At first glance, this teaser seems to be selling something akin to the Teen Wolf television show. Take something that was first presented as light, peppy, and colorful, then redo it as an uber-grim and glum and oh-so-serious variation. Still, Spider-Man, like Batman, has been done 10,000 different ways, so there is no harm in seeing another interpretation, even if it was a naked cash grab that spawned reboot-fever (if this hits, no franchise will ever make it to part IV again). The piece looks moody, well-acted, and atmospheric, although the sense of deja vu permeates the whole thing. Having said that, three things spring to mind. A) The climactic running sequence (arguably designed to show off the potential for 3D in this new Spidey flick) looks like something out of a first-person video game. B) The score during the finale sounds an awful lot like Danny Elfman's score for the original Spider-Man. I know it's probably not (not the main theme anyway), but you'd think Sony would want to distance themselves a bit more from the Sam Raimi trilogy. C) It would appear that Marc Webb and company have spent a bit of time watching the terrific Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon that aired from 2008-2009. It also told of a high-school-age Peter Parker, who's best pal Gwen Stacy worked in Doc Conners's lab. It's not bad material to borrow from (the cartoon was stunningly well-written), I just hope if the final film is as similar that the proper people get acknowledgment. And at least said cartoon didn't make us rehash the origin yet again (and it also didn't try to be pointlessly 'dark and gritty'). Anyway, this one comes out July 3rd, 2012. As always, we'll see... If you have thoughts, feel free to share them below.
Scott Mendelson
Scott Mendelson
