Mixed feelings, but a good movie overall

Rating: 7/10 (16 July 2012)

The Amazing Spider-Man is a reboot to the superhero film series owned by Sony and not related to any other Marvel films out there. This film comes out a decade after the original Spiderman but my feelings are mixed whether I should review it as a stand-alone, or as if it was better than the one that came out in 2002.
The film, as with any first entry on a superhero film series, deals with the origin story of Spiderman and how his life changes dramatically after the usual "radioactive exposure event that gave him superpowers". Like I mentioned before, I am not sure whether it would be fair to compare this movie to the first one since they're kinda in the same levels of quality, but the original cast is naturally more likable for me and most of the audiences.
In my opinion, Tobey Maguire is a much more likable Peter Parker than Andrew Garfield. Andrew's performance was quite juvenile and refreshing, yet he does not really look like a "high school nerd" that Parker is supposed to be. Andrew did succeed in performing more joyfully than Tobey, which made the film's tone less dramatic, and while he is wearing the Spiderman suit he seems to be having more fun than the corrupted Peter in Spiderman 3.
The film's cinematography is great and overall I think the cast is on the same level like the original film series, although anyone is obviously more used to the first. The Lizard is the villain on this film, and Rhys does succeed in making his role work, although I was slightly disappointed he didn't have a "crocodile-like jaw".
On other comments of the cast, Gwen Stacy didn't look too different when it came to her portrayals by Emma Stone and Bryce Howard. I am not familiar with Denis Leary's work in Rescue Me, but I actually believe his animated sabertooth counterpart Diego was a lot more expressive than his performance in this film. Peter's new adoptive family was well cast, and supported the film when it came to comic relief at times.
Overall, the film is quite good, but I am unable to tell whether it was better than the first Spiderman. This film's tone is less dramatic and more cheerful, making it more appealing to the younger audiences. Truly worth to watch it if you're interested in comic book adaptation movies.