'Looper' gets a little stuck

The future is given a more realistic feel, despite the invention of time travel, in the latest science fiction thriller, “Looper.” A young man gets into the “looping” business, literally meets his match, and is then thrust into an internal struggle of moral values but the boiling excitement stirred up in the first half of the movie reduces to a simmer near the end.

Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) fights to survive against his
zealous future self (Bruce Willis) in the sci-fi thriller "Looper."

“Looper” stars indie actor turned Hollywood heartthrob, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Inception”) playing a younger version of Bruce Willis’ (“Die Hard”) character, Joe. Joe’s current occupation is to kill people sent back in time from the year 2072. He is a looper. Disposing of a body in the future is a hard thing to do so the mob sends their trash to the past, and the loopers take care of the dirty work. After the looper makes the kill, they collect their sum in silver, which is attached to the victim’s back. When a looper closes their loop and throws in the towel, their self from the future is sent back in time, killed, and then they have 30 years to do whatever they want. Well, Joe never threw in the towel, but ends up with a problem when his older self is in front of him. Before he can even try to calculate the problem, he is quickly ambushed by future Joe and the chase is on. He must kill his future self before his employer kills him for not closing his loop.

The violence in “Looper” is similar to the violence in the recent sleeper-hit “Drive.” It takes the audience by surprise and adds to the film instead of muddling it up. People are cut up, shot up and blown apart throughout this movie, and all the death affects the lives of both Joes. Besides the violence, there is not much else that is shocking. The story is not terribly complex because it is stated immediately that the movie is not going in that direction. When both Joes finally run into each other, present Joe starts to question how future Joe will be affected by present Joe’s actions and he quickly interrupts him and yells, “That’s not important!” Which is true, in a way.

The story’s simplicity is the source of both strength and weakness. Present Joe narrates the story explaining that in the present day, telekinesis is a power in some people but it never really goes past levitating small objects. The drastic gap between the wealthy and the poor is there, but the most futuristic they have gotten is floating motorcycles. People look the same for the most part, and are not running around in weird cylinder-shaped clothing and neon colored dresses as most futuristic movies tend to do, pulling the reality straight out of the film. It helps the audience feel grounded. The subtle attention to production design is nice, but may have left the film lacking in the story department. There is really no emotional connection to present Joe compared to future Joe. Present Joe just comes across as a punk until the last two minutes of the film. This is a shame because his character had almost an hour to grow, but maybe that just was not enough time. This, though, is definitely is not Gordon-Levitt’s fault. He gives an amazing performance in the first half of this movie since he looks and talks like Willis. In the opening monologue it actually sounded like Willis was doing the voiceover. Joe barely speaks in the film and, when he does, Gordon-Levitt does every little tick and word pronunciation that Willis would do. It seemed as if he followed Willis around with a video camera and recorded every single movement he made when talking and contemplating and mimicked it perfectly. But that is just it, he mimicked it, it did not feel like he put himself in it that much. Thus, in the last half of the film, he fell flat and slipped right back into his usual Gordon-Levitt delivery. Since he is a Hollywood hotshot now, his performances are more recognizable, and in this a film like this, where he had a chance to truly disappear into a role, he fell just a little bit short.

Along with Gordon-Levitt’s almost perfect performance, “Looper” has its story problems. Lacking character development and even character connection are two aspects of any type of storytelling that cannot be looked over. Besides connection issues, it dealt with the time-traveling well enough. It is no “Terminator,” but it is a sure step above “The Butterfly Effect.” “Looper” receives 3 out of 5 stars.

Watkins entrances PUC

Magic has always been a form of entertainment that can sink or swim when it comes to audience reactions. Either the magician gets a cooperative audience and successfully takes them on a journey through a world of illusions and mind-defying tricks, or the act simply falls flat and leaves the audience bored. Actor and professional award-winning magician Dennis Watkins proved that he is not just a magician but an entertainer that will keep the audience on their toes on Sept. 28 in Alumni Hall.

Tianna Harrison, daughter of PUC Writing Center Coordinator Janine Harrison, happily performs a ring trick with Dennis Watkins.

