A different spin

Rating: 7/10 (4 April 2015)

Despite the obvious big budget trappings, there's almost something "indie" about director Marc Webb's 'The Amazing Spider-Man'. From its cinematography to its tone, this is very much a Tribeca Spider-Man.
The lanky Andrew Garfield physically embodies Peter Parker perfectly, and though his twitchy, mumbley emo kid take on the character takes some getting used to, he makes it work. His love interest and real life girlfriend Emma Stone have good chemistry together, which is important since their character's romance is handled rather clumsily at times. The rest of the cast fill in around them okay, but are given little to do except function as window dressing.
The film's biggest weakness is its inability to fuse its indie, character driven sensibilities with big budget summer popcorn thrills. The action and stakes all lack the epic quality necessary to take this otherwise well made take on the Spider-Man mythos to the next level.