The Amazing Spider-Man ASM: Stuff You Didn't Like Thread

[The Rocket]

Peter asking why his father isn't there IS unfair. That's the whole point of the moment. He's basically saying, "It's not fair that my father isn't here". It's a sound psychological moment, and its doubly powerful because he's rejecting Uncle Ben as a father figure in that moment. It doesn't matter if he's being illogical about what happened...that's not his issue.

That scene really bothered me. I would have loved if Ben had responded, "he's dead, and he left for your own safety. At least somebody raised you. Your parents wanted your aunt and I to teach you the rights and wrongs of this world, and so we've tried. Don't blame me. I lost my brother. You think you're the only one who was affected? Wake up, you're not the center of the world."

Instead, Peter tramples all over Ben like a spoiled child with feeble parents. For someone as wise as Ben, this was a major disappointment. This version of the origin portrays Peter's aunt and uncle as terrible parents who failed to teach their boy respect. I can understand why Peter is completely ignorant in this scene. He has an attitude because Ben never raised him well.

 

[The Guard]

The filmmakers expect the audience to come up with:

"he's dead, and he left for your own safety. At least somebody raised you. Your parents wanted your aunt and I to teach you the rights and wrongs of this world, and so we've tried. Don't blame me. I lost my brother. You think you're the only one who was affected? Wake up, you're not the center of the world."

Which most audience members apparently did, hence so many fans labeling Peter a jerk.

It's subtlety.

Ben and May are hurt. Not ineffective parents.

Kids don't always display good attitudes...even good kids. And people don't always do the right thing.

 

[The Rocket]

The filmmakers expect the audience to come up with:



Which most audience members apparently did, hence so many fans labeling Peter a jerk.

It's subtlety.

Ben and May are hurt. Not ineffective parents.

Kids don't always display good attitudes...even good kids. And people don't always do the right thing.

I've shared my thoughts in another thread on why this Peter seems like such a selfish punk. I've concluded parenting is one of the big issues. At one point, Peter feels like bringing home a carton of eggs will excuse him from disappearing every night and leaving his aunt worried sick about him. There's no discipline for anything he does, especially when May and Ben keep changing their minds on how to approach Peter's misbehavior.

He has no sense of reality, and no understanding of how others feel.

 

[Nathan]

At one point, Peter feels like bringing home a carton of eggs will excuse him from disappearing every night and leaving his aunt worried sick about him.

Bringing home eggs was a sign of him being responsible, even about the little things.

He has no sense of reality, and no understanding of how others feel.

So he's your typical teenager.

 

[Jexx]

I felt like Peter bringing the eggs home was his way of saying "Aunt May, I'm so sorry. I know I've been keeping you up all night, and I know that this won't make up for how I've been acting.. but please forgive me."

That's how I saw that scene. You saw it differently. The way people perceive different moments is different.

 

[The Rocket]

Bringing home eggs was a sign of him being responsible, even about the little things.

I just don't see it as reasonable at all. Her big concern should be where the hell he has been all this time, and where he keeps disappearing to. Obviously, he's been keeping some major secrets from her. To let it slide, as a parent, is irresponsible.

Peter is not being responsible by bringing back a carton of eggs that May asked about a week ago. To leave her not knowing where he is is even more negligent. As a nephew, it is his responsibility to let his parents know where he is and that he's safe, especially in today's world when everybody has a cell phone. He owes it to his parents to let them know where he is. Every responsible child would understand that relationship with their parents.

He disappears twice prior to Ben's death, and neither time has the courtesy to tell them where he is or to even call them. He disappears several more times later in the film, leaving May in the dark about where he goes. He doesn't even call just to say he's fine. Every night, he leaves his newly-widowed aunt wondering if he's even alive, and keeps her stressed and awake.

That, to me, is the most irresponsible thing a son (or nephew, in this case) could do to his parents. That's why I don't buy the egg carton as a valid symbol of his responsibility and maturity. If he were really responsible, he'd use his cell phone and tell them he's not dead and that they shouldn't have to stay up all night waiting for him. The egg carton, in comparison, is just a poor excuse for him to say it's acceptable for him to disappear all the time.

 

[Nathan]

I just don't see it as reasonable at all. Her big concern should be where the hell he has been all this time, and where he keeps disappearing to. Obviously, he's been keeping some major secrets from her. To let it slide, as a parent, is irresponsible.

She probably put two and two together and figured out what he does at night.

