Almost amazing, but the Stone+Garfield combo made it

Rating: 8/10 (11 July 2012)

I envisage becoming a Peter Parker like character. The awkward teen is made cool by intelligence, a rebellious style and last but not least, impeccable charisma. I love how it plays on his mental aptitude and characterised roundness, and not as a shallow superhero character (it's not just save the world, get the girl - it does have depth of emotion). Both Stone and Garfield's were believable whilst mastering the entertainment value of the film - the comedy is witty and appropriate whilst not undermining moments of tension and heartbreak. Not forgetting the fact that Emma Stone epitomises the 'girl next door' look, definitely a major plus factor.
However, this film is not without flaws. The action scenes were average, but then again, I am not the one for completely over-the-top sequences (simple fighting scenes worked well, but maybe could have been better executed - nothing that screamed out "that's cool").
Peter ends up neglecting his drive for justice - finding Ben Parker's killer - when it seemed to initially be his only motivation to be Spiderman. This is then completely disregarded, no mention of Peter's loss at all after news of Connors' dangerous exploits.
Gwen Stacy is overly accepting and forgiving of Peter's role in the causation of the death of her father. She is the one to confront him after the death, when he obviously has a sense of guilt. Stacy is more than happy to start seeing Peter again - the relationship is more upbeat than needing each other for emotional support. Adding to this, Stone's mourning seemed to be non-existent after a very brief grieving scene to Peter at his front door (adding a nice pathetic fallacy of the rain to add to the sorrowful mood - although I do quite like these clichés for atmosphere). Stone's character seemed to care more about being with Peter and not focusing on her family ties at all - I know it makes for a happy ending, but it is far too idealistic.
Overall, disregarding the flaws, I did enjoy this film. Comparing to Tobey Maguire, I am in total favour that Garfield did a better job. He is much more suited to the role (story aside); having more charm, breaking free of the awkward nerd stereotype and being what a superhero should be - cool.