A good, but not great, re-introduction to the world of (your friendly neighborhood) Spider-Man

Rating: 7/10 (5 July 2012)

Being the Spider-Man fanatic that I am (and I mean that sincerely), I went into this movie with high hopes. Extremely high. Needless to say this movie was a humbling experience which showed me that just because a series is popular enough to be rebooted, doesn't mean that the reboot will do the series itself justice. With that being said, this movie was leagues ahead of Sam Raimi's trilogy of whatever bad noun you can think of and set itself up for future movies.
For anyone who has ever read Amazing Spider-Man #6, first appearance of The Lizard, this movie follows that plot to a T. Well, maybe half a T, but you get my point. A more modernized version of ASM #6 that's not set in the Everglades. Peter Parker, your average skate boarding high school-er, stumbles into a lab in Oscorp (after sneaking in of course) and gets bitten by a (radioactive) spider. What follows is one and a half hours of slightly sloppy action, minor romance and astounding graphics.
So we'll start with the good news. The cinematography and graphical design was absolutely fantastic. Could not have been done better. The special effects on the Lizard were so real you could tell his skin was slimy and his fingers were razor sharp. Scenes of Spider-Man swinging from building to building interloped nicely with scenes of Spider-Man fighting bad guys or getting annoyed by cops. The fight scenes were credible, but could have been done better but the placement of all the characters and fluidity of motions exhibited by the pro- and antagonist of the movie made up for lack of "pazzaz" during action sequences. Slow motion was seldom used, but when it was it was equipped nicely and never became shopworn. The way the Lizard tore things apart while throwing them at innocent bystanders, along with Spider-Man, was choreographed perfectly and all-in-all the movie's graphical prowess is where the majority of the gold lies.
Behind solid acting, Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield (along with bits and pieces of Rhys Ifans) carry the movie forward and their torrid love affair never gets in the way of Parker being Spider-Man. The chemistry between these two is good and hilarious at times, because Garfield really has that whole "awkward science nerd" thing down pat. Aunt May and Uncle Ben were the weakest acting roles in the whole movie, and that is now dis to Sally Field or Martin Sheen. They just didn't have enough of an impact, as characters, on Parker's story and family life to have a lasting appeal to the audience. Ben's obligatory death wasn't heartfelt or difficult to bear - it just, sort of, happened. Aunt May never gave one of her "there's a hero in all of us" speeches (a la Spider-Man 2) and therefore didn't strike a chord in the proverbial storyline.
I wish I could tell you more without giving up spoilers, but I really can't. Aside from the facts that I just gave you, expect clichÃ©s and corniness throughout the film. Innocent bystanders trying to be heroes and things to that nature. And going along with the recent trend of after-credits nuggets that Marvel oh-so wonderfully set up, this movie contains a "preview" (if one could call it that) of the next film. I am debating on whether putting a question mark at the end of the sentence because that after-credits scene did absolutely nothing for me.
Enough of my talking. Here's the low down:
+2 for Garfield's perfect (and hot, no homo) portrayal of Spider-Man
+1 for Stone's great portrayal of Stacy
+3 for graphics/cinematography
+1 for comic nerd appeal