The Amazing Spider Man 2012

Now for two adventure films, with the first like OZ a prequel to the Spider Man films, the Amazing Spider Man 2012. Against all expectations I thoroughly enjoyed this film which sets out to explain how and why Peter Parker became Spider Man

Peter grew up with his uncle, the excellent actor Martin Sheen and his wife after his parents have been killed in a plane crash. He had been taken to stay with the relatives after the family home had been ransacked because his father had been working on how to combine human and animal DNA as a way of curing major illnesses, in a throw back idea to Oh Lucky Man perhaps?

Peter who is a bullied weakling at school and then High school, has no chance with the girl he fancies, the daughter of a senior policeman but then discovers a secret diary of his father in which he has noted down his major discovery, a formula which solves the problem of combining the DNA in such a way to achieve the objective. He finds that the man with whom his father collaborated is now in charge of a successful major research corporation and he finds a way to gain entry posing as an Intern where he meets up with the police chief’s daughter who has a part time job at the company’s HQ laboratory..

Without realising what is involved Peter finds the project where the former partner has been pressurised to bringing forward the research which involves spiders. Peter is bitten by a processed spider at the wrong (or right) time and his body is transformed with the ability to move like a spider and with a dramatic increase in physical power. Unfortunately Peter then shares the secret formula with the partner whose boss pressurises him to use the project on humans not knowing about what has happened to Peter and when the partner refuses he is fired.

The partner then uses the formula on himself to regenerate a previously severed limb however this is only the first stage to a transformation into a human attacking giant lizard with ideas which threaten the whole of humanity.

Meanwhile at High School Peter has found it difficult to control his strength and athletic abilities but does begin to date the police chiefs daughter, eventually reveals that he is also Spider man. At first Peter uses his power to prevent a crime but on realising his potential he commence to help the police who condemn his involvement as a vigilante and he becomes their target. Refusing to give up the work he creates the second skin disguise familiar to everyone as Spiderman and also how to create and use super strength thread into the ability to create webs and links enabling him to move through the city at great speed,

The situation comes to a head when first the lizard creature creates havoc on a bridge but Peter saves the son of a tower crane driver as their car is about to topple off the bridge, a crucial development when later other crane men help Peter to move across the city to prevent catastrophe. This is after Peter has been captured by the police and the chief discovers that this is the boyfriend of the daughter. He lets Peter escape after learning that the daughter is in great danger and that Peter may be able to save her. Peter is able to stop the humanity threatening disaster with the help of the police chief who losses his life but makes Peter swear he will have no further contact with his daughter. This breaks both hearts and eventually girl visits demanding to know why she has been rejected and then correctly guessing that he has been persuaded by her father not to have contact. Peter agrees to the request because he failed to prevent the death of his aunt and understands that he will have to live alone to continue his at times dangerous activities.

Returning to High School Peter reveals to the girl that he is a failure at keeping promises and meanwhile in a prison cell a shadowy figure asks the former partner if he has revealed to Peter the truth about the boy’s father. The reply is no thus heralding the next film!