Spider-Man, the First Superhero Flick in the Post Avengers Landscape
I am optimistically excited for the newly rebooted Amazing Spider-Man franchise. That said, this movie will have the unfortunate distinction of being the first superhero movie in the post Avengers landscape. The Avengers changed everything, showing how high movies in this genre can go, fulfilling our ever present desire for a truly inspiring comic book movie, like the X-Men and first Spider-Man saga's promised, but lacked, Green Lantern and Superman flat out failed, and the Dark Knight has been flirting with, but not committed to yet.
In the midst of these heightened expectations arrives The Amazing Spider-Man, the fittingly named Mark Webb's reboot of the franchise. The Avengers fronted spectacular, if slightly flawed, characters, full of one liners, and big explosions. Where The Avengers was explosive, the Amazing Spider-Man will be an introspective journey though the psyche of a damaged teen coming to grips with tremendous tragedy, while navigating the pit falls associated with being an outsider in high school, and the male teen libido... while at the same time gaining super powers, fighting a giant lizard, and discovering the truth behind his parents disappearance (you know that old troupe). Because of this, I fear, that this movie will not get the credit it deserves from a public still hung over from The Avengers who will be expecting a little hair of the dog, only to be presented with cup of Earl Grey with a little lemon.
I plan to try and think of this movie, not as a pallet cleanser, from the taste bud destroying spicy curry that was The Avengers. It is my hope that The Amazing Spider-Man will remind everyone what made these comics so great, not just the explosions and epic story arcs, but the deep development of the characters that many of us have invested our lives following. This is what I hope this movie delivers. So enjoy your post curry lemon sorbet... the next course is a deep rich dark desert, as the Dark Knight Rises is the next prominent superhero movie, set to drop later this summer. Check out The Amazing Spider-man when it hits theaters on July 3rd.
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