Peter is not being responsible by bringing back a carton of eggs that May asked about a week ago. To leave her not knowing where he is is even more negligent. As a nephew, it is his responsibility to let his parents know where he is and that he's safe, especially in today's world when everybody has a cell phone. He owes it to his parents to let them know where he is. Every responsible child would understand that relationship with their parents.

He disappears twice prior to Ben's death, and neither time has the courtesy to tell them where he is or to even call them. He disappears several more times later in the film, leaving May in the dark about where he goes. He doesn't even call just to say he's fine. Every night, he leaves his newly-widowed aunt wondering if he's even alive, and keeps her stressed and awake.

That, to me, is the most irresponsible thing a son (or nephew, in this case) could do to his parents. That's why I don't buy the egg carton as a valid symbol of his responsibility and maturity. If he were really responsible, he'd use his cell phone and tell them he's not dead and that they shouldn't have to stay up all night waiting for him. The egg carton, in comparison, is just a poor excuse for him to say it's acceptable for him to disappear all the time.

He's effin' Spider-Man.

 

[Jexx]

Yea, I assume that Aunt May assumes Peter is Spider-Man, but doesn't question him about it, because the less she knows, the better.

 

[optimus2861]

He's effin' Spider-Man.

You must have watched Spectacular Spider-Man. Any good Spidey fan must. May grounded Peter in response to his absences, then imposed a 10pm curfew, with the caveat that if he's going to be late, he must call her first, before 10. So Spidey is fighting a baddie, his phone buzzes at 9:55, and right there in mid-battle, he calls May to tell her he's running late. It's both funny & responsible.

That Peter minded & respected May. Garfield's? Not so much.

Thanks, The Rocket, for putting into words a lot of what was bugging me about this Peter Parker. I couldn't pull it all together the way you did.

 

[Jexx]

That's more of a problem with Aunt May, not peter himself..

 

[Web face]

Oh yeah Peter had tons of time to call Aunt May while he was running from the cops and going to Oscorp to help Gwen and stop the Lizard while he had a bullet in his leg. It's not like he just barely, by mere seconds, stopped everyone in Manhattan from turning into lizard people. He can't even fight the Lizard when he is perfectly fine and focused, let alone when he is injured and trying to call and tell Aunt May that he is ok. Peter became Spider-man less than a week ago too so he is just a beginner.

 

[Jexx]

Spider-Man
Difficulty Level: Easy

"Gosh darn it! Why can't I trap the Lizard!" yells Peter Parker, as he throws down his web-shooter gamepad in anger.

 

[I Am The Knight]

I just don't see it as reasonable at all. Her big concern should be where the hell he has been all this time, and where he keeps disappearing to. Obviously, he's been keeping some major secrets from her. To let it slide, as a parent, is irresponsible.

It's pretty obvious she knows he's Spider-Man.

Peter is not being responsible by bringing back a carton of eggs that May asked about a week ago. To leave her not knowing where he is is even more negligent. As a nephew, it is his responsibility to let his parents know where he is and that he's safe, especially in today's world when everybody has a cell phone. He owes it to his parents to let them know where he is. Every responsible child would understand that relationship with their parents.

He disappears twice prior to Ben's death, and neither time has the courtesy to tell them where he is or to even call them. He disappears several more times later in the film, leaving May in the dark about where he goes. He doesn't even call just to say he's fine. Every night, he leaves his newly-widowed aunt wondering if he's even alive, and keeps her stressed and awake.

That, to me, is the most irresponsible thing a son (or nephew, in this case) could do to his parents. That's why I don't buy the egg carton as a valid symbol of his responsibility and maturity. If he were really responsible, he'd use his cell phone and tell them he's not dead and that they shouldn't have to stay up all night waiting for him. The egg carton, in comparison, is just a poor excuse for him to say it's acceptable for him to disappear all the time.

So everytime he's out as Spider-Man you need a scene of him calling Aunt May? We do have a scene where he is talking on his cellphone with her, so there's no way of truly knowing wheter he calls her between wall-crawling sessions or not. He may, he may not. Honestly, I think you're over-thinking this, and probably nitpicking.

 

[Spuzz]

people don't always do the right thing.

Understatement of the century.

 

[jacobed]

So wait we are hating on Peter's character in this because he's portrayed as a normal teenager? Everything he does just reminded me of any teenager in the world. We all hit that age where we think we're invincible and that we answer to noone now think about that but given superhuman powers

 

[El Payaso]

So wait we are hating on Peter's character in this because he's portrayed as a normal teenager? Everything he does just reminded me of any teenager in the world. We all hit that age where we think we're invincible and that we answer to noone now think about that but given superhuman powers

I know. It's only hilarious to criticize the character because he doesn't behave 100% right.

