Very enjoyable revision

Rating: 7/10 (7 July 2012)

I am a fan of the Tobey Maguire series - even SM 3 - and the casting and performances in those three films were great. It would not be fair to compare this version with those as it takes a different approach. The TM series has not really aged long enough for a remake, but hey, they didn't ask my permission and box office results proves them right.
Casting was good with Hollywood dredging up old-timers (Sally & Martin) for the Aunt Mae and Uncle Ben roles. This was distracting to me, but young audiences will be immune to the Flying Nun or faux POTUS. Denis Leary played his stereotypical NY service sector role well. Spiderman was played adequately but I was not overly drawn to this portrayal. Emma Stone is always excellent - see The Help, Easy A, and SuperBad to enjoy other performances by ES. Except for some wardrobe eccentricities (Japanese schoolgirl outfit is a bizarre choice in the scene where she tours interns around OsCorp), she delivered a highly watchable performance. Although similar to her high school student character in Easy A, it was very appropriate.
The plot deviated significantly from the classical (i.e., original comic book storyline), but was nonetheless satisfactory. It tied-in well with the super-villain character evolution as a genetic mutation. The emotional versus excitement ratio was erratic for my tastes. For example, Peter is awkwardly presented as intelligent when Gwen Stacy tells Dr. Connors he is smart, but this has no prior support until he starts building Spiderman gadgetry and reading genetics textbooks. By the way, since when do film loaded cameras appear in the same movie as cell phones? His relationship with Eugene, the bully, is intense when he is pummeled by him in the schoolyard yet with little explanation, it becomes quite friendly. His pursuit of Uncle Ben's murderer is not really believable and seems half-hearted at times. The culprit is described as having a 'star tattoo on his left hand' but it is actually his wrist or forearm and correctly envisioned by Spiderman during his hunt. Okay, let's call this a dialogue blooper.
Another blooper is when Spiderman's skateboard gets broken in half and he hands part of it to Aunt Mae only to have him carrying it intact in the following scene - it's a non-descript ratty skateboard with some criss-cross white lines underneath, but I suppose he could have a stash of similar skateboards in his closet (NOT!). Bloopers are fun after all and get a movie blog time so the suspicious side of me says they're often intentional. His antique camera also makes several miraculous recoveries.
One word about the audience. A lot of people brought very young kids to see this film. I'm not talking about a single five-year-old. There were at least two dozen two's, three's, and four's and one guy repeatedly took his one-year-old out of the theater. I'm not complaining about them making noise or bad behavior and in fact they were not disruptive, but it is rated PG-13, not PG, not G. A kid-filled group for movies like Brave enhance the experience, but seeing these youngsters was off-putting.
Overall, I'd recommend this for everyone over 10. Watch the Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst movies before the DVD is released.