Tonight I was one of the line of film fans who queued up in the cold (luckily the snow had gone) to see a sneak peak of one of this summer’s big releases – The Amazing Spider-Man. Empire’s Chris Hewitt introduced the evening, informing us that we were about to go live via Satellite with Rio de Janeiro, LA and New York and there was a surprise guest in store. First off we went to LA where the host welcomed the film’s director Marc Webb. Then it was over to Rio where Emma Stone was welcomed out along with Producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach. Then it was over to us in London to welcome the villain of the film Rhys Ifans. Lastly there was massive applause in New York for the film’s star Andrew Garfield.
So with four cities and three continents excited, it was over to Marc Webb to introduce the trailer – in 3D. Many are cynical about the use of 3D in films but I absolutely loved it for this. The Amazing Spider-Man has lots of sweeping shots across the New York city skyline and action pieces of Spider-man himself flying through buildings. In 3D, these shots are all the more intense and great fun to watch.
*WARNING – SPOILERS/PLOT POINTS REVEALED*
Then a rough cut about ten minutes long was revealed in all its untouched glory. This section was in 2D as it wasn’t yet completed but it lost none of its spectacle, even when you saw the wires or the green screen. This selection of shots also revealed the real feel to this interpretation of the Spider-man story. Webb and Ifans both commented on the film being a more emotional journey, looking into what makes Peter Parker who he is. It focuses more on his time before the infamous spider bite and goes into the backstory of his parents – a search that leads Peter to his father’s former friend and work partner Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans). Connors becomes The Lizard, it appears, because of a formula that Parker helps devise.
Peter Parker is also a little less geek, a little more skater boy. He still has his camera though, never fear. The Amazing Spider-Man sees the relationship blossom between Peter and Gwen Stacy (Stone). As Stone explained, Gwen is the complete opposite to Mary Jane Watson. For starters, Gwen does very well at school and has a great relationship with all of her family – including her father. Stone did say though that one of the biggest differences between the two is that Gwen falls in love with Peter Parker whereas Mary Jane falls for Spider-man.
“Because I’m not an idiot!” – Andrew Garfield on why he wanted to be Spider-man
The clips show the awkward high-school angst of bullying and sees Peter trying to stick up for somebody but getting beaten up for his efforts. Then, post spider bite, he gets his own back. After a telling off from his Uncle Ben, an awkward Peter tries to ask Gwen out – without actually asking her. Martin Sheen (Uncle Ben) does wise and all-knowing just as brilliantly as I expected, having seen him as the president in West Wing. He also has a cheeky side that was never explored in Sam Raimi versions. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see a lot of Aunt May (Sally Field) but I have no doubt she will be as fantastic as she always is.
There was also a strong focus on Spider-man being a vigilante – much like Bruce Wayne in the more recent Batman films. He is being sought out by the police – including Gwen’s father George (Denis Leary) for his “crimes”. And when Peter Parker tries to debate Spider-man’s vigilante status with George over a Stacy family dinner, things get pretty tense.
Andrew Garfield possibly got the biggest laugh of the evening. When asked why he wanted to be Spider-man, he responded: “Because I’m not an idiot!” And when Rhys Ifans was asked about his stunt work, he explained that he spent a lot of time walking around in a green suit with targets on it and a giant reptile head. He also said he’s excited about being a Pez dispenser!
All in all, it was a great evening and I even managed to bag myself a very trendy t-shirt …
July is going to be a great month for cinema!
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