Not perfect, but doesn't deserve the sheer amount of hatred

Rating: 4/10 (15 August 2014)

Alright, I know I'm not the populist opinion here, so I'll go ahead and say what I think and try to articulate why I think this movie is probably the best Spider-man movie to date.
First off, I don't like the Raimi films, I tried my absolute best to tolerate the ridiculous cheese, underacting (McGuire and Dunst) and overacting (Pretty much everyone else) the hoaky writing, the plot holes, the weird character motivations, but I couldn't. I feel that everyone who compares the new Amazing flicks to the Raimi trilogy misses the point of a reboot, its not supposed to be like the old movies, that's the idea.
First off, its undeniable that Garfield far outshines McGuire as an actor, and as Spider-man. Not only that, but even without the comparison, he manages to play a likable and natural High-Schooler (Despite the fact that he looks like he's in college) Emma Stone, well, she almost makes the movie. Marc Webb can definitely write chemistry between characters well, and with Gwen and Peter, it really shines. I genuinely cared about the romance in both movies, which I could not say for the old films.
The other actors are all solid, Jamie Foxx is a great actor, and while his part is not original, it is entertaining and well acted. Props also to Dane Dehaan, who is a great actor and a fantastic Harry Osbourne.
Is this movie the mess of a plot everyone says it is? Not really. I was never confused or befuddled by the absurdity of the plot or situation at hand. However, the only thing I can honestly fault on the film can be Sony's marketing. Putting the Rhino in the trailers was idiotic considering he's in two scenes, and yes, the film feels like its fulfilling a quota of things to do with its plot, but here's the catch: its entertaining. The characters are fun to watch, the story keeps true to the Ultimate Spiderman mythos, and it genuinely makes you care for everyone you are supposed to care for. This, in my opinion is the best Spiderman movie we've had, its enjoyable, exciting, heartfelt, and a very well-written film, but Sony's meddling is very evident.