Following hot on the heels of Marvel’s highly anticipated Superbowl Avengers trailer, Sony created its own buzz with a day long build-up to the release of its new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man, due out on July 3rd. The trailer, which debuted Tuesday on Facebook at 12 a.m PST, is an enticing and thrilling follow-up to the film’s first trailer, which featured a lot of Peter Parker’s angst, but not much Spider-Man. Watch for yourself, then continue reading for analysis and commentary.
First and foremost, the dreariness of the first trailer has been replaced with action and humor. This Spider-Man quips and jokes and this Peter Parker is far less sulky. This time, we see more range from Andrew Garfield than we did in the first emo-infused trailer. He plays a Peter Parker that is funny, inventive, and noble. He stands up for himself against bullies and tyrannical fathers; most importantly, he lands a joke as well as he lands a punch.
This trailer also reveals that Marc Webb and company are working hard to separate this film from its all too recent predecessors. Many fans were initially dismayed that Sony would reboot the franchise so soon after 2007′s financially successful, yet not-so-loved Spider-Man 3. The first Amazing Spider-Man trailer focused on “The Untold Story” aspect of the film, which, perhaps taking its cue from the Ultimate Spider-Man universe, looks to involve the greater back-story of Peter’s parents. This new trailer touches on that aspect, but also introduces two new nemeses for Spider-
Man. The first is the much talked about appearance of The Lizard, whose counterpart of Dr. Curt Connors is played by Rhys Ifans. Outside of a leaked image of a Pez dispenser, there has been little indication of the Lizard’s appearance up until now. Several quick shots of the creature can be seen and from the looks of things, this Lizard maintains the human/reptile hybrid look of the comics, however his trademark lab coat and purple pants are nowhere to be seen and he seems much brawnier and perhaps slimier than his comic book counterpart. The quick clips of the fight scenes between Spidey and the Lizard look impressive.
Another element that Webb is using to distance himself from Sam Raimi’s films is the early inclusion of Gwen Stacy. Peter Parker’s first love in the comics, Gwen Stacy appears as a rival for Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man 3. Here, comic continuity is restored and the trailer focuses as much on Peter’s relationship with Gwen, played by the outstanding Emma Stone, and her father, a police captain played by Dennis Leary. An interesting element added into the mix is Spider-Man’s outlaw status. While Sam Raimi’s films used J. Jonah Jameson as the crux of the anti-Spider-Man movement, often for levity, this film wants Spider-Man to be hunted as much by the police as he is by the Lizard. To amp up the drama, it’s Gwen’s police captain father
leading the spider-hunt. In one scene, we see a handcuffed and unmasked Spider-Man fight off several police officers, bringing Spider-Man back to his early roots as an outsider who has to fight for acceptance.
What say you? Has this trailer convinced you that this is indeed a wholly new Spider-Man film, or is it “still too soon”? Now that we’ve seen his lighter side, do you think Andrew Garfield was the right choice? And, finally, do you like what you’ve seen so far of the Lizard? Comment below or debate the issues over at our forums!
Tags: amazing spider man, Andrew Garfield, Dennis Leary, Emma Stone, Gwen Stacy, Marc Webb, Peter Parker, Rhys Ifans, Sony, The Lizard, Trailer
About the Author
Written by Brien Gorham
Once of New Jersey, now of Seattle, Brien Gorham writes and talks about culture... a lot. When not writing about television and movies for Comic Booked, he hosts the weekly media and culture podcast C.O.T.U.S Radio and runs his own culture blog at virgilsdiner.com. He firmly believes that Shakespeare wrote his own plays and that Han did indeed shoot first.
wise cracking spiderman??????????????? YAY! granted, not the level we expect from the peter david days of writing spidey but wise cracks none the less!
I think that might have been the best surprise in the trailer for me. The first trailer was so dreary, I was a little afraid that this Spidey might be too serious.
I can’t wait for this I’ve been waiting for YEARS for the Lizard!
I love the Lizard, going all the way to the old 60′s cartoon, but I wasn’t sure if he would be enough to carry a movie. Seeing how the plot might unfold in the trailer though, I think it might work. I think we’re in for some epic fight scenes.
The Lizard has a tail! That is cool enough for now!