing over a city? Of course it was. I worry though, because it did seem gimmicky, like the type of thing the first trilogy would've done. I think what bothers me was just how fake and CGI'd it looked. It seemed like a video game, and if a movie is going to have that look, then all sense of believability is thrown at the window and the story can be ruined. Then again, it is just a trailer. They could have just thrown that in there as a little, extra clip to get people talking. They might not even include that in the film.
The overall impression I'm left with from this trailer is that it will be a successful reboot, similar to the Batman reboots. What are your feelings on the trailer? Did you enjoy the first-person view of swinging over the streets?
