When it comes to superhero movies, I’m a Batman guy. Not a Joel Schumacher Batman guy, mind you, but a Christopher Nolan, gritty Gotham City, bad-to-the-bone Batman guy. To me, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films were always a tad tame, and dramatic weight seemed secondary to the lucrative business of selling lunch-boxes to third-graders. So I was surprised and excited by Sony’s announcement that Andrew Garfield will be the new Peter Parker in the Spidey reboot scheduled for 2012.
The British actor is a marvelous talent who’s impressed directors as varied as Robert Redford, Terry Gilliam, Mark Romanek, and David Fincher. Skeptics will point out that Garfield will be 27 by the time the film begins shooting in December, and since the reboot is supposed to emphasize Parker’s high-school years, Sony should’ve opted for a younger actor.
Maybe. But Garfield could easily pass for 18, as he already has in several films. More importantly, there’s an endearing aw-shucks innocence that Garfield embodies that jibes very well with the superhero he’s now tasked with playing. In the same way that American Psycho‘s Christian Bale was the ideal Bruce Wayne, Lions for Lambs‘ Andrew Garfield is a potentially perfect Peter Parker in a presumably un-Raimi film being crafted by the screenwriter of Zodiac (James Vanderbilt) and the director of 500 Days of Summer (Marc Webb). At the very least, their Spider-Man will be fresh and interesting, which, if you’re going to attempt a reboot just five years later, is an absolute must.
What do you think of the new Spider-Man? Have you seen any of Garfield’s films, and did they make you more or less inclined to imagine him web-swinging through Manhattan?
Also: Nicole Sperling: Andrew Garfield cast as the new Spider-Man
It is impressive that he’s worked with David Fincher, Robert Redford, Terry Gilliam, etc., but I’m still a little skeptical. I actually really liked Sam Raimi’s first two Spider-Man flicks. A lot of people expect it to be Batman Begins, which I think is a bit of a stretch. I mean, Marc Webb isn’t Christopher Nolan.
I know-maybe the reboot will be good, but I don’t think the writer and director’s last movies alone give us any proof that this new movie will be darker and grittier than Raimi’s. Plus, if it takes place in high school, you’d expect it to have some lighter, rites of passage, teenage elements
It seems a little odd to do an ornigis movie so soon after a modern trilogy from Sony, one that seemingly had the blessing of Stan Lee who had cameos in all three blockbusters. I mean, even if the previous cast wasn\’t wild about a fourth installment, it still just seems weird to do it in this manner. Or is it just me? It would be like redoing Sumerman Returns.
Wow. The Toby McGuire Spider Man franchise is less than a decade old, and already we’re ‘rebooting’… I wish more media coverage would point out the obvious fact that we’re so creatively brain-dead these days that spinning out comic book movies is all we can do.
It is soon, but the reboot is so that that all the Marvel universe Superheroes can inhabit a single world and then later be in an Avengers movie. Very ambitious and if they can pull it off it will be really cool…if they can pull it off.
I’m not sure that’s the case. I think they rebooted because of differences with Raimi. This is still a Sony pic. I don’t think Spidey can legally appear in another studio’s movie. Correct me someone, if they’ve heard differently.
Thats a dillusional theory. Sony owns Spiderman, so the single world wont work with Spiderman because of money. Neither will X-Men. They are rebooting it because Sony pushed Raimi into a storyline he didnt want (venom) so he crashed the ship.
It depends on which film you look at. Is it soon after the last sequel? Yes, but the original will be ten years old when the new Spider-Man film comes out. Lets face facts, the Raimi line of Spidey flicks were pretty corny, a little too teen-drama laced and very bright and poppy, especially for a hero who’s stomping ground is a hardcore gritty city like New York. People assume that comic books are like that because they consider them childrens’ reads but most comics are anything but. There’s a great deal of darkness, political allegory and other great devices in them. Besides, It’s already been proven that you can make a really good super hero movie that’s darker and more adult without losing the kids. Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk (Ed Norton’s), Ironman 1 & 2, X-Men Origins: Wolverine – all successful movies. Compare them to some of the cheesier super hero movies that have come out – Superman Returns, Daredevil, Fantastic 4 and Rise of the Siver Surfer – which didn’t fair well at all and one has to wonder why they took the direction they did with the first three Spidey flicks.
