Better Than The First

Rating: 7/10 (8 December 2012)

I watched this movie on DVD, and with high expectations because of recommendations from my friends. While I have to admit that some aspects were disappointing, I was satisfied with the overall quality of this movie.
One of the high points of this movie was that character of the hero, Peter Parker. This movie emphasizes his intelligence and interest in science, while the other movies seemed to ignore this. Parker's ability to invent his own web shooters demonstrates this intelligence (it also appeals to fans of the comic books, which never gave Spider-Man organic webbing). However, it isn't surprising that the old Spider-Man couldn't invent his own spider web, as he was too busy taking flattering pictures of himself. This movie also makes Spider-Man more likable by making him more of a hero, and more of a rebel at the same time. The new Spidey is actually motivated to risk his life for reasons other than the bad guy kidnapping his girlfriend. Even his girlfriend is more heroic (she actually risks her life for him for a change!). The new Spider-Man is also a more realistic teenager: he's sarcastic, independent, and not a pathetic rule-abider like the old guy (the most rebellious thing the old Spidey did was dye his hair and snap his fingers at the ladies).
I also liked that this movie provides a lot more context to explain Spider-Man's existence and background than the older movies did. Since most people already know that Spider-Man got his powers from getting bit by a spider, it makes sense that the movie should tell us something new.
The worst fault of this movie is its occasional lack of originality. There is a bit of overlap from the original movie and although this is unavoidable, it causes a lot of confusion. Some scenes have essentially the same old idea, but are placed in a different setting, which comes off as lazy.
There is also a little bit too much similarity between this movie and the Dark Knight. Spider-Man isn't supposed to be "the hero New York deserved, not the one it needed", so there is no reason to try and cross the two heroes.
In conclusion, The Amazing Spider-Man is a decent movie (but not necessarily all that amazing). If you have already seen the others, it is still worthwhile to watch this one, especially if you are a fan of the comic books. It is definitely an improvement over the original, but it will still remind viewers of the original several times. If this were the first Spider-Man movie, I would rate it 8/10, but I am taking one mark off due to some of the annoying overlap of the original.