 

[chaseter]

Something I just realized...

Connors/Lizard wants to stop and kill Ratha for going to inject veterans unwillingly with the serum but Connors the very next day wants to inject the serum into all of NYC with the Ganali device.

 

[Troy_Parker]

Something I just realized...

Connors/Lizard wants to stop and kill Ratha for going to inject veterans unwillingly with the serum but Connors the very next day wants to inject the serum into all of NYC with the Ganali device.

I thought the fact that the serum was twisting Connors's mind was obvious?

 

[El Payaso]

I thought the fact that the serum was twisting Connors's mind was obvious?

Me too.

 

[Jexx]

So wait we are hating on Peter's character in this because he's portrayed as a normal teenager? Everything he does just reminded me of any teenager in the world. We all hit that age where we think we're invincible and that we answer to noone now think about that but given superhuman powers

I haven't hit that stage and I'm 17.

...

or maybe I just think I haven't hit that stage..

 

[El Payaso]

I haven't hit that stage and I'm 17.

...

or maybe I just think I haven't hit that stage..

That is part of hitting that stage. I've been told.

 

[The Guard]

So wait we are hating on Peter's character in this because he's portrayed as a normal teenager

Yup. Because apparently that's not how he was created/has always been.

I've shared my thoughts in another thread on why this Peter seems like such a selfish punk. I've concluded parenting is one of the big issues. At one point, Peter feels like bringing home a carton of eggs will excuse him from disappearing every night and leaving his aunt worried sick about him. There's no discipline for anything he does, especially when May and Ben keep changing their minds on how to approach Peter's misbehavior.

And that may well be true. He did not have tradtional parents...this is something to explore in future films, and was somewhat explored in TASM.

As for him being irresponsible...this is kind of the point.

That he is being irresponsible. Even as he thinks he is being responsible. He's going to have to find the balance between his normal life...and being Spider-Man, in dealing with the stresses of his Uncle's death, his desire for revenge/justice, and his desire to help others.

The eggs are just a sign that, even with all that, he's still thinking about the little things, and recognizes their importance, and the importance of Aunt May in his life.

He has no sense of reality, and no understanding of how others feel. ]

This is obviously not true.

 

[Jexx]

Also, he didn't always do just whatever he wanted.

He was gonna go by the hardware store and pick up needed parts and tools to fix the water heater that was leaking.

 

[DarkJester]

You know what...? I just didn't like this film, overall. It really, really saddens me to admit that. I love Spider-Man. So where do we begin?

-Aunt May was handled about as poorly as she could've been
-No resolution to Ben's killer
-No satisfying resolution to the disappearance of Pete's parents
-Garfield's Pete borders on completely unlikable sometimes
-This film severely lacked heart and character development
-certain story elements were merely glanced over (how AM I going to make web-shooters? in two seconds? ok!)

there's just too much here that didn't work for me. I know Sam Raimi's trilogy got cheesy (and downright awful at some points) but it got us invested in the characters. It had heart. Each story had a satisfying beginning middle and end (with the exception of 3's ending). This movie doesn't seem to know which story it's trying to tell.

Peter also fails to really embody "Spider-Man" to me. As soon as he's Spidey, he's on a man-hunt for Ben's killer. His own personal agenda. As soon as the Lizard shows up, it's up to him to stop him, because he created him. ...His own damned agenda. Pete doesn't do any "good" for the community that isn't related to his own agendas. Spider-man was always good for the sake of good, good because he had the power to DO good and Uncle Ben put that mentality into him. Not in this flick. Even when he saves that kid he seems like "Well ****, the Lizard's RIGHT THERE, but I gueeeeess I'll go save that kid"

I know I'm in the extreme minority once again, but yeah.... it was pretty generic on the whole, and if I wanted to get really nit-picky I could even say it was more of a cluster-**** than Spider-Man 3 was.

 

[Nathan]

You must have watched Spectacular Spider-Man. Any good Spidey fan must. May grounded Peter in response to his absences, then imposed a 10pm curfew, with the caveat that if he's going to be late, he must call her first, before 10. So Spidey is fighting a baddie, his phone buzzes at 9:55, and right there in mid-battle, he calls May to tell her he's running late. It's both funny & responsible.

That Peter minded & respected May. Garfield's? Not so much.

But nothing would change. Let's say he calls her every time he'll be late. He'll say he'll be home soon. But he'll be late. He says he's fine. He still comes home battered and bruised. So not only will he cause Aunt May being worried out of her mind, she also knows that he blatantly lies to her. That's even worse.