Worthy reboot of spider-man series

Rating: 7/10 (13 April 2014)

I liked this reboot of the spider-man series, despite some minor flaws. The new Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) did an excellent job in portraying a 17-year old filled with angst over age, death, love, and responsibility. His performance is even more amazing when you realize he is over 30 years old. Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) came off at the start as a bit smug and looked too old to portray a high schooler, but by the end, I thought she did a decent job.
There are minor plot twists, but if you have a pulse, you know that Parker gets bitten by a spider with special powers, and he inherits those spider powers. That part came a bit fast in this movie, where next thing you know, Parker is spinning webs and flying all over the place.
Martin Sheen turned in a fine performance as gentle uncle Ben, as did Sally Fields as Aunt May, though they could have tried to make her look a bit older. I remember her as a gray-haired granny type.
I found the plot was a bit long in some scenes, and the movie probably could have been cut down 15 minutes to be around 2 hours. However, the action kept things moving, with enough fight scenes and the obligatory destruction whenever super heroes fight the bad guys. The CGI was terrific by the way, which goes without saying again in a modern super hero movie.
Lastly, the Lizard character was well played by Rhys Ifans. I've never heard of him before but he was quite believable as a man on the edge, and then pushed over it by his regenerative serum. All told, fine acting, interesting enough story, and terrific cinematography make this a film worth your time. Hence, my score 7/10.