Back in 2010, there was a little announcement that came out of Hollywood that was both as surprising as the sun rising in the morning and as surprising as an apple growing on an orange tree. Sam Raimi would not be making a Spiderman 4, and consequently the franchise would be done after 3 movies. However, Sony also announced that it was gearing up for a full-series reboot to be released in 2012. The internet responded in all of it's glory, with social media, blogs, and other various "experts" butchering and slamming Sony's decision. Despite the backlash, aptly named Marc Webb was brought in to direct, and the tandem of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone were brought in to star as Peter and Gwen.
Something crazy happened: people liked it.
A mere 4 years after the worst movie of the franchise and in the midst of all things Avengers and Batman, Spiderman was back. What happened? What made this installment so different from the other 3 movies, let alone all the other films surrounding it?
Was it the change from organic to mechanical webshooters? Perhaps it was the slightly redesigned suit? Was it the fact that Momma Gump was Aunt May? Maybe...but I propose that the answer has less to do with the cinematic elements of the movie and more to do with life.
It's the people.
In an age where we want flash, spectacle, and amazing depth from our spandex sporting silver-screeners, we have lost the personal element. We love plot twists and amazing effects and explosions, but even the best written scripts, without personal development of the characters, become empty sheets of paper. Just consider these situations.
When Iron Man has to kill his mentor and father figure to save the day, we don't react with more than an "eh".
When Thor has to banish his own brother who has deceived him, we respond with a lackluster "so? Where's Coulson?"
Rachel, the love of Batman's life, dies because he chooses Harvey, we wonder where Joker is.
And even when Captain America has a tearful goodbye to his British lover, we simply yawn.
Each of these moments had potential to raise the stock of Kleenex 10 fold, yet the emotion was lost. Why? We didn't know these people all that well. We didn't care very much about their relationships with each other. We were given more fighting, more flash and more clash instead of the people.
Then came Spiderman. Visually, it's no more spectacular than any other blockbuster today. Story-wise, it's no more amazing than what are considered the upper tier superhero movies (Dark Knight, Iron Man, Watchmen, even Spiderman 2). Why do we love it so much, then?
Because, even for just a couple hours, we forgot it was a superhero movie. We were able to see people acting, reacting, being awkward, growing up: almost like we were able to look into a window of our past (or even present). Marc Webb cared about these characters, so much so that he was able to take something larger than life and make them into people we know. We remember the awkward first encounter with the girl/guy we love when we see Gwen and Pete talk in the hall, so much so it makes our skin crawl more than a new batch of radioactive spiders. Uncle Ben's actions and antics remind us of our own dear uncles or grandparents, making it hurt that much more when we see him pass away. We love Peter because he reminds us of, well, ourselves.
The reviews of TAS2 have been pretty negative so far (which is stupid, if you ask me. I mean, who's reviewing it? Green Goblin? Kingpin? GAHH. Sorry, I digress). Through it all, there is always one thing pointed to as being the shining beam in the movie: the people. The characters are real, and as human beings we long for this realness.
Our lives are defined by more than our successes and our failures. In life, the relationships we have with our friends, our enemies, our families, our Father, help to define, refine, and shape who we are. When we see this in other people, we are reminded of the fact that these people make up the story of our life.
We are reminded of what we were originally intended to do. In Genesis, we see that mankind was made for relationship with the God of the universe. He valued that relationship, and after sin broke that relationship, He made a way to renew and mend that relationship by sending Christ to die and rise again. His ministry was defined by the people He encountered, and the people He knew and taught. We long for this relationship, and we will only find it in Christ Himself. That's why we, as humans, relate to and are drawn to people and relationships, even if it's only on a screen.
It reminds us that life is more than our job, our schedules, and our responsibilities; it's about the people we touch, the people who touch us, and how they help us change.
And when we see that true aspect of life portrayed on a large screen, we are reminded of what life can be: AMAZING.
