AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2012

PLOT... As a child, Peter Parker discovers his father Richard's study has been ransacked. His father gathers concealed documents before Peter's parents take him to stay with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. His parents leave, but are later killed in a plane crash.

As a teenager, Peter is a student at Midtown Science High School, where he is bullied by Flash Thompson, and is romantically interested in the beautiful Gwen Stacy, the daughter of police captain George Stacy. At home, Peter discovers his father's documents, and learns he had been working with scientist Dr. Curt Connors at Oscorp to combine human and animal DNA to cure illnesses. Peter sneaks into Oscorp to meet Connors, who is pressured by his superior Dr. Ratha to complete his serum, and cure the terminally ill head of Oscorp Norman Osborn. Connors wants the cure himself to restore his missing arm. Meanwhile, Peter breaks into a lab where a "biocable"-a high strength strand of webbing-is created by genetically modified spiders, one of which bites him. During a subway ride home, a fight reveals that he has developed superhuman speed, strength, the ability to stick to surfaces, and a heightened sense of danger.

Peter finds an algorithm in his father's documents and gives it to Connors−the missing key to his serum. In school, Peter damages school property during a confrontation with Flash and Ben is forced to work late so that he can pick up Peter. Ben tells Peter to escort May home that night. Peter ignores Ben in favor of helping Connors test their serum on a three-legged mouse. After he returns home, Peter argues with Ben about not picking up May, and Peter leaves. At a grocery store, the clerk rudely refuses to let Peter buy a drink, and when a thief steals money from the till, Peter lets the thief escape. Ben, searching the streets for Peter, confronts the thief, but is shot and killed. Peter responds to the gunshot and finds Ben's body. After seeing a police sketch of the suspect, Peter realizes it was the thief he let go. Peter hunts the killer, taking out other criminals as a result and attracting police attention for his vigilante actions. During one confrontation he falls into an abandoned gym, where a luchador-wrestling poster inspires him to create a mask to hide his identity. He creates a costume for himself with a spandex suit, and builds wrist-mounted mechanical devices that shoot biocable strands. Peter later reveals he is the vigilante to Gwen and they kiss. Seeing that the test mouse has regrown its missing limb using lizard DNA, Ratha demands human trials begin immediately. Connors refuses to risk innocent lives and is fired. Desperate, Connors tests the serum on himself and his missing arm regenerates. He learns that Ratha is going to test the serum on human subjects and goes to stop him, but his body begins to mutate. By the time he finds Ratha on the Williamsburg Bridge Connors has transformed into a large Lizard creature, tossing cars, including Ratha's, over the side of the bridge. Peter, now calling himself Spider-Man, manages to save Ratha and other civilians. Connors retreats into the sewer and reverts to human form. Peter later meets Connors in his office and suspects he is the Lizard, and later unsuccessfully confronts Connors' Lizard form in the sewers, leaving behind his camera. Connors learns Peter's identity via the name on the camera and pursues him to Midtown Science High School where they fight. In response, the police start a manhunt for both Spider-Man and Lizard. Connors heads to Oscorp, intending to disperse his serum across the city and make everyone into lizards, while Gwen develops an antidote in Oscorp's lab. The police corner Spider-Man and Captain Stacy discovers that he is Peter, but lets him escape to go save Gwen. Spider-Man manages to replace Connors' serum with the antidote, reverting Connors to human form, but not before Connors mortally wounds Captain Stacy. Before his death, Captain Stacy makes Peter promise to stay away from Gwen for her safety. He initially keeps the promise, but later admits to Gwen that failed promises are the best kind, hinting that he will continue to see her. In a post-credits scene, Connors, in a dark prison cell, is confronted by a man in the shadows who asks if Connors told Peter the truth about his father. Connors replies, "No", and demands Peter be left alone before the man disappears.1

Themes and analysis "I have tried to capture how Peter copes with the feelings of being an underdog, his confusions and his self-doubt. This, I hope, has brought, a certain empathy and sensitivity to his character that explains how it helps him become the hero that he eventually turns out to be." —Andrew Garfield[58] Webb described the film as "a story about a kid who grows up looking for his father and finds himself."[59] Both Webb and star Garfield described Parker as an outsider by choice, someone hard to get close to.[59][60] As in the early comic books, the character "is a science whiz. If you look back to the early Stan Lee and Steve Ditko comics, he's a nerd with big glasses," said Webb. He explained "the idea of what a nerd is has changed in 40 or 50 years. Nerds are running the world. Andrew Garfield made a movie [called The Social Network] about it. ... What was important in those early comics was this notion that Peter Parker is an outsider and how we define that in a contemporary context."[61] Garfield compared his Spider-Man façade as a metaphor for internet anonymity, saying, "You feel the power of it, the power of not being seen, the power of the mask. Peter becomes witty when he's got that protective layer. It's like he's on a message board. He's got the anonymity of the Internet within that suit, and he can say whatever the hell he likes, and he can get away with anything."