 Lots of PUC students, children and members of the community packed into Alumni Hall to witness a true magician at work. Watkins immediately immerses his audience in the show by picking a few lucky people from the crowd to participate in a current trick and one that would be performed later. By automatically attaching the crowd to his tricks, he quickly builds a rapport with the audience. His comedic bits and friendly demeanor add to the warm stage presence he gives off. Since there were so many children in the crowd, he often played off of their antics, whether it was them trying to ruin his tricks or if they were being too disruptive. He did it in a manner that was funny, but did not belittle or scold them. Eventually, Watkins moved to his more radical tricks, which kept the crowd exclaiming and giving applause all night. When Tory Shrum, a freshmen nursing major, was asked what her favorite trick was she replied, “I can’t pick just one, but I liked the one with the girl’s head!” This trick involved participation from the audience to work successfully.

Watkins called an audience member to the stage, and it just happened to be a 7 year-old girl. As she approached the stage he told her to sit in a chair facing the audience and not to move an inch. He pulled out a hypnotizing wheel and started to spin it. “Stare directly into the middle of the middle,” he proclaimed to the crowd, “do not avert your eyes. Keep focused in the middle even if it feels like you are being pulled into a tunnel.” He counted down from five and told the audience to then look at the girl’s head. The outcome caused most audience members to gasp and immediately break out into applause. “I have never seen anything like this before,” Patrice McBee, sophomore accounting major, said. McBee’s favorite trick performed was the mind-reading, or blindfold trick that Watkins performed. Again, Watkins pulled from the audience for this mind-blowing illusion. He called a man and woman to the stage and proceeded to have them help him set up the act. He placed two half-dollar coins on pieces of duct tape and placed them over both eyes. He then applied more duct tape around his eyes, a blindfold and another piece of duct tape on top of the blindfold. Still blindfolded he told the male helper to grab three personal items from people in the crowd. After receiving the items, he told the man to hand them to the woman, behind his back, and then told the woman to hold the object in front of his hand, not allowing him to ever touch the item. The three items were a cell phone, a compact and a wristband. Not only did he guess every single one, he described them as if he did not even have the blindfold on.

 Simply amazing would be an understatement of Watkins’s performance. Interactive showcasing would be a closer statement but still not right enough. As soon as he began to talk, Watkins threw his personality and skill out to the audience. He was able to energize the kids and have the adults believing in magic again.
 On October 12th at 8 p.m., mentalist Christopher Carter will be attempting to read minds in Alumni Hall.

'Tekken' delivers a low blow

With 41 playable characters to choose from, it is hard to see how a game could get old so easily. Somehow “Tekken Tag Tournament 2” manages to do this. It took about 12 years for it to come out, and it is a non-canon storyline so the writers probably would not have to do as much work when it comes to the story. But Tekken leaves gamers high, dry and empty inside because, like many recent fighting games, more emphasis is put on online gameplay rather than single player.. “Tekken Tag 2” is slightly based on “Tekken 6” but does not follow the storyline of the normal Tekken franchise, which allows characters that have died or are no longer featured in the series to appear in this game. The general concept involves fighters from all over the world coming together to fight to become the King of Iron Fist. The player gets to use all types of people and even creatures to fight against opponents, either one on one or in a team up with another character of their choice.

“Tekken Tag 2” was announced in 2010 by the director Katsuhiro Harada via Twitter, saying he had an announcement at Tokyo Game Show. Many fans thought it had to do with another “Tekken” game or more news on the “Tekken x Street Fighter” franchise, but it was quite the contrary. The anticipation rose as memorable and fan favorite characters were announced to be on the roster, even including characters that have not been seen in the franchise for 12 years. Despite its upgrade to beautiful graphics and an amazing soundtrack, this game falls flat on its face. In addition to standard fighting modes, “Tekken” games usually benefit from added side modes that players can unlock and enjoy. For example, in “Tekken Tag Tournament,” after beating the game a certain amount of times players would receive “Tekken Bowl,” a bonus bowling game that featured characters from the Tekken universe.

 Ever since “Tekken 3” there was a beat-em-up mini game attached to the main game, but that is not found in this installment. “Tekken Tag Tournament” had such a huge cult following and legacy behind it that the seemingly small amount of effort to make this one memorable is somewhat baffling. Regardless of this issue, the game does provide some momentary entertainment. Besides team battles, time attack and survival which come with almost every “Tekken” game, there is a new mode called “Fight Lab.” In this mode players are able to build a robot named Combot. The player can adjust Combot’s fighting style to match any character in the game. Combot can have one character’s kick and another character’s punch, for example. This is a very interesting feature that could allow a player to create their own copycat character. This is unlike previous games which feature a wooden training dummy character called Mokujin who changes to the character it wants to portray in between rounds. One improved feature this time around was the ability to perform attacks with characters in tag mode. Players can either hit the opponent and switch out with the other character, or they can have the other partner assist them. While in the assist mode, heavy damage and a string of attacks can be delivered to an opponent, which gives off more of an arcade vibe. There are different ways a player can perform an attack while swapping out their character. They can either throw their opponent or have the entering fighter attack, or simply hit the opponent and have the character coming in attack them once more, creating a chain of attacks.

