Workman like, mild thrills - uneven direction; overall lacking in purpose.

Rating: 5/10 (4 July 2012)

Why did we need a Spiderman reboot when there are so many other ideas that could have been brought to life with the same budget, cast and direction?
The singular answer is that the studio sees this and every other huge budget comic book extravaganza as an investment. A huge one. When you're monkeying around with an investment on this scale, you're conservative: You make just enough semi-relevant changes to justify the films existence.
That just doesn't cut it though for such an iconic character. You must either accept or reject the notion that, in the end, all you will be receiving with this title is a slightly different take on the same old story. Don't walk into the theater expecting reinvention of the wheel.
If you can completely embrace the notion that you will be force fed the same formulaic origins story from start to finish with pin point precision in playing identical emotional notes to its forbearer - you won't be severely disappointed. There just isn't a rational reason to have to lower your expectation, though.
The primary reason I find this Spiderman unacceptable isn't that the character is boring. It isn't that the actors are bad - they aren't. Garfield is a particularly good Spiderman; better than Maguire.
The main reason this film is unacceptable is that the bar has moved drastically. Hardcore comic book fans are packing the theaters with higher expectations than ever; the genre has evolved so to speak. With titles like X-Men first Class, The Avengers and The Dark Knight films in the same universe - this Spidey simply doesn't have the same impact as the ten years old predecessor.
In this new, evolved universe fans are more savvy. We now expect the thrill rating to ratchet up higher; the contours to be more dynamic. We expect to see ensembles; teams and entire casts of superhero's working together in the same universe ... the Marvel movie universe. We expect a degree of suspense. This film has no suspense- of course not; not when we've seen it already before it begins.
What we have here is something that might have been great 10 years ago. It's not great now; it's profoundly average in the context of the other comic book films surrounding it.
If it's at all legally possible, I would sincerely hope that Spiderman exist (in a clearly defined and visible way) within the Marvel Universe that has so rapidly expanded ... leaving the web slinger in his own niche only makes him that much more insignificant.
My hope is that somehow Spidey can be incorporated into the Marvel Universe in much the same way the Avengers worked; or in much the same way X-Men first class worked. Adding some comic book buddies will take some of the weight off of Garfield's shoulders ... he's a good Spiderman but I don't feel he can carry the load alone.
Until then, it's the same old story - and your friendly neighborhood Spiderman is awfully lonely relying on the same old schtick.