Forget the previous movies

Rating: 9/10 (25 July 2012)

A reboot after only 5 years? Well with how bad Spider-Man 3 was, why not! This wasn't the only reason I was intrigued by The Amazing Spider-Man though - in watching each trailer that came out, it just seemed like they had gotten this one right. I had nothing against the first two Spider-Man's with Tobey Maguire, after all they they were fun and basically kicked off the comic book movie assembly line. Even so, this time around you had the feeling they had discovered how much potential the character had, and that was reason enough to go see it.
Plot-wise, not a ton of surprises if you saw the original Spider-Man/the cartoon as a kid. Peter Parker is a reserved genius living with his Aunt and Uncle. He is mostly bullied and ignored at school, but that starts to change we he uncovers his father's research into cross- species genetics. This leads him to visiting his dad's old company, Oscorp, where his curiosity will change his life forever
Overall, this movie has everything we loved about the original, as well as doing all the small stuff better. For starters, Andrew Garfield is just a better Spider-Man. He has the awkward while being charming thing down. It was also a lot more gratifying to see the science (even though it's made up) being incorporated, while in the original it was literally just "bitten by a spider = super powers." All the high-flying action associated with Spider-Man is still there, it's just done with a sense of confidence and creativity that makes it fresh. Emma Stone was the perfect choice for Gwen Stacey. While it was different than the "girl next door" story with Mary Jane/Kirsten Dunst in the old one, having Parker go for a brainy girl whose Dad is a police captain was more interesting. Choosing Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard as the antagonist was also a great choice. While I know very little about the comics, I remember him as the conflicted character from the show. That conflict of good and evil felt much more genuine that Norman Osbourne/The Green Goblin.
In the end, this might be the best comic book movie there is. Now Christopher Nolan's Batman movies are my favorite, and the best movies in my mind, but in what I think a comic book movie should befun, engaging, inspirational, a touch of hokey, genuinely satisfying this is up there. Do yourself a favor and go check it out!
9/10