The game is far from catastrophic, but its weak points are very visible. It seems as though instead of introducing new techniques, trying to add features or doing something new, they just slapped every character from the previous games into a “new” game and expected that to be enough. The focus on online content these days is understandable. More people want to test their skills without leaving their rooms, gain achievements or even build a team and conquer the boards. But it should not draw away from the time that can be put into actually battling and practicing offline. Not every single gamer in the world likes playing online with other people. A lot of people still play games with local friends, not some random person who has logged up 85 hours of game play and will mutilate their competition in the blink of an eye. “Tekken Tag Tournament 2” receives 3 out of 5 stars.

'Gangnam Style' enters viral history books

It is all over the internet, has been on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show,” celebrities such as Britney Spears and Katy Perry have showed interest, and the video has reached over 100 million views on YouTube. It is “Gangnam Style,” and it has taken the world over in a unique fashion.

South Korean artist PSY busts out his "horse dance"
 at MTV's Video Music Awards.

“Gangnam Style” is South Korean rapper PSY’s (pronounced “sigh”) latest single. Released in July this year, it was another one of PSY’s jokester videos, merely poking fun at how ironic the character in the video is compared to the lyrics. The song is basically about a man calling himself Gangnam style when he is clearly not. Gagnam is a location in South Korea best compared to Beverly Hills, Calif. PSY is a far cry from other South Korean pop stars who have reached recent international success. He is barely on the Hallyu, or Korean, wave that includes artists such as Girls’ Generation who were in the United States earlier this year promoting their album on shows like David Letterman, Wonder Girls who are no strangers to the U.S. with a movie on Teen Nick and a new collaboration with Akon, and 2NE1 that currently have an Adidas commercial running in America.

But PSY has something different to bring to the table. Instead of a young, blond-haired guy with washboard abs, like most male artists in South Korea, he is a 34-year-old, chubby comic artist. Why does his video have so many views? Because humor is universal. Despite the language barrier, there is an offbeat zaniness that needs no translation. For this reason, he has become a success. Many Korean pop artists blend English throughout their songs to attract international listeners. PSY does this in the most important part of his song, the chorus. “Hey! Sexy lady!” is said multiple times throughout the song, drilling it into the viewer’s head. His video has a catchy beat as well and a dance that is a lot simpler than most dances in K-pop videos. He does not try to be artsy and theatric; instead, he is just PSY, and that is entertaining enough.

This is one of the main reasons he has done so well. The video itself has many hilarious and bizarre aspects to it. It begins with PSY daydreaming of a beautiful woman fanning him while in reality he is sitting in a lawn chair in the middle of a playground. Then he appears, nicely dressed, in the middle of a horse stable performing his “horse dance.” The video continues to follow him through different places including a sauna, tour bus and merry-go-round. One memorable scene takes place in an elevator. When the doors open, PSY is lying on the ground rapping while a man is standing over him pelvic thrusting. PSY had no idea his video would become so popular. When asked about it with in an interview with VH1, he said, “Not this far, I thought it would be like this in Korea, not over here.” Ascending into viral status has its perks. Now he has seen how much support he has all over the world. Many parodies have popped up on YouTube over the past couple of weeks from Singapore to Chicago.

The Chicago parody, titled “Gangnam Style Parody (Oppa Chicago Style)” has over 1 million views and was released three weeks ago. Along with the massive support PSY has even come to America. On the jumbotron at Dodgers Stadium, baseball fans are seen doing the “horse dance,” then eventually it lands on PSY. He shyly smiles and waves to the fans, then busts out into his dance jumping around and smiling.

 He has even been signed onto Schoolboy Records, a roster shared with the famous Justin Bieber along with making it onto the Video Music Awards this past week. “He is just so funny and that song is addictive,” says engineering student Becky Daniels. She had no idea what K-pop was before this video, and now she is open to giving it a shot, saying, “If this is how most K-pop sounds, then I’m on board.” Hopefully PSY fights off the viral curse and is able to keep producing knockout hits and prove that he truly has Gangnam style.