[62] Garfield tried to explore Parker as an orphan, whom he feels "are the strongest human beings on the planet."[58] He said Parker is "a human hero [who] goes through all of the same struggles that we all have gone through, especially the skinny ones [who] want more power than they feel they have." He believes Parker represents "a very inspiring, aspirational character that symbolizes goodness — and how difficult it is to be good — but how worth it is."[16] Rhys Ifans compared this film to William Shakespeare's Hamlet on the grounds that Spider-Man can be redone over and over in different ways. He felt that they are similar in that they both represent meaningful archetypal young men grappling with the loss of their father.[63] Stone described her character as "a daddy's girl" who is very responsible and protective of her family and loves science.[24][64] She said her character "offers Parker a world of stability, of a family unit not marred with parental loss and, beyond physical allure, the two forge an intellectual connection over their shared love of science."[24] Her character, she explained, "is stuck between [her father] the Captain and Peter Parker and Spider-Man, who have different ways about going about finding justice in their lives" which she felt was a fun thing to explore.[25] Rhys Ifans described the character that he is portraying as a villain as similar to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from the classic book of the same name. Webb felt that Lizard was the best villain because, "He's the literal embodiment of the theme of the movie, which is we all have a missing piece. He has no arm. Peter has no parents, and he fills that void with Spider-Man."[65] Producer Avi Avrad felt likewise, explaining, "[Y]ou look at Peter, he misses the parents, [and] Connors has one arm. ...[E]motionally, [it] is a very similar problem. It is a cautionary tale."[66] Webb said Lizard "is not the worst villain on the planet. He's not a mustache-twirling guy who wants to terrorize people. He believes he's doing the right thing."[67][68] Actor Rhys Ifans described his character as a flawed character, much as with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.[69] "Curt Connors is by no means an evil villain," Ifans stated. "He's not like the Batman villains, like the Joker, who are the embodiment of evil. Curtis Connors is a great man who makes a bad decision. ... [T]hat's the whole magic of the Spider-Man idea. These people are the embodiment of our flaws and our desires that lead to tragedy."[70] Ifans described Connors as a force for good throughout his life: "He's a geneticist who wants to help people, like him, who are limbless. In his eagerness to advance that science, he makes a mistake and that's an occurrence we've seen throughout time, sometimes to our benefit, sometimes to our detriment. ...He is a broken man who wants to fix himself."[71] Ifans added, "I'm not portraying a villain in any sense. Connors does feel cheated by God, and he's looking for answers in science. God seems to intervene." Webb said that Oscorp Tower is pivotal as a part of a new mythology of the film. He liked that Parker was connected to the building in some way and to think of it as "a Tower of Babel in the middle of Manhattan that has something dark and seedy going on in there." Cast Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man[5] An unpopular adolescent struggling to find his place in life ever since his parents disappeared when he was a child.[6][7] Garfield described Parker as someone he can relate to and stated that the character had been an important influence on him since he was little.[8][9][10][11] Garfield drew from his life experiences as inspiration for the role, revealing, "I was thinking of my history and thinking of the kid at school who I wasn't as strong as, who behaved badly to a lot of people – including myself – and who I constantly tried to stand up to but never had the physical prowess to".[12] Discussing his predecessor, Garfield said he respects Tobey Maguire as an actor and that when he first saw Maguire play Spider-Man he "was blown away by his interpretation."[12] Garfield said in interviews, including one in which he was interviewed by Maguire, that when he watched the film Spider-Man when he was younger, he would jokingly recite Maguire's lines in the mirror with a friend who joked that he would never be Spider-Man.[12][13] On accepting the role Garfield explained, "I see it as a massive challenge in many ways.... To make it authentic. To make the character live and breathe in a new way. The audience already has a relationship with many different incarnations of the character. I do, as well. I'm probably going to be the guy in the movie theater shouting abuse at myself. But I have to let that go. No turning back. And I wouldn't want to."[14] After taking the role, Garfield studied the movements of athletes and spiders and tried to incorporate them, saying Parker is "a boy/spider in terms of how he moves, and not just in the suit."[15][16] He did yoga and Pilates for the role in order to be as flexible as possible.[17] When first wearing his costume Garfield admitted to shedding tears and trying to imagine "a better actor in the suit",[18] which he described as "uncomfortable" and admitted to wearing nothing beneath it since it is skintight.[19] When filming Garfield explained that he had four months of training and described his physical roles on stunts as terribly challenging and exhausting.[20] Max Charles portrayed Peter Parker as a 4-year-old. Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy A high school classmate and love interest of Parker's,[21] a smart, charismatic and rebellious girl who is the chief Intern at Oscorp.