Andrew Garfield Is in Full-On Brood Mode in First ‘Spider-Man’ Shot
One of the concerns about casting Andrew Garfield as the hero of the rebooted "Spider-Man" was that not many people would know who he was. Co-starring in "The Social Network" has certainly helped raise his profile, but the first image of Garfield as Spidey suggests that Columbia Pictures isn't all that worried if you don't know who he is: It's that iconic suit that matters.
In this first official photo, Garfield is looking down, his eyes barely visible as his expression suggests he hasn't had the world's best day. (Perhaps the cuts on his face have something to do with it.) But the striking thing is that if you don't already know what Garfield looks like, this picture won't help much: He's just your average, everyday teenager awash in unknowable angst.
Really, the photo's true star is the Spider-Man suit, which is sleek and clinging to Garfield's body. It's the first thing that catches your eye, and that's intentional: In the end, it's not the man who's playing Spider-Man but the character himself that's ultimately selling the audience on this new iteration.
We think Garfield's a great actor -- he's been terrific in everything from "The Social Network" to "Never Let Me Go" to the little-seen "Boy A" -- but we find this initial image intensely blah. Not unlike those photos of Emma Stone as Peter Parker's love interest Gwen Stacy back in December, there's something rather generic about this shot, as if the studio wants us to be aware that a new "Spider-Man" is coming our way without really giving us any idea what it'll be like. (Heck, it doesn't even have a title yet, unless they're going to stick with "Untitled Spider-Man Reboot," which would be kinda great.) Presumably though, this Garfield image is meant to suggest that this "Spider-Man" will be somewhat darker than the Tobey Maguire films. Garfield looks the part, and he definitely has the chops. But we already knew that before seeing this photo.
