Dinesh Kamath's article on movie 'The Amazing Spider-Man' that was published in Newsband

The Amazing Spider-Man is an upcoming 2012 American superhero film directed by Marc Webb based on the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

The film has an interesting story. Teenage social outcast Peter Parker spends his days trying to unravel the mystery of his own past and winning the heart of his high school crush, Gwen Stacy. Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase belonging to his father, who abandoned him when he was a child, which leads him to his father's former partner, Dr. Curtis Connors. The discovery of his father's secret, coupled with an encounter with a genetically altered spider, will ultimately shape his destiny of becoming Spider-Man and brings him face to face with Connors, who becomes the vicious and vengeful Lizard.

Cast of the film:

* Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man

    An unpopular adolescent struggling to find his place in life ever since his parents disappeared when he was a young boy. Garfield described Parker as someone he can relate to, and claimed the character was an important symbol to him since he was just a toddler. 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". After taking the role, Garfield studied the movements of both 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." He also did yoga and Pilates for the role in order to be as flexible as possible. When first wearing the Spider-Man costume Garfield admitted to shedding tears and trying to imagine "a better actor in the suit", which he described as "uncomfortable" and admitted to wearing nothing beneath it since it is skintight. When filming Garfield explained that he had four months of training and described his physical roles on stunts as terribly challenging and exhausting.

* Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy

    A high school classmate and love interest of Peter Parker, a smart, charismatic and rebellious girl who is the chief Intern at Oscorp. For the role, Stone dyed her hair blonde, her natural hair color even though she is better recognized with red hair. 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", and having only been familiar with Bryce Dallas Howard's portrayal in Spider-Man 3 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."

* Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors / The Lizard

    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 the Lizard. In a September 2011 interview, Ifans said his character spends the majority of the film as a human. While filming for the 9-foot tall Lizard, 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, to which Webb agreed. 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 big 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." Ifans also said that he voiced the Lizard as well explaining.

* 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.

Gwen's father and a New York City Police Department captain who hunts both Spider-Man out of distrust and the Lizard for his rampage. 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."

* Martin Sheen as Ben Parker

    Peter Parker's uncle. Sheen admitted he was unfamiliar with Spider-Man other than through seeing Tobey Maguire's portrayal in Spider-Man 2, and knew little of the character Ben Parker except for knowing Cliff Robertson had played the part. 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." Webb said, "You think of Martin Sheen as President Bartlett [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 a vis Peter's relationship with his absent parents." Webb feels that unlike the scientifically inclined Peter, Uncle Ben represented the blue collar working man, a gap that could create a dynamic between the characters.

* Sally Field as May Parker

    Ben Parker's wife, and Peter Parker's aunt. 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."

* Irrfan Khan as Dr. Rajit Ratha

    A depicted employee of Oscorp (a company that the director Webb admitted to be owned by Norman Osborn in the film universe) and boss of Doctor Connors who provides pressure for the character. Khan said he was offered what he described as this "pivotal role" after appearing in the TV drama series In Treatment. Webb even described himself as a fan of the actor when watching the series along with the films The Namesake and The Warrior. Khan said he was uninterested in the project at first but that both of his sons were excited about it and insisted he take the role.

* Chris Zylka as Flash Thompson

    A high school nemesis who picks on Parker. 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."

The film has other minor characters.

Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter felt that the film was a satisfying result of a reboot of one of Marvel's most successful film franchise explaining that Marc Webb directed the film with emotional touch and plenty of comedic touches while also describing the film as a somewhat darker depiction of the superhero and having stronger romance when compared to the original film series. Boyd Van Hoeija of Variety described the film as a "mostly slick, entertaining and emotionally involving recombination of fresh and familiar elements". He said Garfield makes an interesting hero of the film because "his struggles involve real people -- and real lives."

Thus the film The Amazing Spider-Man is undoubtedly an interesting movie. So do watch it when it gets released on 29 June 2012.