Monday, July 9, 2012

Why I Like Spiderman Best

 

spiderman

I thought I’d take a teensy break from posting re-caps of my trip to Colorado to talk about Spiderman.

Recently, Sarah wrote a whole series on The Avengers. It’s extremely articulate and interesting and I’ve wondered if I could write about superheroes with kind of passion. Probably not.

But I did take my dad and my husband to see The Amazing Spiderman in 3D yesterday. And it was pretty much awesome. Growing up, The Amazing Spiderman was the one comic I did read and when Sam Raimi released his movie trilogy a decade ago, I was very much a fan (although something about Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker always bugged me. I don’t know.)

And yeah, maybe it was just Andrew Garfield’s angstier, more grown-up take on the role. Or his dimples. Maybe. Or his mind-blowing chemistry with Emma Stone. Maybe.

But I liked this Spiderman so much more.

I’m not going to spoil the movie for you (but if your boyfriend or husband or comic-loving best friend is dragging you to see this…you’ll enjoy it). But I am going to say that I found this film kind of refreshing in the sea of recent superhero origin myth remakes. Because (with the exception of Steve Rogers/Captain America) it feels like the majority of these men turned super get reaaaaaaaaaaaally introspective and self-involved. “Who am I now that I have these powers? I’m such a freak. I’m so different. This is so hard for me.” Especially Bruce Wayne and his “Gotham needs me as their scapegoat because I am the dark avenger and I am so brooding and aloneeeeeeeeeeeeee…” (I apologize to Kyle and every other Batman fan out there, myself including). Of course, they all eventually realize that they can use their powers for good and not for evil, which is…you know…pretty much the premise of all superheroes ever.

But The Amazing Spiderman felt different. This Peter Parker isn’t a total loser before he gets his powers or total superstar after he does. And while Garfield does his duty as the simultaneously nerdy-bordering-on-genius-straight-A-manchild-with-mad-crush-on-daughter-of-police-chief and the brooding-disheveled-hair-skate-boarding-teen-with-abandonment-issues (oh, how my cup of angst doth runneth over!), this film manages to skip the whole “I wish I’d never been cursed with this HORRIBLE SUPERPOWER! I am so ALONE. NO ONE UNDERSTANDS MEEEEEEEEEEE!” and gets right to what I love about Spiderman, the emphasis on personal responsibility.

And if there is a neat bow on the moral of the story (and there really might be), then at least it’s a good one. Peter continually comes back to the phrase, “I messed up and I need to fix it.” And while a lot of real life doesn’t allow us that luxury, it’s wonderful to see a hero who really owns up to his own flaws.

Also…super great to see a superhero not do the whole “ugh, stop acting like my superpower is cool, it’s really a burden.” Um, no. Being a superhero is awesome. Stop acting like it’s not.

So thank you, Andrew Garfield and Marc Webb Who Directed One Of My Favorite Movies Of All Time No It Wasn’t The Amazing Spiderman.

garfield

Photo credit

 

Have you seen the movie yet? How do you feel about superheroes?

love, elizabeth

PS: Bruce Wayne fans…bring it.

6 comments:

Dan H said...

I really want to see this but I have no money. I'm sure I will get to see it one day though.

Sarahcastically said...

I haven't seen it yet, and I won't get to for another week. But obviously I love superheroes and I can't wait to see this and I am already pretty convinced that it will be better than the Tobey Maguire movies (and that isn't just because of how much I adore Andrew and Emma, though that definitely factors in).

I don't know if I should blame Christopher Nolan or his rabid followers for this sentiment, but I am so done Batman and his manpain. I get it. Your life is super difficult. You have billions of dollars and tons of supermodels in love with you. I bet it really sucks to have all these extra problems you created for yourself by choosing to become Batman.

What irritates me the most about Batman at this point is the fact that he's actually this huge business figure who could literally influence so much good in the corporate world (which, if it's corrupt in reality, I can only imagine what it's like in Gotham City) but instead he goes around ~patrolling the night~ and punching out people for loitering. Yeah I'm not really feeling super sympathetic for you, Bruce.

Anyway, the point is... Spiderman (and Marvel) is better than Batman (and DC). BY FAR. (Superman is still okay by me, though. For now.)

Michelle said...

I really want to see it! Seems like there are a lot of good movies out right now.

Faith said...

It's funny I'm not into the whole superhero thing but I've always been a fan of Spider Man so I'm looking forward to watching it.

I also never understood why Tobey Maguire was casted as Spider Man. Very strange.

And I love Emma Stone. Glad she's in it!

Shoshanah said...

I really liked this one! It's hard for me to really say why or compare the two versions. But I think a lot of the reason I enjoyed this one so much was because of Emma Stone.

Lee Valdez said...

Great share thanks for writing this

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...