Obama's "daddy issues"

In author-turned-documentarian Dinesh D’Souza’s film “2016: Obama’s America,” many controversial issues, opinions and hypotheses are formed. When it comes to this type of documentary, one that is based solely on one-sided pseudo-facts and interviews with like-minded individuals, every aspect must be taken with a grain of salt. D’Souza takes a different approach to the “true nature” of President Barack Obama.

Director D'Souza interviews George Obama,
President Barack Obama's half brother, in "2016: Obama's America."

Instead of thinking he is a terrorist or Muslim, he thinks he is an anti-colonialist -- an accusation that could use some support. The film is spoken from D’Souza’s point-of-view and voice. He begins to speak about his life as a child in Mumbai, India, and how he used to read stories of empires around the world. He does not consider America an empire, he instead considers it something greater because almost all past empires have fallen. Eventually he mentions his life in college, and then finally speaks about why he is so interested in Obama. He claims his interest has to do with their similarities throughout life. They were born in the same year, married in the same year and even graduated in the same year.
As odd as this may be, he makes his point of how all previous presidents were known figures before they became presidents. Ronald Reagan was a movie star, whereas Obama was only a senator for two years. Where did he come from? To answer this question, D’Souza begins to search every possible aspect of Obama’s past to figure out what he is trying to do today and what will happen if he gets re-elected. D’Souza does bring up some odd behavior from Obama’s first term. Giving a bust of Winston Churchill back to Britain, cancelling the Keystone Pipeline construction which could have given tons of Americans jobs, siding with Argentina when it came to the Falkland Islands instead of siding with Britain as in the past, and even ignoring Syria are all used to support D’Souza’s claims. D’Souza does a decent job of backing up these allegations of mistakes Obama has made in his presidency by using actual clips from speeches he has made.

Other than that, the film is pure speculation and based off of words White House officials allegedly said. A lot of the ideas in the film stem from Obama’s book “Dreams from My Father.” D’Souza speculates that the main reason Obama acts the way he does is because of his father leaving him when he was a child. D’Souza even speaks to a psychologist about this, and he says that most children who are missing a parental figure in their life want to make it seem like they have a purpose. He goes on to speak to more politicians and speculates that Obama knows he is able to get people on his side very easily.
According to D’Sourza, people always want to help him, which is why he got into the business in the first place. D’Souza then begins to predict why Obama did certain things in his first term. He believes that, like his father, he wants to give to the poor and take from the rich, which is why he sides with the Occupy movement. He also wants the world to have fewer nuclear weapons so that the playing field can be equal. But he wants this to be done while all other countries feel the complete opposite. D’Souza predicts that in 2016, the Middle East will be united (with the title of the United States of Iran), and the United States’ defenses will have reached an all-time low while debt will continue to grow past the trillion dollar mark. These remarks seem a bit outlandish and are presented without evidence, fueled only by the filmmaker’s speculation. Attempting to sway public opinion with a poorly-developed documentary based on a book written by the director almost seems like an episode of “The Twilight Zone.” It just does not make sense.

Even when asked to state the basis of his opinions in an interview, he said he would but no reason is given except for the fact that Obama did not have his biological father while growing up and that he had a few socialist colleagues on his way up to the top. Associating every individual who has worked among a socialist, communist or otherwise “un-American” thinker with the movements that they represent is not an accurate judgment of a person’s political affiliation. Apparently a socialist and a republican are not allowed to be colleagues in America.
 “2016: Obama’s America” receives 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Hugh Laurie brings New Orleans to Chicago

Best known for his role as the infamous Dr. House in “House M.D.,” Hugh Laurie has a his passion for music, especially New Orleans jazz. Along with The Copper Bottom Band, he played at the sold out Chicago’s Park West theatre on Aug. 21 and proceeded to groove into the late hours of the night.
Laurie displayed his acclaimed piano and guitar skills while playing covers of many well-known jazz songs such as “Mellow Down Easy” by Little Walter and “Unchain My Heart” by Ray Charles, to name a few. Laurie’s singing sounds much better live – an unexpected treat. Blues, jazz and soul can be hard for some to sing since so much passion and soul has to be behind it.

Hugh Laurie and Copper Bottom Band member Sister Jean McClain pay
homage to true New Orleans jazz at Park West in Chicago on Aug. 21.

