Spiderman Vs. Spiderman
What do you look for in a Superhero movie? Is it accuracy, or a grandiose style? A comic book geek looks for the following attributes in a comic book movie: consistency with the comics, how it looks, and if it's well-acted. There have been several adaptations to the Spiderman comic book series, each movie varying from the next. The two separate Spiderman movies vary from the comic books; their biggest variable is the portrayal of the character Peter Parker/Spiderman by the directors and actors.
There are two different actors who play Spiderman, each one varying in their own ways. First, there is Tobey Maguire as Spiderman. Maguire's Peter Parker perfectly embodies the bullied weakling gone superhero. However, Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker has a certain air of confidence about him before being bitten and getting superpowers did not result in any major change in attitude. Overall, Maguire was closer to the character found in the comic books. Although he arguably failed to nail the intelligence and geekiness of Peter as Garfield does, it is hard to decide which actor played him best, as each one was uniquely satisfactory. Ultimately however, Garfield gives a better performance, but is not exactly the Peter Parker from the comic books. This is a result of the directors rather than acting skills. Each director takes a different path when he comes to Peter Parker, each one varying from the original, but each one wonderful in its own way.
Furthermore, there are the variations within the movie itself, rather than just the character. To begin with, we have the powers of Peter Parker. “With great power there must also come great responsibility," a famous quote from the Spiderman comic book. However, when one is bestowed with powers such as these he must learn how to control them. In Garfield's Spiderman, when Peter gets his powers it's almost as if he just know how to control them. He goes out and practices swinging on chains in an old abandoned warehouse. Along with this, he is already in relatively good shape and acts as if he does this often. The biggest difference is that he acts as if he is in complete control of the webs shooting out of his wrists. He knew exactly how to handle them with little or no practice beforehand. Tobey Maguire nailed the practice session with his newly gained powers from the comic books. He skipped school after waking up and realizing his new abilities. He goes out, to less populated area of town, and tries to figure them out. The director of Maguire's Spiderman, captures his reaction to newly acquired superhuman powers. Maguire doesn’t know what to do with himself at first, but eventually, after repetitive failures he gets it down. This is more of what actually happened in the comics. It is not exact, they both assume that the fans, or the viewers just assume, or already know what his 'Spider-Senses' consist of.
Lastly, we have the villain. The Green Goblin (Spider-Man) and The Lizard (The Amazing Spiderman) are both alike and different. While their respective transformations are the results of experiments gone wrong, the Lizard is a far more sympathetic villain in comparison to The Green Goblin, who is just a nasty being. Of course, their ultimate schemes are equally as unconvincing in some respects; the Green Goblin wants to 'rule the city' with Spider-Man, "I could squash you like a bug right now, but I'm offering you a choice. Join me! Imagine what we could accomplish together, what we could create. Or we could destroy! Cause the deaths of countless innocents in selfish battle again and again and again until we're both dead! Is that what you want?" The Green Goblin wanted Spiderman to join him and his evil ways, but Spiderman turns him down, being the superhero he is. On the other hand, the Lizard just wants to turn everyone in New York into Lizard creatures immune to disease and disabilities. The Green Goblin clearly trumps the Lizard. The Green Goblin is a truly evil villain who not only attempts to kill a group of children and Peter Parker's aunt and girlfriend, but also beats him within an inch of his life in a brutal and fantastic final battle. Making a sympathetic villain was the right decision for The Amazing Spider-Man, and despite the fact that the Lizard is a brilliant visual creation and how wonderfully their fight scenes are put together, he is still no match for the Green Goblin. Each director put a different twist on the villain in an attempt to customize his movie, that is just something that occurs with re-makes. Neither one is distasteful, just different.
Overall, this is what happens when a movie is remade, or when a movie is made based off of a comic book, or a novel. In the Spiderman movies, with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as Spiderman there are lots of variations: between the two movies, and between the two and the comic book. For example, the two different actors and directors all with the same general plot; introvert geek gone superhuman extrovert. Peter Parker's transformation in undeniably going to be interpreted differently by various people, but as long as the story line is correct it's all good.