Will cause a proper debate between those who prefer this, and those who love the prior trilogy

Rating: 8/10 (4 July 2012)

Peter is a typical high-school student, if a little nerdy. He is bullied, but unlike the Maguire version, you like him, relate to him, and he's not just awkward and quiet all the time. He has a crush on Gwen(who is not just "the girl the lead will end up with", she has a vital role, personality, and she's incredibly charming and beautiful), and she may just like him, too... and you believe that, because she's slightly geeky, herself(and the relationship between them is part of the emotional core that is the film's greatest strength... you really get into this, never bored because of how much you care, and it leaves an impact on you; it's a drama where the protagonist happens to be a costumed superhero, not the other way around). Their puppy love is endearing, and I defy any young straight male to not fall for her. One day, because of his inherent stupidity(...yeah, this is a bit more of a teenage-y take on the material, and it is dumbed down... the car thief uses a gadget to break into the vehicle(in the trailer, the one that also lets you one that in this, the wit of the titular hero is actually present, and *funny*), which doesn't contradict his intelligence(hey, he's a kid!), he's bitten by a Scienced-Up spider. He gets to figure out his powers, and soon becomes a masked vigilante(for an actual reason, in this one). Dr. Connors is a kind man who wants to help those who have lost limbs or the like(including himself), and he becomes The Lizard from splicing animal DNA with that of reptiles... and... turns completely evil, which is a bit unfortunate, as it would be more interesting with a tragic villain. What he lacks in shades of grey he makes up for in being freaking terrifying. He provides the scariest and most tense moments in all four films(I suppose the old ones didn't really try for that), and the fact that he's clearly *smart*, not just "an animal", really seals the deal(and they give him a nice, expressive, monstrous face). He will have to be stopped, but Spider-Man has to be careful, as George Stacy, captain of the corps, has sent the police(oh yeah, they exist in this universe! You know, the Raimi ones had me forgetting that...) to arrest him(goes against the comics? Sure, however, it creates tenable conflict, makes sense and really brings forth this, another of the strong characters). This is a more realistic approach, and thus it gets to be dark. The origin is retold, and it is less mature than the 2004 sequel(remake of the first one? Nah, it takes some of the scenes and expands upon them). Uncle Ben and Aunt May are real people, and clearly an old married couple. This doesn't really get goofy. The mystery leaves us hanging, for better or worse. This is well-paced. The action is excellent, very tight, we feel the blows, and it has the elements we'd want - webbings, swinging(we've seen that before, but this is the only one where there is a sequence of it that is genuinely powerful), mid-air fighting and heroics(something that we see come naturally, over time, to Parker, not just "well, if I were in a graphic novel, I'd save people, so why not!"). FX are amazing, pun intended. The 3D is admittedly barely present, and frankly, if you want to save the extra expense, you're not missing anything by just watching a regular version. There is a lot of bloody violence(really pushing the PG-13 rating), disturbing content, and a little moderate language in this. I recommend this very much to any fan of the source, of this genre, of those involved and even those who liked the other flicks. 8/10