 It may be even harder for a British actor to get into that mindset, but Laurie was able to accomplish this beautifully. Every word he sung was felt throughout the audience. The audience swayed, and a couple even got up and slow danced during his performance. The show was not merely a performance; it was a history lesson and a comedy show as well.
As odd as it sounds for a British actor to know anything about the blues, let alone New Orleans blues, Laurie proved he knew it well. Between each song Laurie would stop and explain either why he choose the song or the story behind it. He was also very intimate with the audience, happily responding to anything yelled at him, which is rare with most musical artists. Many audience members would not let him live down his role as House shouting, “We love you, House!” to which he would respond with, “I have no limp, I’m talking funny, and she still believes I’m a fictional character, strange….” He even offered his band a shot of whiskey midway through the show, which they very much deserved. The Cotton Bottom Band received high levels of praise from Laurie as the show progressed. After the first song of the night, “Mellow Down Easy,” the audience could easily see this was not the band’s first show. The band, originally from Tennessee, swung right alongside Laurie, sometimes surpassing him, and took the audience on a ride through the South.

Each member was given their own solo or song to could shine on, which no one in the band or audience seemed to mind. “I don’t think you understand how much it means to me to stand here, in Chicago, in front of you all and play,” Laurie spoke in between sets, “I’ve dreamed of this ever since I was a little boy.” He began to get choked up and the entire crowd cheered in an uproar. After almost every song there was someone out of their seat giving Laurie or the band a standing ovation. Laurie and the band even came back and did two encores for the house, after which, he kindly bowed and pointed straight towards the band behind him.

The tour started in 2011 and showcases Laurie’s first album “Let Them Talk,” which is a cover album. He has traveled all over the world showing off his jazzy repertoire. The tour will be in the Midwest for a few more shows, travelling to Carmel, Indiana; Lexington, Kentucky; and Middletown, Ohio. To purchase Hugh Laurie’s album or search for tour dates, visit www.hughlaurieblues.com.

Batman “rises” above the rest

Many may wonder how a comic book movie could possibly be so dark, heavy and complex, yet this is one of the many things "The Dark Knight Rises" accomplishes. The conclusion to director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is a film of epic proportions. Few will leave unsatisfied, and all will remember forever how successful a comic book franchise can be when the filmmakers treat the character with true reverence.

The story picks up about eight years after the events of “The Dark Knight,” and Gotham City seems to be at peace after the string of events leading to the death of Harvey Dent. Since taking the blame for the murders committed by Dent, Bruce Wayne has gone into hiding and his efforts as Batman have finally started to take a toll on his body.
In addition, his company is slowly bleeding more and more money. Catwoman stumbles into the picture as a master thief who has gotten in deep with the wrong people, namely the criminal Bane's people. Bane sees himself as a voice of the oppressed, while the wealthy in Gotham live large and leave nothing but scraps for the rest. He seeks to create a revolution, an uprising, of Gotham's masses. Though Bruce pushes Batman to the back of his mind, Bane's recent escapades cause him to come out of hiding fiercer than ever. As the film progresses, it becomes clear that the finale fans have been waiting for is going to be a bleak journey.

The magnificent acting that graces every scene skyrockets it from an "amazing" movie to a near masterpiece. The cast already has its star-studded veterans such as Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman. Throwing other rising stars such as Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anne Hathaway into the mix makes for a sensational recipe. Bale and Hathaway, as Batman and Catwoman respectively, have such a natural chemistry it is hard not to smile at their interactions.

Hardy has the difficult job of walking in the murky footsteps left behind by Heath Ledger's Joker. Thankfully, Bane is a very haunting and fearsome villain, which Hardy plays to a tee. Every line spoken sends a clear message that Bane's plan will be carried out no matter how many people he has to kill. With the restriction of a mask comes the difficulty of connecting with the audience through just the eyes. Hardy proves that he is able to do so, striking fear and terror simply with eye movements and piercing stares.

While some will see that the stor draws heavily from "A Tale of Two Cities," most will see influence from the well-known one percent versus 99 percent happening in America and across the world. Nolan uses these familiar themes to construct a complex story that is a worthy addition to the series. The final act of the film is filled with so many twists and turns that audiences are left on the edge of their seats until the final shot.

Most people will agree that this is not quite the masterpiece that is “The Dark Knight,” but some find more issues with the film than others. The clarity of Bane’s voice has been an issue heavily discussed on the Internet in the months leading up to the release of the film. He is wearing a mask so it would be extremely unrealistic to hear him as clear as day, but prior to edits his speech was so muffled audiences could barely hear or understand the words coming from him. In order to address this issue, Nolan made some minor tweaks to the audio, without changing Hardy’s original performance. This works for most but some may still have a hard time hearing him, over the mask and odd accent he has. Hans Zimmer, although a brilliant composer, further complicates things by flooding out a few lines of dialogue with his soundtrack. It is supposed to be in the background and help build the scene, not overpower it.

