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While there are many superheroes that have been staples for decades, there are only a few who can instill excitement in fans the same way that Spider-Man can. Everyone’s favorite web-slinging hero first swung onto the big screen in a major way all the way back in 2002 with the hit movie Spider-Man. At that time, Tobey Maguire would go on to helm a unique trilogy of films as the iconic superhero before the series would move on to pursue a new direction.
That is what led Sony to reboot the Spider-Man series with The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012, complete with Andrew Garfield as the new version of the wall-crawler. The fun hit would be followed up with a sequel in 2014, and now both of them have found a home on Netflix. With Andrew Garfield’s take on Spider-Man gaining new praise from his appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, now is the perfect time to head back and check out The Amazing Spider-Man Movies.
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What Happens in The Amazing Spider-Man Movies?
The Amazing Spider-Man | The Amazing Spider-Man 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Director: | Marc Webb | Marc Webb | |
Writers: | James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent, Steve Kloves | Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner | |
Cast: | Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field | Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Sally Field | |
Run Time: | 136 minutes | 142 minutes | |
2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man went back to basics for the web-slinger that fans had grown to love over the previous decade. Pushing the reset button on everything, Peter is sent back to high school for another origin story that sees him gaining the power to do whatever a spider can. With a large emphasis on the relationship between the characters, Gwen Stacy is Peter Parker’s love interest this time around, with the two’s romance blossoming as the evil of Curt Connors (The Lizard) grows around them. With a little help from the people of New York City, this new Spider-Man has to save the city from The Lizard and a serum that is set to turn all of its inhabitants into lizards just like him.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 picks up only a short while after the first movie, though Peter and Gwen are now graduating high school and moving on to bigger and better things. Soon after the graduation, Peter’s old friend Harry Osborn returns as the CEO of Oscorp, now in search of a cure for a disease that is set to ravage his body. Despite dealing with difficult relationships due to the nature of Peter’s job as Spider-Man, it falls onto Peter and Gwen to contend with the fierce power of not just the underrated villain Electro, but also the Green Goblin in one of Spider-Man’s fiercest battles to date.
Why You Should Watch The Amazing Spider-Man Movies
There are a lot of great reasons to watch The Amazing Spider-Man movies, with one of the biggest being a fresh take on the character. While Peter Parker is still nerdy, he feels much more like an outsider in the movies, allowing the character to potentially appeal to a wider audience. Andrew Garfield’s take on Spider-Man is equally unique, with him bringing an energy and comedic energy to the role that feels real without falling too heavily into the cheesiness of Tobey Maguire’s great Spider-Man quips. There are plenty of familiar aspects to these movies, especially with the origin story of the first one, but even the origin manages to make a few unique twists and turns that keep it relatively fresh.
Watch The Amazing Spider-Man Movies on Netflix
The action sequences featured in each of the movies are also a ton of fun to experience. Realistically, the technical aspects of the film are a big draw for a lot of fans. While some people don’t love the costume design of the first movie, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is often cited as having the best version of Spider-Man’s costume on screen for a lot of fans. This excellence translates to the sets, scores, and even the performances of the actors throughout.
A big draw to the movies is the dynamic between Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker and Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy. Those who enjoy cute romance are certain to enjoy whatever scenes the two actors share together across the two movies, as their (at the time) real-life chemistry was captured perfectly on the big screen. Those who couldn’t quite get behind the relationship between Peter and Mary Jane from the original trilogy may find it easier to connect here thanks to the great scenes between the two. Additionally, there are a few moments for Andrew Garfield in Spider-Man: Far From Home that hit so much harder for a viewer who has done their homework and viewed these movies, making them a must-watch for any Spider-Man fan.
Critical Reception for The Amazing Spider-Man Movies
When it comes to The Amazing Spider-Man movies’ critical reception, they can’t quite match up to the absolute heights of Spider-Man movies. With The Amazing Spider-Man receiving 71% and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 receiving 51% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, it becomes clear that while enjoyable, these movies do have some flaws. In both instances, the average audience member reviewed the movies higher, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t fair critiques to be made of each film. In one positive review from Scott Foundas of Film Comment, he highlights the excellence of the performances within the original movie:
“Indeed, it’s the actors more than anything else that make The Amazing Spider-Man seem worth the effort—not just Garfield, but Stone (The Help, Superbad), who infuses the movie with her dizzy charm, especially in those scenes where she’s figuring out just what it is her boyfriend really does at night.”
The biggest critical complaints of The Amazing Spider-Man are that it tells yet another origin story for Spider-Man that was told only a short decade ago and that the plot could overall be better, but the action, creative decisions, and actor performances shine through the dark spots of the film. Interestingly, there are also a number of critics who didn’t like the shift that the film made to make the movie a bit moodier and more real in comparison to the campy trilogy that had come before. As for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the biggest complaint is absolutely a bloated movie that is working with too many moving pieces. Once again, critics have a lot of praise for the actors and effects, but with too many villains and twisting plot threads, it became hard for many critics to care about what was going on.
The Amazing Spider-Man movies can be streamed now on Netflix.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is one of the biggest names in entertainment today. The superhero first appeared in the Marvel comic Amazing Fantasy #15 before becoming a leading figure in the Marvel comic-book universe.
Spider-Man has also featured in numerous films and a plethora of video games, most notably Insomniac Games' Spider-Man (2018) and Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
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