We are behind on our summer blockbuster viewing, and so only just caught The Amazing Spiderman at our local cheap/second-run theater. The verdict: I liked it! It had all the elements I like to see in a comic-book movie: fun, entertaining, good action scenes, good special effects, and generally holding to the feel of the comic characters (at least as far as I am familiar with them). There was all the youthful sarcasm and quips of Spiderman, plus a decent amount of romance. At first I had not been looking forward to seeing the movie, partly I think because the other trilogy is barely cold and already they are remaking Spiderman! Really! But this was a good version, with a different take on the characters than the other trilogy.
My primary annoyance with the movie is not the movie itself, but rather how it interacts with the trailer. The movie could be "The Amazing Spiderman: Don't Trust the Trailer." I'm aware that scenes from the theater version doesn't always make it to DVD, but I am always annoyed when there are scenes and lines in the trailers that don't make it to the theater! I can forgive the voice-over in the trailer that doesn't show up in the movie, but that's it. There are clearly lines that I don't recall ever seeing, and even a scene that is significantly different: the shadowy man who appears at the end questioning what Peter Parker knows about his dad is shown in more detail in the trailer than in the movie. In the trailer, we can actually see his face. In the movie, we barely see him at all, as he is hidden in shadows. The football field scene in the trailer also doesn't appear: we never see the coach talk to Peter at all.
The trailer also makes the movie very focused on Peter's parents, and the mystery surrounding it. The trailer would have us believe that everything Peter is doing, his entire conflict with the villain, involves getting information about his parents. This is not really true, however. Peter does meet the villain due to searching the past, and the past is a factor, but he seems more motivated by revenge for his uncle's death, and later by his need to protect innocent people, than by learning about his parents.
The movie was great, but it wasn't the film that the trailer advertised. This is something that happens from time to time, and it always irritates me. To me, a trailer should motivate me to watch the movie, but not by cheating and selling me a movie that doesn't exist.
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