A buzzy new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man has hit the internet, featuring British star Andrew Garfield taking up the mantle of teen Peter Parker and his wall-crawling alter ego Spider-Man. (Watch the clip below.) The film, set to be released July 3, reboots the origin tale of the nerd-cum-superhero, but this time with a darker, angrier web-slinger than Tobey Maguire's character in Sam Raimi's trilogy. How does this new teaser stack up? Here, four talking points:
1. Garfield's Spider-Man is darker and meaner than Maguire's
The Social Network star "shines" as a sarcastic, angsty teenager, says Meredith Woerner at io9. Attitude is the biggest difference between Maguire's often-merry superhero and Garfield's brooding Spidey, and the contrast is particularly stark when Garfield "ruthlessly teases a car thief with his new powers." Garfield is "hilarious, and cruel as only a snotty teen can be." Yes, he's certainly an "angry young man," says J.J. Anisiobi at Britain's Daily Mail, and director Marc Webb captures the essence of the comic book character's "mischievous style."
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2. The new villain is revealed… sort of
Finally, we get to see "Rhys Ifans as The Lizard," says Katey Rich at Cinema Blend. The Lizard — who is transformed into a mutant in an experiment gone wrong — will serve as Amazing's "primary baddie," and apparently has mysterious ties to Peter Parker's deceased father. I was particularly taken with an "action-packed" scene in which Spidey and The Lizard went head to head "on a bridge packed with innocent citizens." Eh, I dunno, says Kevin P. Sullivan at MTV. The Lizard's brief and "mostly hidden appearance" in this trailer largely "underwhelmed." Let's just hope he's "more than just a rampaging reptile."
3. The love story has a new twist
Emma Stone isn't playing Mary Jane Watson as Kirsten Dunst did — she plays Gwen Stacy, an earlier girlfriend who predates Watson in the comics. What's the difference? Stone herself explained that "Gwen falls in love with Peter Parker, and Mary Jane falls in love with Spider-Man." Whatever, says Perez Hilton. The key is that Garfield and Stone look great together. "No wonder they hooked up in real life."
4. This Spider-Man is clearly different. But is it different enough?
This trailer is "decent," says Jen Chaney at The Washington Post. But remember, Raimi's films came out in 2002, 2004, and 2007. It really hasn't been that long. So in the end, Amazing is "still dogged by the same question that has hung over director Marc Webb's take on the Spidey origin story from the moment it was announced": Will the new film "be different enough from the three Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire blockbusters that preceded it? That's still unclear."
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