Andrew Garfield – WilfridWong.com

Of Captain America The Winter Soldier And The Amazing Spider-Man 2

What a treat for Marvel fans this year. Earlier on, we have the follow-up movies for Captain America and Spider-Man. Later, we will have X-Men and Guardians of the Galaxy. Some of us who are fans of the online game Marvel Heroes have already planned to meet up and watch the upcoming X-Men together.

Captain America 2 and Spider-Man 2

3 years ago, my wife and I have watched the Captain America movie. I love his personality being so close to people on the ground. 3 years later set in modern time, Captain America is on a mission with Black Widow. The plot I must admit sounded complicated initially. Had I not been introduced to the Hydra organization thanks to that online game I am playing, I would have been pretty lost because I don’t read that much comic. As far as the story goes, S.H.I.E.L.D. is infiltrated and no one can be trusted. It is up to Captain America in leading the people out of the crisis. The villain turns out to be Captain’s best friend and now called Winter Soldier. This film has plenty of action as well as good plot twists. Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson are both charming on screen. What I found missing or what I really wish to see was some romance in the story, which is none. That leads to the second movie my wife and I have watched – The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

It is hard not to love Spider-Man. He is agile and funny. And he is popular. Andrew Garfield is the perfect actor for this role. There is a vulnerable side of his. But also possess an inner strength and determination that I feel lacking in the previous incarnations. Spider-Man is a super hero after all and he has to be strong. I also happen to like Emma stone as Spider-Man’s love interest. Gwen Stacy is not portrayed as some girls who are helpless without her superhero boyfriend. Being a real life couple may have explained the amazing on-screen chemistry. Plot-wise, this movie is not as memorable as Captain America’s. But I was thoroughly entertained and enthralled by the story between Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy.

Both are good movies. I can’t wait to watch the next two!

The Amazing Spider-Man: Bad Chemistry, Good Chemistry

Mad scientists, don’t we love them to give us yet another villain to fight against? In this superhero universe, we have seen bad chemicals injected into drinking water aiming to poison the whole city of innocent people. We have seen bad chemicals vaporized into air. We have even seen bad chemicals injected directly into air, or intended to be so. Superheroes spying on the criminals through the police radio channels. At times, I can’t tell one story from another. Haven’t we already seen Spider-Man ten years ago? Do we need a reboot, yet another remake? One thing for sure, the chemistry between the new Peter Parker and his new love interest Gwen Stacy is good. Those kisses Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone have could well dethrone the ones we have seen in Twilight Saga. Oh no, have I just offended the Marvel fans and the Twilight fans in one single paragraph?

I am not a big fan of remakes. Not when the original film is merely ten years old. Technology has not changed that much. Why not The Amazing Spider-Girl instead? Hence, I have very low expectation on The Amazing Spider-Man. I watched it because of Emma Stone (I know!) While the part about Spider-Man’s transformation still does not make sense (I could see millions of people easily could have become Spider-Man), many parts now make more sense. Like how spider web gets ejected out from Spider-Man’s wrists. Or how Spider-Man trains himself to be one, which reminds me of the Batman remake. Cynthia commented that it is unrealistic for Spider-Man to create his costume. I pointed out to her that these days, you can learn to make anything using Google. Except Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man uses Bing and an old Sony Ericsson phone.

Right.

I like it that Spider-Man acts like a spider, how he looks for his prey. I also like it that the villain is not a thousand times bigger than Spider-Man. It was a fair fight. A lot of plot development on the upbringing and background of Peter Parker and the character transformation of Spider-Man, which is also a plus. I also like it that this new Peter Parker is upfront about his identity when dealing with his love interest. No more stupid girlfriends who are tricked by a mask or a pair of glasses. While I will likely forget the plot a month from now, the good on-screen chemistry is probably something I will remember for a while. Till they reboot this franchise again that is.