'The Untold Story' has begun to unfold

I was one of the lucky fans to get a chance to see the premiere of the new Amazing Spiderman 3D trailer and eight minutes of footage at Sony's "The Untold Story Begins" events today. There were special screeenings all over the world connected via satellite featuring stars of the film at several of the events, Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker/Spiderman) in New York, Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy) in Brazil, and Director Marc Webb at the Los Angeles screeening I attended. The screenings were packed! I was not able to get into the first screening, so I missed the free tshirts and satellite feed of the other sites, but I did get to see Marc Webb introduce the footage during a second screening. He talked quickly about his goals for the movie and then introduced the trailer shown in 3D and then 8 minutes of 2D footage.

Webb said he had wanted to ground Peter Parker's world in the moviegoer's "real world," so fans will "walk out of the theater feeling like they never left their world." Webb gave a brief intro for the trailer and footage and forewarned the audience that parts of the eight minute sizzle reel were still in editing phase but he wanted to give fans something to see. He seems very excited to get this film in front of fans.

The Trailer will be available to the world at Midnight (Pacific Standard Time) on February 7, 2012 via the official movie website: www.TheAmazingSpiderman.com. The trailer was visually appealing in 3D and may be worth the extra money at the ticket window. I do not want to talk about the trailer too much as it will be available soon, so check it out ASAP!

The eight minutes of footage were for the event attendees only. The footage includes Uncle Ben and a new rendition of the "With great power comes great responsibility" speech, introduces Denis Leary's Captain Stacy, the awkward romance between Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker, and one of the most anticipated moments, the debut of Rhys Ifans' The Lizard. This version of the web-head brings back the goofy, animated side of the hero. Funny lines and a shiny costume and many parts were reminiscent of the old 90's Spidey cartoons. Then the footage changes to a more dramatic tone. We see Dr. Curt Connors transformation into the Lizard, his relation to Parker, Captain Stacy's pursuit of the "masked vigilante known as Spiderman" (sound familiar from another hero movie?), and Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker working through the hard parts of the latter facing dangers as a hero. The film will definitely have two sides, the quirky/funny origin of a hero and then realization of the responsibility of wielding such great power.

Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben has the sternness of the father figure for Peter Parker with the combination of the goofy old uncle, at one point outing Peter to Gwen about "pictures on a computer." Denis Leary gets to use that attitude and toughness he has become known for as the NYPD leader in the hunt for Spiderman, as well as, Gwen's father and protector from boys, a.k.a. Peter Parker. Andrew Garfield portrays the awkward teen, girl-crushing, and emerging hero. Garfield plays the childish side of Spiderman, having fun with his new capabilities, then turns serious - grasping the fact that he will have to fight Dr. Connor's evil alter ego, the Lizard. The new Spiderman suit seems flashier (almost cartoony) and less computer-enhanced than the Sam Raimi/Tobey MacGuire version. There was not much shown of Ifans' Curt Connors dialogue and very few, VERY quick shots of the Lizard. From what was seen, the Lizard looks to be a miniature Godzilla (from the 1998 film) with a flat face. Before people start to complain that the villain looks like a Goomba, the look makes sense and does not ruin the look of the film.

The event did not leave much open for the imagination. The only question I left with was about what happened to Peter's parents. There are also the obvious inquiries: Will Peter use his powers to be a wrestler in the film? Will Uncle Ben die? Will there be any cameos during the Oscorp scenes? The film will be released July 3, 2012 to answer these questions and should be worth the wait.