This week the heat team grabbed their popcorn and Minstrels and headed to the pictures to watch the three biggest releases in Moviesville over the past seven days - The Amazing Spider-Man; starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, Katy Perry: Part Of Me; starring, erm, Katy Perry and The Players; starring Jean Dujardin.
Here's what we thought:
The Amazing Spider-Man
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary
Director: Marc Webb (CERT 12A, 136 minutes)
The plot: Marvel has just scored the biggest superhero flick ever ($1.3bn and counting) with Avengers Assemble. But it’s also banking on our insatiable appetite for DNA-tweaked costumed vigilantes with this franchise reboot. With a renewed emphasis on character, relationships and emotion, Marc Webb – the director of indie romcom (500) Days Of Summer – takes the reins as geeky high-school senior Peter Parker (Garfield) is once again bitten by a spider, developing superhuman agility, strength and web-slinging abilities. Meanwhile, stump-armed Dr Curt Connors (Ifans) is busy splicing species, eager to absorb the ability to grow back severed body parts.
What’s right with it? No one who’s seen Garfield’s work in The Social Network and early film Boy A will be surprised to learn that he makes a riveting Peter, fusing hurt at childhood abandonment with guilt for the death of his uncle in a mugging. As Gwen, Stone is her trademark mix of fun, feisty and adorable, and the script cunningly places her at the centre of the action through her internship at Connors’ workplace and familial connection to top cop Captain Stacy (Leary). Main surprise: the witty screenplay.
What’s wrong with it? This is essentially another origin tale, so if you saw Sam Raimi’s 2002 movie Spider-Man, there are similarities. We’ve watched both Stone (23) and Garfield (28) play grown-ups, so it’s odd to see them now as schoolkids.
Verdict: A highly entertaining and satisfying spin on Stan Lee’s beloved comic-book tale, and all the better if you’ve never seen, or have totally forgotten, previous versions. 4/5 @charlesgant
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