The Not-so amazing spider-man, but far from a terrible effort.

Rating: 7/10 (27 July 2012)

FIrstly, I think it's fair to say that, whilst I love the Marvel universe, I am by no means a hardcore fan. With that said, however, I still can't help but feel a little disappointed by The Amazing Spiderman.
Directed by the suitably named Marc Webb, TAS falls somewhat short of expectations for a viewer. Perhaps this is due to the fact that it immediately follows The Avengers, which set the bar impossibly high for superhero movies, or perhaps it is the fact that, for a Superhero movie, it is sorely lacking in the key parts- a memorable villains, exciting action sequences, a moral dilemma.
Rhys Ifans is a very talented actor, and his role here is a suitably written comic book villain, but in the Spiderman universe, The Lizard is not a particularly stand-out nemesis. With that in mind, the Gwen Stacy storyline is a much more believable love story than that of the Mary Jane one from the Sam Raimi efforts, and Andrew Garfield shares real chemistry on screen with her. The main problem is that Marc Webb is more effective at the romance scenes than he is at the action sequences. Whilst the fight scenes are entertaining enough, they simply don't hold the screen, and they are quickly forgotten. The original trilogy, directed by Sam Raimi, was packed full of memorable fight scenes which have stood the test of time. This movie is a solid effort, but it simply does little other than entertain, and it simply doesn't hold it's own alongside some of the other Marvel films.
Ultimately, it is a little confused by what it wants to be. The love element of the story is handled respectfully but the action sequences, whilst far from terrible, do not hold the audience's attention as much as should be expected.
You can't blame Sony for digging up the Spider-Man franchise for a reboot, as to this day it remains one of their most lucrative projects, but you also can't help but feel that this was an unnecessary addition to the Marvel Universe. Frankly, had The Avengers not been so fantastic, this film would still have been lacking that final spark. It's not poor- it just falls short of the hype that was surrounding it.
The Spider-Man isn't so amazing, after all.