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The Amazing Spider-Man (opening July 3)
The Details: The Amazing Spider-Man (rated PG-13) reboots the film series, replacing Tobey Maguire with Andrew Garfield and director Sam Raimi with Marc Webb. Emma Stone co-stars as Peter Parker's high school sweetheart Gwen Stacy; Denis Leary plays her police captain father, George Stacy. The villain this time out is The Lizard, the alter ego of genetic scientist Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), who knows a secret held by Peter's missing father, his former partner.
The Trailer: Focusing about equally on the burgeoning relationship between high-school nerd Peter and radiant Gwen and on Gwen's father's pursuit of Spider-Man, this trailer downplays Connors and his reptilian alter ego in favor of a vibe closer in spirit to Christopher Nolan's Batman series. Not so much in tone -- a story about a high school student swinging around NYC in a blue and red unitard can only get so dark -- but in content: George Stacy's view of Spider-Man as an "urban vigilante" is clearly meant to resonate in these tumultuous times.
The Buzz: Many fans of the Maguire and Raimi films were outraged that the series was rebooted shortly after the cancellation of their proposed Spider-Man 4, but let's be honest: Raimi's first Spider-Man film was great fun, but the sequels were terrible. Garfield is considerably less mopey than Maguire, and based on this trailer seems to bring the series a welcome new energy. Plus the 3D looks like it'll be ... well, amazing. Get the popcorn.
