Both The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man are motion pictures telling the origin story of the journey by Peter Parker to become one of the greatest superheroes in the world. The first two series of the trilogy had fundamental flows in their scripts. The third series emphasized the flaws in the other two series of the trilogy. This left a sour taste the mouths of its viewers. So much so that during the lead up to the release of The Amazing Spider-Man the eagerness and anxiety that marked the release of the other two series was not evident. The fact that The Amazing Spider-Man was released after the Avengers and Iron Man other superhero movies, did not help. However, there are inherent differences between The Amazing Spider-Man and the Spider-Man trilogy. The fundamental flaws in the Spider-man trilogy warranted the movie studio to reboot the Spider-man series only ten years after the first series of the trilogy. This is evidenced by the differences between The Amazing Spider-Man and the spider-Man trilogy
In the first Spider-Man, the setting of the story is at the very end of Peter’s senior year in high school. Before midway in the film, Peter graduates and from there on, we see his adventures as he attempts to eke out a livelihood as a photographer. The Amazing Spider-Man, unlike the other series, was set in his high school years. This is the most interesting part of Peter’s life as we see him trying to strike a balance between his studies and his juvenile problems as a superhero. In the original trilogy, Peter did not come off as a scientist. Although he could read the scholarly paper by Norman Osborn and participate in a scientific conversation with Doctor Octavius, Peter was not an inventor. In The Amazing Spider-Man, we see Peter solving complex equations with real passion and aptitude for science. Peter also has an electronic lock in his bedroom door that he creatively invented for himself. This is important because it shows the aspects of superhero Peter that the other series did not capture hence the need for a reboot.
Another difference is that unlike the other versions of the trilogy, in The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter does not have an endless supply of the webbings. The fact that Peter has a limited supply of the webs adds suspense to the movie. This is because it throws new problems in Peter’s way so that he has to look for innovative ways of overcoming them. In Spider-Man, the tragic death of Uncle Ben Parker is rushed. Immediately Peter finds Ben Parker dying on the street, he chases after the culprit. This does not give the audience enough time to come to grip with the misfortune of the moment. It also does not give the audience time to process the turning point that the moment is in Peter’s life. The Amazing Spider-Man handles the death of Ben Parker in a better way compared to the trilogy. Ben Parker dies on the spot; something that doesn’t allow Peter a moment to see him alive especially after their argument. Unlike in the other series, Peter does not jet out to apprehend the culprit. He mourns the death of his uncle for a few says before he finally hatches a plan of action in revenging his uncle’s death.
In the Spider-Man series, Peter designs a costume in order to become a wrestler. His motivation is to make some cash to procure a car in order to impress Mary Jane Watson. Owing to his uncle’s noble advice to use his power wisely, Peter decides to fight crime. In contrast, the Peter in The amazing Spider-Man does not even think of a costume until his uncle is dead and he is chasing to apprehend the culprit. At first, Peter is irrational and lashes out at anybody who fits the description of his uncle’s killer. With time, he calms down and is able to employ logic in thinking. At this point in The amazing Spider-Man, Peter develops a costume piece after another. This he does until it is a functional equipment to help him avenge his uncle’s death. It is similar that the idea to prepare the costume emanated from his uncle. However, the reasons for which the costume was prepared are different. In the Spider-man series Peter’s motivations are sensible. However, the motivations are more natural and realistic in The Amazing Spider-Man. We see Peter dressing up, not for the greater good of the community, but for a more serious goal. Peter is so focused that he does not digress until there is a bigger threat. The reboot of the series is done to show a superhero who is in touch with his inner feelings.
Throughout the trilogy, Spider-Man spouts off witty remarks while he apprehends bad guys. This creates an allure of thrill and humor when he fights crime. The Amazing Spider-Man balances comedy and heroism in a better way when compared to the trilogy. It is insightful when he takes on thrilling action sequences. For instance, Peter’s entire dialogue with the car thief has a lot of gems. This creates an allure of brilliance
In the trilogy, Aunty May’s demeanor seems displaced from the general pace of the series. She talks in a slurred manner, a phenomenon that does not marry in with the pace of the movie. The Amazing Spider-Man rectifies this by keeping her role in the movie to a bare minimum. The Amazing Spider-Man also makes her role in the film more effective than in the trilogy. This is evident when Peter comes in after gruesome fights at various points in the film. She reacts with an increasing alarm every time Peter has brutal injuries. In the very first instance, Aunt May is perturbed by Peter’s injuries. Later she becomes horrified by the sight of his injuries. When Peter is badly injured towards the very end, they do not have words to say to each other. However, we see her motherly instincts kicking in and she does the best job of comforting Peter This is another aspect that was rectified in the reboot of the original series.
“The trilogy employed the ‘what you see is what you get’ approach. Although there is nothing erroneous about it and that it is a style that often works in many action movies, its lack of mystery or subtext makes it less entertaining especially on multiple viewings. Interestingly, this is hardly the case in The Amazing Spider-Man” (Curtis 62.By the time The Amazing Spider-Man comes to an end, we are still unaware of the fate of Ben Parker’s killer. We are also not aware of the entire story of Peter’s parents and hardly anything on Mr. Osborn. This creates a degree of excitement especially because we want to know how these plot threads are resolved. All in all, the differences and similarities in The Amazing Spider-Man make it an interesting.
Movie studios do not usually reboot continuing series so soon after the first series. This is because rebooting discards any established continuity in the series and starts a fresh. However, just like in manufacturing business, it is a commercial designation to rebrand and re-launch products to the public when it is seen to continually lose its popularity. While commercial reboots rarely succeed in giving new popularity to rebranded products, they still interest some companies. With action series like The Spider-Man, reboots enable the studios to reinvigorate and revamp the action pack within not only the aim of attracting new fans but also stimulating new revenue. More often than not, reboots are attempts to rescue an action series that is seen to go stale. While this cannot be entirely said of The Spider-Man, the more sophistication in The Amazing Spider-Man tells of what the studios had in mind. The differences between the rebooted version and the original trilogy reaffirm the supposition that the studios wanted to revamp the series so that it does not lose its allure especially in the wake of other superhero action movies of its class.
Works cited
Curtis, Grant. The Spider-Man Chronicles: The Art and Making of Spider-Man 3. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2007. Print.
Spider-Man 2, Dir, Sam Raimi, 2004. Film
Spider-Man 3 Dir, Sam Raimi. 2007. Film
Spider-Man, perf. Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst James Franco, , Willem Dafoe & J. K. Simmons. 2002. Film
The Amazing Spider-Man, perf. Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Stan Lee, & Martin Sheen. 2012. Film.
