[Editor’s note:  To see our opening week review, click here.]

If Peter Parker was anything throughout the years, he was a wimp.  Whiny even.  It’s that wimpiness that counter-balances the heroics after he gets stung by the spider.  Tobey Maguire (Pleasantville, Blossom, Seabiscuit), who played Peter Parker in three Spider-man movies (three?! I must have missed the last one) had his “innocent” act down pretty well, but never seemed truly pathetic.  On the other hand, Andrew Garfield (Doctor Who, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Social Network, Never Let Me Go) may be perfectly cast as the new Spider-man.  And it’s not just the glasses.

Wow, does this guy look wimpy, with a voice that sounds like it was changing as they were making the movie.  Check out the new trailer for the movie coming this summer…

That accent when he is ranting while wearing his suit is hilarious.  And check out Emma Stone (Superbad, Medium) as Gwen Stacy.  She looks like she may be a great choice to replace Kirsten Dunst as Spidey’s ongoing love interest.  I had no desire to see yet another Spider-man movie, and with all the other genre movies coming this year I figured this was the one to skip.  I’m not so sure now.  His new suit looks great, too.

The swinging scenes look much better than the last film versions.  I love watching Denis Leary when he is in prime form and you can tell here he will be a major foil for Peter.  The other Spidey films were so serious, that it will be some welcome relief to have some humor thrown in this time around (great “unitard” line by Leary).  Other interesting actors in this film are Annie Parisse (Law and Order) as Martha Connors,  Campbell Scott (Dead Again, Royal Pains, The Love Letter) as Richard Parker, and big names Sally Field as May Parker, and Martin Sheen as Ben Parker.  And check out the Lizard.

If there is one thing I don’t like, it’s the bland “The Untold Story” logo on the posters.  Sorry, but if it is one thing we can pretty much bank on with a Spider-man movie, it is a story we’ve probably read or seen before.  That said, there seems to be a lot more to like than not in this trailer, and I for one am pleasantly surprised.

Like the poster says, The Amazing Spider-man is scheduled to hit theaters July 3, 2012.

July 4, 2012 update: Check out our opening week review of the movie here!

C.J. Bunce
Editor
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