He looks like *SHOCK* a young Topher Grace. If Topher was younger he could have been Peter instead of being stuck as Eddie. How stupid does Hollywood think we are? There is no reboot of Spiderman (A la “Dark Knight” Batman). Spidey simply is. We don’t need him any darker than the space goo made him. Who wanted too much money for them to just make the sequel? I think that Wesley Snipes is looking for work so a Blade/Spiderman crossover would have been great. John Goodman has slimmed down but he would be an AWESOME Kingpin. And seriously, James Franco is doing SOAPS. Someone save his career PLEASE!!!
It’s inspired casting. Glad they went for so of an unknown actor. Think he looks the part. As far as his age goes, I read from the HitFix site that now he’ll be a college student instead of high school. Could be just a rumor, but if true, it might make more sense considering he’ll be 27 by December.
I get that you’re a Batman guy, but I don’t think the grit you enjoyed in Nolan’s movies (which I think are TERRIFIC) would’ve fit the Spider Man character quite as well.
I thought he was fantastic in Boy A and the Red Riding Trilogy. Can’t wait to see his Spiderman!
This article is complete garbage. If this writer is comparing a good spiderman movie with batman he doesn’t know wtf he is talking about. IF anything the RAimi flicks were stuck in too much freaking melodrama. Spiderman is a punk kid with superpowers and should act as such. This guy has epic fail written all over him.
Yes. I’m not sure what Jeff was getting as by saying the drama took a backseat to anything. If Raimi’s films have a flaw, it’s that everything else took a backseat to the drama. btw, I don’t count the third film…it is dead to me.
LOVE him!
Can he wisecrack?
I agree with Peter Lang. To be honest Sam Raimi adrlaey covered Spider-Man’s origins in the first movie, it’s kind of like a repeat of the first film. I reckon they should have left it be at Spider Man 3. Or If there was to be a fourth installment, base it on his encounter with a key character they completely missed in all three that being Madame Web. include Black Cat, and villain of choice . Carnage making reference to his arch rival Venom. Then you could easily follow that up for spider-Man 5 focusing on the triangle rivalry between Spidey, Venom and Carnage .Simples!
Haircut.
BORED with uninteresting American actors but still find a spark with the Brits. Can he wisecrack…? Come on, wisecracking is one of the 7 Pillars of the UK!
I have mixed feelings about this. I’m not so sure re-booting the ‘Spider-Man’ franchise is a good idea; but if they’re going to do it anyway, they might as well differentiate it from Raimi’s Spidey trilogy as much as they can — maybe take it in a more edgy direction…
As for the casting, Mr. Garfield is definitely an interesting pick and I have high hopes for him — I thought he did a great job in ‘Red Riding: 1974′, and I very much look forward to his performance as Tommy in the upcoming adaptation of ‘Never Let Me Go.’ While the new Spidey seems unnecessary to me, I hope it works out if only for this guy.
This is hopefully the reboot True Believers have been waiting for. Tobey McGuire was the worst person to play Spiderman, sadly Sam Raimi was the perfect person to direct it. McGuire’s lack of comedic timing and ability to communicate either through facial expressions or delivery of Spidey’s classic one liners was an epic fail. As Peter Parker the focus has to be on the struggle of being normal and striving to fit in, in the jungle of high school with the responsibility of his (semi)new power. If the technology existed to make Bruce Campbell look 18 and there was a way to shave his chin down, he’d be perfect. Sam Raimi and the writing team for Spiderman 1 and 2 def. had great witty lines but the lacked actors with the skill to deliver them. I hope they don’t screw this up.
The only thing I’ve seen him in is two episodes of Doctor Who. (Daleks in Mahattan & Evolution of the Daleks, the curious) His American accent in those episodes was terrible. Now that was three years ago, so I hope him accent has improved. Andrew looks a lot closer to how Peter Parker looks in my head, so I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I love Spidey, so I’m in regardless.
I haven’t seen it, but apparently his accent in Lions for Lambs was fine.
In his defense, the Doctor Who accent was a Southern accent, and not your standard American accent. Most Americans can’t even do regional accents properly, so they’re two different beasts.
I don’t know what the author’s problem is, but:
I DON’T want a gritty Spider-Man. Spider-Man’s never been dark and gritty.