With The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on the horizon, you would think this huge fan would be super pumped. However, I’m nervous more than anything, as the film seems overstuffed with Sony trying to cram the wallcrawler’s mythos down our throats for more sequels and spin offs in the near future.
It’s sad, unfortunately, that the main actor in the Spider-Man reboot is surrounded by all this fluff dragging it down. To me, Andrew Garfield embodies more of the webhead as far as character traits go, leaving original Spidey Tobey Maguire in the dust. Maguire hinted that he could totally pull off the blue and red costume at points, and could channel Peter Parker’s social awkwardness, but to me, towards the end of the trilogy, Maguire never felt like he could take on the role like I imagined he could’ve. He never felt like the true essence of the character, instead being this quiet reserved unconfident superhero.
It’s not totally Maguire’s fault, as the writing never gave him the chance. There was barely a wisecracking Spidey to be seen in the movies from 2002-2007, and his character development was not showcased like it should’ve been. Maguire did probably most likely what was on the page, and the screenwriters should’ve tapped into more of what made Spider-Man and Peter Parker tick like we’ve seen in the comics.
And then we had emo Peter/Spidey in Spider-Man 3 which TOTALLY destroyed any concept of the character that the movies had established that fans and audiences could work with. Like speaking as someone who has read tons of Spidey comics, the Spidey/Parker we had in parts 1 and 2 were fine for the most part. But no, the conclusion of the trilogy just tore apart everything solid Maguire put out there, and thereby tainting his superhero and alter ego.
So as Batman and Robin is to Batman Begins, Spider-Man needed to start over. While many moaned that another origin story featuring Peter was not necessary, it happened. However, seeing everyman Parker become Spider-Man again didn’t bother me, because the teenager portrayed by Andrew Garfield was SO much better than Maguire.
Not only did Garfield wise crack and show confidence that Maguire never did as the amazing arachnid, but his body type worked better to fit into the suit. I always imagined Peter to be this taller, lankier, more nimble human being than compared to Maguire’s semi short and less lean beefiness. To me, 2012’s Spidey looked more similar in stature to anything in the comic than director Sam Raimi’s original vision of him.
Where Maguire had three movies to show how Peter Parker/Spider-Man he was, Garfield in one movie alone proved he was a far more superior choice to play the friendly neighborhood superhero. He’s got the look, the attitude, and just the right of amount of bravado to portray the wallcrawler. This opinion is shared by many, and while I’m sure there are some who prefer Maguire, in the end he just didn’t cut it for me.
Garfield said he will bow out after The Amazing Spider-Man 3 to pursue other things. I don’t know who will replace him post that, but they are going to have to search really well for a replacement. Nobody is going to top Garfield’s interpretation in my eyes.
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