Poor Ben

Rating: 5/10 (1 January 2013)

I really wanted to like this film. I saw it twice at the cinema and have since watched it on DVD. Each time I watch it I get angrier. I've read a LOT of Spider-man comics over the years and I don't recognise this Peter Parker at all. After initial annoyance over the thought of a 'reboot' (how I hate that term) I was won over because I thought the origin would be done differently. What made it to the screen is almost a carbon copy of the first film, though poorly executed and with a really unlikable version of the protagonist. The Lizard looks silly, Peter is arrogant and idiotic (standing up to Flash, ignoring all figures of authority, walking into a room of spiders willingly, etc, etc) and what could have been a good mystery story turns about his parents into a run of the mill battle to save the city. In short, the 'untold story' promised to us never got told. Plot threads are left swinging, if you'll pardon the pun, yet I lack the desire to find answers after watching this.
Not to be completely negative, there are some great shots of Spidey swinging around the city and Emma Stone is always nice to watch! My favourite scene is the one where Peter saves the boy from the burning car; it's perhaps the only selfless thing Peter does in the whole film. Though this can't make up for a wholly disappointing film about a rather unheroic hero. Two words that sums up how bad this version is: Milk Chug.