Spiderman swings back into theaters

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“The Amazing Spiderman” hit theaters July 3, making a record $35 million on opening day for a Tuesday premiere. It beat out “Transformers,” which made $27.9 million in 2007 and also came out the day before the Fourth of July.

Though three previous Spiderman movies, starring Tobey Maguire and directed by Sam Raimi, were already made, a new Spiderman franchise started with Marc Webb as the director and rising star Andrew Garfield as Spiderman, known for his role in “The Social Network.”

“The Amazing Spiderman” retells the story of how Peter Parker becomes the masked hero determined to defend the citizens of New York. This remake follows more closely to the actual events as told by the Marvel comic books. This movie shows Peter through high school where he meets Gwen Stacy, played by Emma Stone, known for her roles in “The Help” and “Easy A.” Also, Peter tries to uncover what truly happened to his parents. This leads him directly to Oscorp and to his father’s old partner Dr. Curt Connors, where Peter discovers Connors’ evil alter-ego “the lizard.”

Many argue this film was unnecessary, as it goes through Peter’s transformation and ultimate creation like the first Spiderman movie did. And some would say that it is too soon for a remake, seeing as how “Spiderman 3” came out just five years ago. However, many reviews have expressed that this film did a much better job following the comic books than the first movie did. It built a better establishment for Spiderman’s life, the focus being his beginnings in high school with Gwen Stacy and no sign of Mary Jane yet, and it left room for the characters to develop, setting up things nicely for the next movies.

“I loved how different this movie felt from the past Spiderman movies,” said Sophia Borich, a senior studying film. “It told a similar story, but it gave us more of Peter’s past that I think will be crucial for the next movies.”

One blogger for ComicBookMovie.com expressed how the film took on a darker motif. He went on to explain how Andrew Garfield fit perfectly as Peter Parker with his wisecracks that went well with the movie’s gritty tone.

This movie also took a different spin, since it is the only Spiderman movie without the character of Mary Jane. Though she will inevitably come in for the future movies, viewers were able to see a different female lead, Gwen Stacy, as Peter’s first girlfriend, following the actual storyline of the Marvel comics. Played by Emma Stone, the viewers were able to see how crucial Gwen would be to the character development of Peter Parker.

“I thought it was cool how this movie showed Spiderman earlier on than the previous movies,” said Cami Jensen, a senior studying exercise science. “It was also cool that we got to see how he made his own webs, which I hear is how the comic books went.”

“The Amazing Spiderman” retells the story of how Peter Parker became the masked vigilante he is, and many online reviewers and critics have described it as a more accurate account.

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