Despite some audio isues, “The Dark Knight Rises” is a thrilling conclusion to a trio of fantastic films. Nolan is graciously giving fans and everyday moviegoers a satisfying end to what is without a doubt the greatest comic book movie trilogy of all time. This movie is not for everyone, however. The violence has been kicked up a notch, and the summer-fun feeling evoked by this year’s Marvel outings does not exist with this film. Alas, Batman has never been a cheerful character and this series definitely plays with that.
“The Dark Knight Rises” receives 5 out of 5 stars.

Garfield spins a fine web in “The Amazing Spider-man”

With so many things working against it, the biggest of which being the bad taste left in the mouths of fans by the franchise’s previous installment “Spider-man 3,” it was hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel for a new Spider-man movie. Somehow, though, “The Amazing Spider-man” was able to capture audiences in its web.
“The Amazing Spider-man” is a reboot, and thus gives viewers a new interpretation of the web slinger’s origin story. Like in the original films, Peter Parker’s parents are gone, it was never made clear if they died or not, and he is still a genius outcast at school. But minuscule details allow newcomers to understand and relate to Parker’s troubles while fans of the movies and comic books can pick up homages to the previous films despite the fact that this takes place in an alternate universe. British actor Andrew Garfield (“The Social Network”) plays Parker, while redhead bombshell-turned-blond Emma Stone (“Easy A” and “Zombieland”) plays Parker’s love interest, Gwen Stacy.
This already throws a wrench into the more well-known couple of next-door neighbor Mary Jane Watson and Parker. Despite this, Stacy and Parker come off as a more realistic couple. Gwen Stacy is beautiful and smart,employed at Oscorp under world-renowned scientist Curt Connors, played by Rhys Ifans (Xenophilius Lovegood, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1”). Connors turns out to be the main antagonist of the film, The Lizard, a never-before-seen villain in Spider-man movies. Seasoned actors Martin Sheen (“The Departed”) and Sally Field (“Forrest Gump”) fill the roles of Uncle Ben and Aunt May while Denis Leary (“Rescue Me”) rounds up the star-studded cast as Gwen Stacy’s father, Captain Stacy. The biggest elephant in the room is whether or not 28-year-old Garfield would be able to pull off the role of high-schooler Parker. In 2010, he showed off his acting skills in “The Social Network” as wingman to Jesse Eisenberg, but that was his first American film. In “The Amazing Spider-Man,” Garfield steals each scene he is in, putting his own spin on the famous Spider-man instead of trying to be another Tobey Maguire. Fans will forever compare the two, similar to the comparison between the actors who have played Batman. But each actor played the role in a specific way, and Garfied’s performance works perfectly for this film. Parker has to deal with death on multiple occasions during this movie, and Garfield plays this brilliantly, pulling at just the right heart-strings to get the audience involved and caring. When Parker has to be quirky and goofy, Garfield does this in a hilarious manner. Overall his performance is believable; it does not seem like a comic book character has simply been jumbled together and thrown onto a screen. He feels like a real person with real problems, which has always been the charm of Parker’s character.
Physically, Spider-man may not be the strongest superhero, and “The Amazing Spider-Man” makes this fact known. He is thrown from buildings, slammed into walls, and almost choked to death on multiple occasions. The film also shows off Spider-man’s different web slinging abilities. He does not just swing from buildings for four hours and give swing kicks to every bad guy’s face. He actually fights them, runs away and uses his webs in some creative and unexpected ways. He is seen doing hand-to-hand combat while throwing a few web shots in from time to time. Spider-man even crawls around The Lizard during a fight scene, wrapping him in a web as a real spider would. This film, perhaps more than the original “Spider-man” films, has painted a full picture of Spider-man, showing his life inside and outside of the mask and focusing on his strengths and weaknesses. After all, he is only a teenager.
There is a lot going on in this movie, as one would expect from an origin story, and the run time clocks in at a whopping 2 hours and 14 minutes. However, the movie does not feel extensively long. As a whole it is a great base for the trilogy that director Marc Webb has in store for Spider-man. Hopefully production goes smoothly, before it gets caught up in the giant web of comic movies that are coming out next year. “The Amazing Spider-man” receives 4 out of 5 stars.