- MPAA RATING: PG-13
- RUNTIME: 136 minutes
Managing Editor
A young woman and her jewelry are cornered against a city dumpster. In the concrete gloom of the alley, her cries cannot be heard by law enforcement and she timidly begins to succumb to the mugging.
Enter your friendly neighborhood Spiderman – and the latest in mind-blowing movie magic.
The poster boy for comic conglomerate Marvel, “Spidey” has spawned numerous film adaptations over the years, but amid state-of-the-art, computer-animated action, this latest flick dug deeper into the people behind the legend.
The film achieves greater emotional depth through its strong attention to character development. Past “Spidey” films have not seen such painstaking, personality detail, diving into crime fighting as soon as possible.
Heightened, emotional drama may annoy some as audiences are forced to wade through awkward stares and stuttering, trepid conversations for nearly half the movie before any webs are slung or villainous bells rung.
Eager action fans may grow impatient for the violence, but this depth of character is drastically more accurate to the comics than previous films.
When Spiderman does finally take to the streets, slow motion and computer graphics meld together beautifully. High above the streets of New York, poetry in motion is crafted believable and exciting.
During fight scenes, the grace and poise of swinging from skyscraper to skyscraper is dashed for brutal, gritty combat. Contusions, bruises and lacerations are all conveyed accurately with make-up and subtle use of computer graphics.
Stronger emphasis is placed on the wall crawler’s smack talking in this installment. With a stature that almost always pales in comparison to his foes, Spiderman always wields a venomous tongue to cut evil down to size.
Many may look for the quiet and sensitively squeamish but static Parker they have been presented with in the past, but the cocky, power-corrupted, pre-occupied and awkwardly arrogant Parker in this movie is volumes more believable and closer to the character being attempted.
Romance, cranked up in this version, is a key element in virtually all of writer Stan Lee’s creations for Marvel. Also the visionary behind classics including The Incredible Hulk and Fantastic Four, Lee has been often heard illuminating that all of his works are nothing but mere love stories.
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Action
Runtime: 136 minute
Four out of five stars
