I will be analysing the first two minutes of ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ and how it is effective, also including action and enigma codes. The clip first opens up with diegetic stereotypical superhero music, this is effective as (although the audience should be aware of this) it confirms and makes it easily recognisable to the audience that the genre of this film is an action adventure film, preparing the audience for the context beforehand.
The well-known logo of Spiderman then appears on screen by a fade, at this point, it is unlikely there would be any enigma codes or that the audience would be thinking of questions centred around the Spiderman logo appearing as it is a world-wide, recognisable logo and society knows it associates with Spider-man. The camera then does a movement of a reverse zoom of the logo to reveal Spiderman in his full suit, going down a building at a rapid speed. The camera angle is a high shot, which is effective as the viewer gets to see the actual extreme height he is going down from, emphasizing the fact that Spiderman is very brave and courageous – stereotypical hero antagonist traits.
The use of this action code is also effective as it can hint/imply to the audience that already, Spiderman is on a mission or is out to solve an issue or crime that has just occurred in the city. This is because of the fact that when Spiderman is in his suit, most of the times, it is only just to help out or solve an issue, for example, he doesn’t go around in his suit for day to day activities, he only puts it on when he knows there is some type of conflict occurring, therefore, this is effective as an action code as it a way to signify Spider-man is about to get into some possible trouble (thus moving on the narrative), and at this point we could meet the villain antagonist or a threat at this point. Enigma codes of ‘where is he going’, ‘why does he appear in such a rush’ can also occur threw the viewer’s mind by this point, however, this questions are very soon answered. Spiderman goes on by doing tricks & flips with the help of his webs in the sky, during these action codes, camera shots such as low angles when he goes back up into the sky and mid shots.
There is also the camera movement of tracking during this part of the clip, this is effective as it allows the audience to follow Spiderman on where he goes, thus following the action. During the scene, the diegetic sound of the superhero music still is continuous, however, this time there is also some non-diegetic sounds of traffic and Spiderman going – “Woo-hoo”. Including the non-diegetic sound of traffic is effective as it adds a sense of realism and verisimilitude, making the film more believable to the audience. To add on to that, Spiderman ‘s dialogue is also effective at being an action code as his light-hearted cheer connotes the fact that he has emotions of being carefree & nonchalant, this possibly signifies the narrative that although trouble and conflict occurs & Spiderman’s journey may not be easy, most times he has no worries because he is always triumphant at the end.
The enigma codes of ‘Where is he going’ and ‘Why does he appear in such a rush’ is answered very quickly as what appears to be the sound of news report goes on describing the incident of a car hijack, with Spiderman’s confident response being: ‘Alright, let’s get to work.” The clip then does a quick cross cut to the actual scene of the car hijack, the camera shot is a mid-shot, this effective as the audience gets to highlight the damage the antagonist has caused as you get to see the wreckage. The villain antagonist is very clear and evident to identify, not only does he run over cars but his car stands out a lot as it is a big, black car compared to the other small, light coloured cars.
The mise-en-scene and representation of the villain antagonist is particularly effective in this part of the clip as black (the colour of his cars) has connotations of evil and negativity – traits which the villain has. Also, the fact that his huge black car juxtaposes and almost overshadows with the police cars represents him as extremely powerful, as the police (a system which is meant to help and protect) can’t even defeat him. This is effective as an action code as it signifies to the audience that this character is going to be a possible heavy threat throughout the entire film, to add on to that, the fact that there is such a huge mass of police cars there also indicates that this man is extremely dangerous and dominant, this being an successful action codes as it moves the narrative, introducing the audience to someone who might possibly even overcome Spiderman. Enigma codes of ‘Who is that man’ ‘Why is he being so reckless’ ‘Is he a potential threat’, ‘Is anyone going to defeat him’ could possibly be running through the viewer’s mind at this point.
At 1:20 of the clip Spiderman is seen going downwards whilst the action is occurring below him, there is a slow motion at this part. This is effective as it is a very clever way to signify to the audience that once Spiderman reaches the ground a lot of action will happen as he prepares to defeat the villain, the slow motion being a way to prepare the audience. Before Spiderman hits the ground, people part of the police force or even possibly the FBI are seen making a hole using what appears to be laser, finally gaining access through the truck, this is effective as an action code because by this point Spiderman has still not arrived at the car chase, this possibly being a way to signify the narrative to the audience that possibly Spider-man will (in this movie) not be the one who conquers all single-handily, indicating that he will have a side-kick in this particular film.
There is also a point of view shot of the toxics which were located in the truck, which is also a close up shot, this is effective as the audience get to see what was the main thing everyone was looking for, also making us feel a part of the scene.
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