Amazing Spider-Man -- early reviews are in

[Black Atom]

This flash was pretty Psycho? This was the most human movie Bully I've seen. Ever. What's the worse he does? Punches Peter? Boo Fking Hoo.

Actually, he holds a kid upside-down and forces him to eat his lunch that way in front of a bunch of other students. That's some real Abu Ghraib shit. When Peter gets involved, Flash knocks him down and kicks him in the guts. I'm pretty sure this version of Flash Thompson should be in prison or a mental health facility.

Flash was always just kind of a dick. He didn't go around torturing people and beating them up--he wasn't a violent maniac. In the old days the worst he did was hit Peter intentionally with a football. That's why when Flash and Peter become friends later it makes sense. It doesn't make any sense in this movie because he's depicted as an over-the-top dangerous psycho. That's why it doesn't make sense when Ben admonishes him for humiliating Flash, since this version of Flash Thompson is clearly a dangerous person.

...And! He lays off and offers his condolences when Uncle Ben dies. A regular movie Bully (sht, my school bully also did something like this) would have gone ''Ha! You uncle died like a bitch, you punk.'' or something like that.

He inexplicably goes from being a psycho who beat Peter so bad his face was bruised to suddenly being nice to him. That doesn't make him "human". It's just bad writing.

Honestly, this movie made me give a damn about Spiderman. THIS is how a kid who grew up with out his birth parents acts.

What's that even mean?

[Vidocq]

Actually, he holds a kid upside-down and forces him to eat his lunch that way in front of a bunch of other students. That's some real Abu Ghraib shit. When Peter gets involved, Flash knocks him down and kicks him in the guts. I'm pretty sure this version of Flash Thompson should be in prison or a mental health facility.

Wow, dude. Were you homeschooled? Cause that's nothing compared to actual bullying much less Abu Gharib. Watch the Documentary ''Bully'' or see kids at a school yard. You seemed to be very easily shocked by the violence kids subject to each other in schools.

He inexplicably goes from being a psycho who beat Peter so bad his face was bruised to suddenly being nice to him. That doesn't make him "human". It's just bad writing.

Well, he wasn't a psycho for one and two, humans are like that, actually multiphasetic and don't seem that consistent unless you study them carefully, this Flash never did anything to suggest that he couldn't lay off Peter on a very painful moment. You saw it as bad writing because you saw this Flash as an irredeemable psycho.

What's that even mean?

That Peter's Characterization was actually like a human being acts, at least one this day and age. You've met any teens that acted acted like Pre-Bite Peter? How about any Orphan, Bullied and Smart teens? His characterization was actually of that of a human teen, not an idolized version of what a teen should be.

[Sighphi]

Was i the only one that tremendously turned off because of how easily you could tell who were the actual teenagers from actors who were in the mid to late twenties during the high school scenes? I mean, the Lizard's CGI effect seemed more realistic than some one scenes that we are supposed to believe are taking place in a high school.

[Monty_Cristo]

Right, except, well, Flash was a douche to pretty much everyone who wasn't him or his friends from what we saw.

did this version of Flash even have friends? in the books, he's big man on campus; a respected athlete. he bullies Peter because the latter is kind of weird. this current movie Flash doesn't seem like he'd be very popular. i certainly couldn't buy him as the captain of the football or basketball team.

[Guy1]

did this version of Flash even have friends? in the books, he's big man on campus; a respected athlete. he bullies Peter because the latter is kind of weird. this current movie Flash doesn't seem like he'd be very popular. i certainly couldn't buy him as the captain of the football or basketball team.

He was introduced with a group of fellow douchebags at his side when he met Peter in the hall, people were cheering for him at lunch and he was playing basketball with a group of friends, so yeah.

[Black Atom]

Wow, dude. Were you homeschooled? Cause that's nothing compared to actual bullying much less Abu Gharib. Watch the Documentary ''Bully'' or see kids at a school yard. You seemed to be very easily shocked by the violence kids subject to each other in schools.

I haven't been in high school for awhile, actually, and while there was bullying, that sort of violence was hardly normal. If it's as conventional as you say it is, then yeah, I find that pretty shocking, as anyone should.

Besides that, since The Amazing Spider-Man is not a docudrama about bullying, the point is not whether or not the violence or Flash's depiction is realistic; it's about whether it serves the story. When Flash is depicted as a mostly harmless douchebag, it looked bad when Peter roughed him up with his powers. If Flash is a dangerous bully who goes around terrorizing people, Peter shouldn't hesitate to treat him like any other bad guy.

