The New Spider-Man! .... Uhhhhh... yeah...

Does anyone get a really huge 'Kick-Ass' vibe from this outfit?

  Almost everyone and their brother has heard about the new Spiderman reboot that has been slowly revealing itself over the last several months.  After a major falling out between Sam Raimi and Sony due to the disappointment of Spider-Man 3, the studio decided to take a new spin on things.  They kicked Raimi out of the driver's seat for Spider-Man 4 and came up with what could be considered 'the most original idea in Hollywood ever'.

  Let's reboot the fucker!

  The most commonly heard complaint about this upcoming reboot is whether it's too soon to go in and completely reimaigine Spider-man for the big screen.  Sure, the third installment might have been universally despised by most everyone with a beating pulse, but lots of series have managed to jump back after a massive pratfall.  Anyone remember how Wrath of Khan saved the Trek franchise?  Regardless of the critical reception, a fourth Spider-Man film would have made money.  Maybe not as much as the third or second film, but most people are still in love with the first and second installments.  So why reboot something that is still fresh in the public's minds?

One of the first on-set photos of Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone).  I believe that's an 'easy A' for the casting, eh?  Eh?!!... oh come on, you've gotta at least give me props for that one.

  In the humble opinion of this blogger, this is yet another case of Hollywood producers jumping on the current fad wagon.  That isn't to say that the movie will be a wretched abomination (only time will tell), but it just seems as if studios are looking for any excuse to reboot popular franchises simply because it is the 'it thing to do'.  Looking at the money made from The Dark Knight and the most recent Star Trek, I suppose that one can't really blame them.  However, the difference between Spider-man and the state of Batman before it was rebooted is quite obvious.  Spider-man had made one major mistake, while the Batman franchise had been gasping with a stake through its heart for nearly a decade.  Now, some will claim that this new Spiderman was created simply to start fresh and allow for new talents to bring forth their own ideas... but that's a load bullshit.  Looking at the narrative of the original Spiderman trilogy, there was still plenty of areas for our friendly neighborhood hero to explore.  The Lizard?  Mysterio?  An actual Venom plot?   The possibilities were still open and practically endless.

  "There's a whole ton of different Spiderman interpretations in the comics!  Why not in film?! There's no such thing as one singular vision of who this character is."

  Here's the major flaw in that argument: comic books and movies are two entirely different mediums.  With the comic books based on Spiderman, the writers aren't trying to hook casual readers into buying them.  They know better than that.  The people who are going to read and purchase Spiderman comics are probably those who grew up with the character in the first place.  Sure, there are a few examples that have more wide-market appeal (Ultimate Spiderman comes to mind), but for the most part comics are aimed at appeasing their main target audience and that is all.  That's where they make their bread.

I've gotta admit that I like the cast thus far.  Peter Parker is a little too hot for my tastes, but it's the acting that matters.  Actor Andrew Garfield is coming hot off of his success in The Social Network, after all

  I hate to break it to you guys, but for the mainstream populace, Tobey Macguire is Spiderman.  He simply is.  As sad of a fact as that may seem to many loyal Spidey fans, he is the face that the mass public associates with the character.  Which is why, in my oh so humble opinion, switching actors and templates so soon doesn't even make sense from a simple business perspective.  To put it simply, I just don't understand this.  I don't understand why this movie exists.  I don't understand why they feel this movie needs to exist. 

  With the director of '500 Day of Summer' behind it, I still have hope.  I truly do.  Maybe this will end up being better than the originals.  Maybe this will eventually become the quintessential Spider-Man film and we'll look back at the Raimi films in much the same way we look back at Burton's Batman.

But somehow I doubt it'll be better than this.  Really really doubt it.