A reboot elevated by great performances and strong direction

Rating: 7/10 (9 July 2012)

Around two and a half years ago I heard the announcement of a Spiderman reboot; my initial reaction was less-than-enthusiastic - "too soon...what's the point?", I thought; but after the disappointing mess that was Spiderman 3, I realised that maybe it might not be so bad after all. I found Marc Webb to an unusual but interesting choice, but aside from that, everything seemed to come together nicely for the film's production; the perfect casting and even my delightful joy at the faithful inclusion of Gwen Stacy and Peter's homemade web-shooters. However having thoroughly enjoyed the first of Raimi's and loved the sheer brilliance of the second, I still remained somewhat worried about how this early reboot would pan out. Thankfully, even if unnecessary (I suspect Sony just made it to keep the rights) it turned out better than expected.
Much of the pure enjoyment of this film stems from the wonderful casting of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone as Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy respectively. Their scenes together are a particular pleasure to watch; their beautiful chemistry and the manner their lines spark off each other convey the awkwardness of youth to the effect where it left me smiling widely. They are undoubtedly the heart of the film; its beating centre which provides the film with life and emotion. They charm, we root. After being so great in Never Let Me Go and The Social Network, Garfield does not disappoint; doing a wonderful job of making the dual role his own, proving that he is indeed one of the most capable and talented actors under 30 today. Stone continues to impress after a line of great performances, working marvellously alongside Garfield. A scene between her and Dennis Leary concerning cocoa (really) provides one of the film's best comic beats. It is thanks to these performances that nothing in the film feels forced or out-of- character.
It's pretty much a fact that Spiderman has a poor back catalogue when it comes to villainy; and when the lizard was first announced as the chief antagonist, I felt he'd be at odds with the film's promised "realism" and even feared he may turn out worse than the Power Rangers reject that was the Green Goblin in Raimi's first, yet Rhys Ifans, oddly refusing to betray his Welsh accent, delivers a strong performance as Curt Connors, if not the Lizard. He proves to be quite likable for the film's first half, and even though the seeds of tragedy are there for his metamorphosis, his inevitable transformation was somewhat rushed, which never allows them come to poignant fruition. The Lizard does indeed look ridiculous and it almost, but doesn't quite work.
"The untold story", the publicity proclaimed; maybe next time, fellas, because of course, they are similarities to Raimi's first chapter; the basics are all there - high school, love interest, Flash, Uncle Ben, the cheap mask, etc. But thanks to assured direction and brilliant casting (Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben!), it somehow manages to be exciting and emotional, even if not entirely new. James Horner's score was nowhere near as memorable as Elfman's though.
This is a superhero film slightly odd in the fact that it is just as good at portraying human relationships than sweeping set-pieces, not that the action is inherently bad, it is mildly enjoyable, but some of the tender character moments are the film's true highlights, elevating it wonderfully. I was genuinely surprised by the fact that I liked it; it was a fairly enjoyable comic book film with strong emotional resonance. Yet, while easily better than Spiderman 3, and even better than the first, Spiderman 2 is still the amazing Spiderman.