The Amazing Peter Parker

Rating: 7/10 (10 July 2012)

As a reader of comics, I enjoy - and am used to - seeing new creative teams bringing a new vision for iconic characters, but rebooting the Spider-Man franchise a mere five years after Raimi's Spider-Man 3 was released, just felt too soon. By now we know the story of Peter Parker being bitten by a radioactive spider, quite well. Heck, we know it very well! Granted, Raimi's films had a camp tone to them, but it took its characters very seriously. It was this delicate blend that helped create a timelessness to those films, whereas TASM is obviously trying to be 'of its time'. For this reason I fear that in years to come TASM will still live in the shadow of the Raimi films.
That said, the first half of the film is a powerful drama on its own merit. 'Spider-Man' aside, the Parker household has enough emotional depth and warmth you quickly find yourself caring for these characters - credit due to a wonderful cast who delivered great performances. Garfield in particular delivers a performance of the frustrated teenager on the verge of young adulthood perfectly.
Webb's debut film, 500 Days of Summer, showed that he knows how to capture the emotional highs and lows of relationships flawlessly, and he's done so again with TASM. The film shines brightest when focused on its leads, Garfield and Stone. Their chemistry in undeniable and leaves you begging for more.
For a film trying to appeal to modern audiences, visually - it works. Delivering a style edging between the richness of 'Batman Begins' and the glitz 'n glamour of 'Kick Ass'; however, never quite reaching the heights of either.
At times, TASM feels tied down by its predecessor. The action is solid, but fails to offer the level of excitement and spectacle crafted in the Spider-Man 2 fight scenes between Spidey and Doc Ock. It also lacks memorable visual narratives as seen in the previous films, and so nothing really stays with you; for instance, Spider-Man 2 manages to sum up the inner conflict of the hero by having Spider-Man's mask torn in two, showing one half as the determined masked hero and the other as the vulnerable Peter Parker - a strong, thoughtful image; something sorely missing in this film. Apart from an inspired Stan Lee cameo, which shows the artistic ingenuity and endearing humour of Webb, as seen in 500 Days, there's not really any 'wow' moments, which is disappointing considering the film is call The Amazing Spider-Man.
The trailer promised 'the untold story', referring to Peter's father; however, what we get is the introduction to the untold story. The mysteries surrounding Peter's father and his work are the main drive which sets the story in motion, only for it to come to a complete halt and not be mentioned for the entire second half of the film. It isn't until a sequel baiting, mid-credit scene that this plot is picked up again. Fortunately, they've set up the players well and created a Spider-Man world I look forward to see expanded upon, so a sequel is more than welcome. And in turn, it isn't frustrating that there's 'sequel bait' littered throughout.
Although the spectacle of The Amazing Spider-Man is enjoyable but somewhat underwhelming, the film makes up for its shortcomings with its tremendous cast and weighty emotional punch - which is unsurpassed by previous Marvel films. Ultimately, as a standalone film TASM is quite forgettable, and now has to rely on its sequels to deliver the goods in order for this new series to become relevant.
Rating: 7/10 as 6/10 seems too low