The Fairly Amazing Spiderman

Rating: 7/10 (25 April 2014)

*Second warning (in case you somehow missed the first one), this review contains some BIG SPOILERS*
Excited as I was for this instalment, I couldn't help but maintain my usual level of scepticism upon entering any comic-based movie. In all honesty though, I left the movie thoroughly content. Went through the entire movie without checking my phone once (that's a a good sign).
The story was great. While there were some moments I thought were a little slow, as whole I think they did pretty well. I was pleasantly surprised with the back story of his parents, as well as his father's video. I thought Gwen's speech (both at the start and the end) were very well integrated, but most of all... I'm so happy with what happened to Gwen. It was almost identical to what actually happened in the comics (which I always appreciate a film adaptation doing), and it sets up a new love interest (*cough* MJ *cough*) for the next film. It truly evoked emotions from me at the time (and for days after), and it just made me glad that a Marvel film FINALLY decided to take a darker turn for once. The soundtrack was absolutely stellar - not a surprise from Hans Zimmer, really. From a person that has analysed movie soundtracks countless times, I can say that the integration of music in this film was a big step up from the last one. I also thought the running theme of time was extremely relevant to the movie's story, and (cliché as it may have been) I found the way that the movie ended was a perfect way to finish.
However, the film was not without its flaws. I thought the acting (excluding Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan and Andrew Garfield as Spiderman) was pretty standard for a superhero movie. I was disappointed with the limited amount of screen-time Green Goblin received. Also, I found the character development of Electro to be extremely typical and cliché at times. If you're picky about copying, the movie DOES resemble parts of Spiderman 2/3 of the previous trilogy, but I personally think this is irrelevant, as it's an entirely new quadrilogy separate from any previous films.
Overall, I'd say this movie is definitely worth a watch. While it may not be the best Marvel movie of the year (GO WATCH CAPTAIN 'MERICA), I'd definitely recommend it.