Well, he wasn't a psycho for one and two, humans are like that, actually multiphasetic and don't seem that consistent unless you study them carefully, this Flash never did anything to suggest that he couldn't lay off Peter on a very painful moment. You saw it as bad writing because you saw this Flash as an irredeemable psycho.

No, he was written like a hateful, irredeemable psycho...or, at least, someone with very serious behavioral problems that are not going to by solved by putting on a Spider-Man t-shirt. You're right about people--they are usually much more complicated than they are depicted in fiction, especially action-adventures like Spider-Man is supposed to be, because they are written to serve a specific plot purpose. I don't really have a problem with Flash relaying his condolences to Peter--I have an issue with the moment at the end, when we're supposed to think Flash is completely reformed because, I guess, he saw Spider-Man on TV. The story of Flash's affection for Spider-Man and its effect on him progresses over a long time in the comics and might have been an interesting subplot in the movie, but the way it's presented here, it just seems sudden and forced, like most of the things the characters do in this film. That's why it's bad writing.

That Peter's Characterization was actually like a human being acts, at least one this day and age. You've met any teens that acted acted like Pre-Bite Peter? How about any Orphan, Bullied and Smart teens? His characterization was actually of that of a human teen, not an idolized version of what a teen should be.

What are you basing that on? Are you sure all teens react to traumatic life experiences the same way?

Also, this version of Peter is actually more responsible and selfless than the "idolized" versions that came before, so I don't even understand this argument. In the 60's, Peter Parker was a selfish, grandstanding ass when he got his powers and only stopped after his actions caused his uncle's death. This movie version of Peter, that is handsome, confident, heroic and hooks up with the smartest girl in school seems a lot more idolized than most versions of Peter Parker.

[Vidocq]

I haven't been in high school for awhile, actually, and while there was bullying, that sort of violence was hardly normal. If it's as conventional as you say it is, then yeah, I find that pretty shocking, as anyone should.

Besides that, since The Amazing Spider-Man is not a docudrama about bullying, the point is not whether or not the violence or Flash's depiction is realistic; it's about whether it serves the story. When Flash is depicted as a mostly harmless douchebag, it looked bad when Peter roughed him up with his powers. If Flash is a dangerous bully who goes around terrorizing people, Peter shouldn't hesitate to treat him like any other bad guy.

Ok, to put it on perspective. The thing you saw on screen that shocked you, it's nothing compared to how todays bullys act. By todays Highschool's standards, he is an annoying Douchebag, not a dangerous Bully that should be institutionalized. He wasn't on the level of actual bad guys.

No, he was written like a hateful, irredeemable psycho...or, at least, someone with very serious behavioral problems that are not going to by solved by putting on a Spider-Man t-shirt. You're right about people--they are usually much more complicated than they are depicted in fiction, especially action-adventures like Spider-Man is supposed to be, because they are written to serve a specific plot purpose. I don't really have a problem with Flash relaying his condolences to Peter--I have an issue with the moment at the end, when we're supposed to think Flash is completely reformed because, I guess, he saw Spider-Man on TV. The story of Flash's affection for Spider-Man and its effect on him progresses over a long time in the comics and might have been an interesting subplot in the movie, but the way it's presented here, it just seems sudden and forced, like most of the things the characters do in this film. That's why it's bad writing.

The thing is you saw Flash's actions as more bad than they actually were or they were intended to come across. They were pretty bad and he has behavioral problems but he wasn't irredeemable by any stretch of the imagination.

What are you basing that on? Are you sure all teens react to traumatic life experiences the same way?

It's not a traumatic experience (Although for future reference most people do react to traumatic life experiences in similar ways). Though yeah I know first hand how Teens who lost their parents at a young age act like and it's not like they ALL act the exact same way but there are recognizable patterns of behaviour, such as the snarkiness and a desire to know more about the parents they never met etc. Not to mention that he had the ''Whatever'' attitude most teens have at that age.

Also, this version of Peter is actually more responsible and selfless than the "idolized" versions that came before, so I don't even understand this argument. In the 60's, Peter Parker was a selfish, grandstanding ass when he got his powers and only stopped after his actions caused his uncle's death. This movie version of Peter, that is handsome, confident, heroic and hooks up with the smartest girl in school seems a lot more idolized than most versions of Peter Parker.

Huh, I've never heard that interpretation before. Most people get the complete opposite complain from the movie... don't even know what to say about that.

