succeeds from it's characters

Rating: 8/10 (13 July 2012)

Finished watching the Amazing Spiderman and i am pleased to say that the film actually works despite revisiting the previous plot points contributed from the previous films.
This film brilliantly captures the essence of the Spiderman story, a story that is fueled by emotional content rather then continues action scenes. The emotional concepts are contributed marvelously(yes pun intended)from the lead actors Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone.
While no doubt many will criticize the similarity to the previous films there are still many subtle differences, such as the characteristics of 'Garfield's Parker' to 'Maguire's Parker', Maguire captured quite effortlessly the sense of innocence that inhabits Peter Parker, however he could not capture the arrogance (quite evident in spiderman 3), this is where Garfield interpretation soars, Garfield performance creates the perfect balance between the emotional,arrogant and humorous characteristics which are fundamentals to Peter Parker/Spiderman character.
Emma stone also deserve praise for her performance, she embodies the character of Gwen Stacey in expertly fashion, conveying a character that that demands importance rather than being constructed for 'eye candy'. I don't want to degrade the previous films because I am quite fond of them but there is no denying Emma stones Gwen Stacy excels over Kirsten Dunst Mary Jane.
Yes there is also plenty of action and some quite captivating set pieces especially the fight in the high school, however it seems Webb has, in a sense, put the action secondary (despite the inevitable climax) which is a perfect choice because the entertainment exceeds from the effortlessly chemistry shared between Garfield and Stone.
Webb has successfully created a great film where we actually care about the characters. Maybe I suffer a sense of nostalgia as the previous Spiderman films are a treasured memory of my cinema experience, it was still captivating to watch the story unfold again.
The tracks have been set for the sequel, where now the writers can (hopefully) create a unique take on the spidey universe and rather then following the clichéd sequel degrader of going 'big', but rather keep the emotional investment they have created in this film.