[6][7] For the role, Stone dyed her hair blonde, her natural color, even though she is better recognized as a redhead.[22][23] She felt that she had a responsibility to educate herself on Spider-Man, admitting she "hadn't read the comic book growing up, and my experience was with the Sam Raimi movies. . . . I always assumed that Mary Jane was his first love",[24] and having only been familiar with Bryce Dallas Howard's portrayal in Spider-Man 3.[25][26][27] Stone said, "There's a part of me that really wants to please people [who] love Spider-Man or Gwen Stacy and want her to be done justice. I hope they'll give me license to interpret her my way."[23] Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors / Lizard[28][29] One of Oscorp's leading scientific minds who attempts to engineer a revolutionary regeneration serum to help regrow limbs and human tissue. Something goes wrong and he is transformed into the monster known as Lizard.[6][7] In a September 2011 interview, Ifans said his character spends the majority of the film as a human. While playing the 9-foot tall reptile, Ifans was required to wear a CGI suit. Initially, a large stunt-double was used as a stand-in for the role, but Ifans insisted on portraying the transformed character. Commenting on the technology used to bring his character to life, Ifans continued, "I had a green suit on, and then this cardboard head, and these small claws... Each and every time you see the Lizard, the technology is so advanced now that when the Lizard's eyes move, they're my eyes. If I frown or show any emotion, they're my emotions. That's how spectacularly advanced technology is."[30] Ifans said that he voiced the man-beast as well explaining, "I'm sure the voice will be toyed with in the eventual edits, but when I was shooting the CGI moments, when I wasn't actually human, when I was Lizard, I looked like a crash-test dummy in a green leotard thing. There were many moments when I had to speak to Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone as the Lizard."[31] Denis Leary as Captain George Stacy "This is a Denis Leary you've never seen before — he's not the cool cat bucking the system, he is the system. He's got wit, he's got an attitude, and he's got 500 officers looking for Spider-Man — who just happens to be dating his daughter." —Matt Tolmach explaining Leary's character.[32] Gwen's father and a New York City Police Department captain who hunts both Spider-Man out of distrust and Lizard for his rampage.[33] Leary explained that he did not know much about Spider-Man in the comics and as "more of a Batman guy. Not the '60s [TV version] but the really dark Batman. But my wife was a Spider-Man nut, which was why I went to Tobey Maguire ones."[34] He added that long before he was cast as George Stacy his friend Jeff Garlin, a Spider-Man fan, "said to me, 'The first time I met you, I thought you were George Stacy!' This was like 30 years ago. I was like, 'What?!'"[34] Director Webb said of his casting, "[W]e all trust Denis Leary. He's got this attitude, but you love him. In this movie, he puts pressure on Peter Parker. He's on Spider-Man's case, but you understand him. I've said this before, but good drama comes from competing ideas of what's good."[35] Martin Sheen as Ben Parker Peter's uncle.[36] Sheen admitted he was unfamiliar with Spider-Man other than Maguire's portrayal, and knew little of the character Ben Parker except for knowing Cliff Robertson had played the part.[37] Sheen described his character as a surrogate father, saying, "I'm dealing with this adolescent who is having problems with changes, with hormones changing and his getting out of hand. I have to give him the marching orders and so forth."[38] Webb said, "You think of Martin Sheen as President Bartlet [of TV's The West Wing]. He has that sense of benevolent authority, but there's something else that's important, in terms of the dynamic that I wanted to explore, vis-à-vis Peter's relationship with his absent parents." Webb felt that unlike the scientifically-inclined Peter, Uncle Ben represented the blue collar working man, a gap that could create a dynamic between the characters.[35] Sally Field as May Parker Ben Parker's wife and Peter's aunt.[39][40] Field said the main reason she felt she had to be in the film was because of producer Laura Ziskin (they worked together on the 1985 film Murphy's Romance) because she had an instinct that this was to be Ziskin's last film. After Ziskin's death Field expressed her gratitude of being a part of both her first and last film.[41] Director Webb felt that "when you cast someone like Sally, they come with a certain level of awareness and real genuine affection, which for Aunt May is an incredibly important thing to have." Webb said that while "we all love Aunt May", he wanted to create a tension between May and Peter. "He's got bruises on his face, and what happens in that moment? That can create some tension, but you want there to be love there. That's what someone like Sally Field gives you."[35] Irrfan Khan as Dr. Rajit Ratha[6][42] An Oscorp executive, Connors' immediate superior.[43] Khan said he was offered what he described as this "pivotal role" after appearing in the TV drama series In Treatment.[44][45] Webb described himself as a fan of the actor when watching the series along with the films The Namesake and The Warrior.[43] Khan said he was uninterested in the project at first but that his sons were excited about it and insisted he take the role.[46] Chris Zylka as Flash Thompson A high school nemesis who picks on Parker.[47] Of playing the role, Zylka said, "You just try to focus. As an artist or as an actor, you just try to focus and stay in that world and block it all out