Great for Fans, Great for Non-Fans - Special Effects Are Show Stoppers!

Rating: 10/10 (28 April 2014)

Groundbreaking effects, huge actions scenes and memorable characters and actors! Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man / Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is back on the big screen in this gripping story about a boy who has the powers of a spider. He's up against Electro / Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), a man seeking attention, Harry Osborn / Green Goblin (Dane DaHaan), Peter's best friend and Spider-Man's foe, while still having to keep a promise and not uncover his parents' secret.
In this film, the writers allocate more time to show the alter-ego of Peter Parker without making it run too long or lose the action. The strong relationship between all the characters, whether it's love or hatred is all 3-Dimensional. It helps when you have capable actors filling these roles.
The story creates a darker look at being a hero and throws in some comic book jokes once in a while. This movie had a chance of becoming too unfocused. It has two villains to establish, the romance between Peter and Gwen, Peter trying to figure out the truth about his parents' past and more. However, with the help of a very talented director, Marc Webb and wonderful writers, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner, they pick a goal for the plot and follow through with it, while bringing all the actors' story arcs together naturally.
The special effects in this film are beyond amazing! Electro's design makes him the most unique villain. The special effect's department really gets creative on how Spider-Man moves and fights, especially when he's in spider-sense mode and everything slows down.
I gained a new respect for Jamie Foxx who portrays my favorite character Electro / Max Dillon. He plays a menacing villain, but also shows the tragic and even pathetic side of Max Dillon. On the Google+ Hangout which I was fortunate to be part of, Jamie confided that he "based this character on a person he knew." Behind all the CGI you see Jamie honor this person.
The battle in Times Square between Electro and Spider-Man in my favorite scene. It encompasses all the incredible CGI effects mentioned. It's where Max finally gets attention, once he gets his powers and he sees himself on T.V. When Electro says, "You see me?" You genuinely feel sorry for him. The moral of this story is, "It doesn't matter how hard you fall, it matters how fast you get back up." Peter goes through a life changing event and can't move on. However, in a clever and Marvel way, Aunt May gives Peter some advice that changes things.
I give this 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it to 10- to 18-year-olds. There are violent and intense scenes that some kids may not be able to handle, but this is a marvelous adaptation of Spider-Man. It will be released in theaters nationwide on May 2.
Reviewed by Keefer B., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic. For more film reviews to to kidsfirst dot org.