I love Amazing Spider-Man because of the changes. The creators of the film took what had always been there and refined it into a stronger version of the Marvel comics mythology.
Now some dorks who do not care for this movie because of the "flaws" might think I just don't know Spider-man like they do. Spidey has always been one of my favorite colors (when I was two I thought my amateur gymnast dad was Spider-man) but I became a regular reader when in the 6th grade I got a subscription to Amazing Spider-man from my grandmother (we were selling magazine subscriptions to raise money for the school). The first issue was the Shocker story prior to Carnage's first arc and I kept the subscription up until John Byrne took over and relaunched the series. Soon after I switched to Ultimate Spider-man.
Now that we got that out of the way let me explain why I threw the quotes around "flaws". When I watch a movie I judge it on how it stands as a film. I don't want to watch a bad movie whether it's about something I love or not. For example I think Hellboy is a great character and I've read most of the comics (maybe all if you don't count the spin offs), but I think the movie's suck. The hokey flick made me think Hellboy was a demonic cat lady (60 year old virgin). Spider-man doesn't fair much better with his cinematic track record up until the most recent film.
My understanding was that everything good about the first movie was removed. I had read that the original script dealt a lot to do with the roles of parents. This is an incredible angle on the character and supporting cast that was probably erased because film producers are sexists that think women can not relate to anything on screen other than romance.
I'm bringing this up because it ties into the new Spider-man movie. In the comics Flash Thompson's father put too much pressure on him to be the best athlete, Harry's dad pushed him to be the smartest (more like Peter), MJ's father was abusive and Peter was orphaned twice. That is material there for a good movie even without a miraculous spider bite.
I love when a filmmaker can take something that was always there and emboss it. I've read the comic, a literal translation isn't exciting to me. Everything they changed in Amazing Spider-man was for the better for example (spoilers begin here):
No Crusher Hogan: In the comics (as well as the Tobey Maguire film) Spider-man started out as a wrestler. I understand why Stan Lee did this in the original comic. It was to explain why a teenager would happen to have a spider costume.
But the movie did one better by taking this out of the story. Making the thief that kills Uncle Ben a random petty thief makes the world the story is set in seem more believable. Which reminds me...
Spider-man is a New Yorker: When I saw the first trailer and heard Spidey talk I was so excited because Spider-man sounded like he was from New York. He was no longer just some guy in a mask he was from somewhere.
Richard Parker Isn't a Spy: In many of the comics Peter Parker's parents were revealed to have died as spies. In the newer revised origin comics (AKA Ultimate Spider-man) his parents were scientist who died in a plane crash. The movie origin ties both of these together by depicting the Parker's as the subject of a corporate conspiracy of some sort.
Spider-man Wasn't Bitten By a Random Spider: My one worry about this film was that they were retelling the origin story. I've had a theory for a while that super heroes don't even need origin stories, that audiences will just accept that someone in a movie can have powers. The reason not to bother is if the origin gets in the way of the movie. But in Amazing Spider-man the origin forwards the story. Everything they show of Peter's past and origin moves the plot forward or adds depth to the character. Nothing takes me out of a movie more than questioning why the character is doing what they are doing. I don't remember doing that at all in this film.
Spider-man is more petty than Peter Parker: The most forced moments in the previous depictions of Spidey (including the comics) is when the writer makes Peter acts petty. In the movie Peter sticks up for others before he has any power at a cost to himself even. Spider-man is the one fighting crime for his own reason. He's not putting the good of others ahead of his own as was pointed out by...
Captain Stacy: It is great to have a character tell us why super heroes are kinda bullshit. I love super heroes but they belong in fantasy because they don't really make any sense in the real world. The example I always think of is Captain America beating up drug dealers. Is he going to beat up the guy selling weed? What about if the dealer is selling to kids? Would he also beat up a store clerk for selling to kids? Spider-man I could see beating up a drug dealer. He's a kid. He hasn't thought all of this through. An adult has thought about it. Police bust these criminals because they care about the law (or at least they are paid to care about the law). Captain America is a strategic genius. His talents are wasted on drug dealers (besides he basically took roids to become a superhero).
Captain Stacy gives us a perspective on where Spider-man fits into the order of things and advances the character by making Peter think about his motivations. He's more than the girlfriend's father who is also his advasary..
Gwen Stacy: I can't say a lot about Gwen Stacy but she does prove that the love interest doesn't have to be shoehorned into the plot. One of the things that ruins movies is introducing characters that were not needed. In superhero movies that character is usually the love interest. If she is needed it's as bait. Amazing Spider-man didn't treat Gwen this way.
The reason Gwen is treated so well in this movie is because this movie doesn't expect the audience to be stupid or shallow at any point. A good super hero movie is like any other story told in any media. It takes the best elements from what inspired it and forgets everything less than the best...
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