Superhero movies don’t generally interest me. In fact, I hadn’t planned to see this movie, but in a marriage, sometimes you see movies you don’t want to see. So I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining The Amazing Spider-Man is. Andrew Garfield does a kind-of hip-hop version of Spidey that initially annoyed me, but he proved to be so charming, he won me over. I’m actually looking forward to the seeing the sequel whenever finals are over.
This movie incorporates some heavyweight talent, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field standing in for Peter Parker’s missing parents, Golden Globe nominee Emma Stone as girlfriend Gwen, Denis Leary as Gwen’s police-chief father, and – dare I say it? – Rhys Ifans as villain Curt Conners. I pay attention to anything Ifans does because his characters are always so memorable: Nigel Gruff, the bad-luck gambler and fun-loving kicker from The Replacements; Hugh Grant’s nutty flatmate in Notting Hill; the cool Psych prof in The 5 Year Engagement. Even though I saw The Social Network, I had never heard of Andrew Garfield before this movie, but I hope to see more of him in the future. ~ Jana Atkins