[Black Atom]

Ok, to put it on perspective. The thing you saw on screen that shocked you, it's nothing compared to how todays bullys act. By todays Highschool's standards, he is an annoying Douchebag, not a dangerous Bully that should be institutionalized. He wasn't on the level of actual bad guys.

There's no way to put violence like that "in perspective". Even if that level of bullying has become routine in schools, it doesn't establish some equivalence between violent acts and other types of bullying, like teasing and harassment. But hey, let's assume you're right anyway. The movie itself takes an inconsistent view of this. If school violence is so routine that everyone looks the other way when Flash knocks a guy down and kicks him in the guts, then why does Peter get sent home for doing much less to Flash Thompson? All Peter did was knock Flash down during a basketball game; that's worth calling a parent but leaving a student bruised and bloody is not?

The thing is you saw Flash's actions as more bad than they actually were or they were intended to come across. They were pretty bad and he has behavioral problems but he wasn't irredeemable by any stretch of the imagination.

The problem isn't whether or not he was redeemable. The problem is that Flash, like other characters, does things for no reason. Flash becomes a nice guy because, I guess, that happened over time in the comics and they want him to be buddies with Peter in the sequels. But his reasons and motivation for changing aren't really explored and seem to come out of nowhere.

It's not a traumatic experience (Although for future reference most people do react to traumatic life experiences in similar ways). Though yeah I know first hand how Teens who lost their parents at a young age act like and it's not like they ALL act the exact same way but there are recognizable patterns of behaviour, such as the snarkiness and a desire to know more about the parents they never met etc. Not to mention that he had the ''Whatever'' attitude most teens have at that age.

I guess so. This version of Peter didn't really seem that different than others I've seen. The biggest difference is that this version of Peter wants to know more about his parents, but that's really only because in this version of the origin, their death/disappearance is a mystery and his father is linked to one of his greatest villains (in most other versions, Peter considered his aunt and uncle his parents and barely even remembered his biological mother and father).

Huh, I've never heard that interpretation before. Most people get the complete opposite complain from the movie... don't even know what to say about that.

I can't speak for anyone else; just what I saw. I mean, sure, Uncle Ben treats Peter like he's a real irresponsible jerk, but that's because, again, nothing anyone does in this movie makes sense. Peter's not really irresponsible or a jerk...or even really geeky, for that matter--characters just react to him that way because the writing is very poor.

Take, for example, the scene with the robber. It's a little stupid for the clerk to expect a 16-year-old to stop an armed robber. This always made sense in past versions of the origin because the guy being robbed had just seen Spider-Man in action and knows he could stop the robber easily. So we're supposed to think Peter is really a huge jerk for not stopping the robber when a) the robber shouldn't have some teenaged kid to do so anyway and b) the last time two times Peter heroically interfered he got his ass kicked and suspended from school and chewed out, respectively.

[SephirothDZX]

He was introduced with a group of fellow douchebags at his side when he met Peter in the hall, people were cheering for him at lunch and he was playing basketball with a group of friends, so yeah.

I kind of think at some point people started mistaking Flash for this guy

[Legato]

I kind of think at some point people started mistaking Flash for this guy

That explains why I was expecting Flash to say" Why don't you make like a tree and get out of here"

[Guy1]

So we're supposed to think Peter is really a huge jerk for not stopping the robber when a) the robber shouldn't have some teenaged kid to do so anyway and b) the last time two times Peter heroically interfered he got his ass kicked and suspended from school and chewed out, respectively.

And when he does start fighting crime, the Police start chasing after him.

[zryson]

I was expecting a more dynamic film than what was actually delivered. I found the acting to be pretty average, the effects nothing spectacular and the film just sort of dragged on with the whole cutesy teenage angst, none of which was actually portrayed that well. Certainly the previous Spider-Man movies were incredible, particularly the first and second one. But the new actor as Spider-Man and the whole lets relive a past secret trauma thing just felt a waste of time like they were aiming for something really affecting and emotional but just couldn't quite get there.

[David Walton]

I was expecting a more dynamic film than what was actually delivered. I found the acting to be pretty average, the effects nothing spectacular and the film just sort of dragged on with the whole cutesy teenage angst, none of which was actually portrayed that well. Certainly the previous Spider-Man movies were incredible, particularly the first and second one. But the new actor as Spider-Man and the whole lets relive a past secret trauma thing just felt a waste of time like they were aiming for something really affecting and emotional but just couldn't quite get there.

It's never a good sign when the creative team finds Peter's parents more interesting than Uncle Ben and Aunt May.