Restarting a computer by reloading its operating system — a reboot — sounds like a pretty smart thing to do. Off you go, better than ever. A retread — making the most of a worn-out tyre — doesn’t sound quite so clever. Guess which term Hollywood prefers for its remakes?
So here we have Spider-Man rebooted. The Marvel character first appeared in comic-books in 1962 but it was only in 2002 that the first live-action Spider-Man film, starring Tobey Maguire and directed by Sam Raimi, previously best known for The Evil Dead, was released, to be followed by Spider-Man 2 in 2004 and Spider-Man 3 in 2007.
These movies were hugely successful, grossing $2.4 billion worldwide, and Raimi was scheduled to direct Spider-Man 4 for 2011 — but the studio decided a reboot, with a new cast and a new director, could be even more profitable. Or maybe they had artistic reasons and let their hearts rule their heads?
Raimi’s first Spider-Man film was fast, shallow fun, enjoyably pulpy, not in the least interested in the back story or the supposed science but strong on the US teen setting. The refurb is the opposite in just about every way, slow and pretentious, a combination of a protracted origins story and the first superhero romcom, with a British hero and villain.
The director, Marc Webb, 37, has only made one film before, the boy meets girl, boy loses girl comedy (500) Days of Summer. His appointment to helm this movie can only have been a deliberate move to make this franchise more female-friendly or, to put it another way, to double the potential revenue-stream.
Andrew Garfield (Eduardo in The Social Network) takes an hour to even get into his cossie (the film lasts 136 minutes altogether, beware) so there’s an unprecedented amount of time for him to be a troubled kid before he starts whizzing through the sky. We are even shown him as a little boy, losing his parents so as to explain those troubles.
Garfield is very good in this role, gawky and etiolated, mumbly and stooping, moody and nervous as Peter Parker, but always with appealing eyes and a fine mop of hair, before turning convincingly athletic and muscular as he transforms. Emma Stone plays his doting girlfriend Gwen and their relationship is put at the heart of the story, with Peter finally winning over her antagonistic police captain dad (Denis Leary) only in the climactic battle. It’s all a bit weepie for a feelgood.
Rhys Ifans strikes some good poses as Dr Curt Connors, the one-armed scientist pursuing cross-species genetics in the hope of regenerating the limb as a lizard does its tail, with some unfortunate consequences. The action sequences are proficiently delivered (Parker discovers his powers in a funny rumble in the subway, rather than a pro-wrestling bout) and the 3D is good enough to make this film a nonstarter for anybody susceptible to vertigo.
So if you fancy your Spider-Man as an angsty adolescent, rather than an infallible whiz, you’ll get your money’s worth (and this film has already had a bigger opening across Asia than even The Avengers). Like all superhero films, it’s not very rewarding for grown-ups, though. They keep making them, I keep saying so. On we go!
