It was pretty amazing.

Rating: 9/10 (9 July 2012)

I enjoyed the first three Spider-man films immensely even the highly scorned third film. So I was not to sure what to think about a reboot to a still young franchise. However, I just realized that Sam Rami is not Spider-man's creator, that there are thousands of stories and ways to portray Spider-man so why keep us waiting fifteen or twenty years for another film? There is no reason at all, I want to see Spider-man on the big screen and honestly while the first three Spider-man films were enjoyable this portrayal of Spider-man is the more accurate. Does it follow the comic book exactly...well of course not. No comic film does that, why is it even necessary? Sam Rami gave Spider-man organic shooters, bypassed Gwen Stacy in lieu of Mary Jane, and had Sandman kill Uncle Ben...so yes, the formula did not match the comic the first time, so why now or ever? This film seemed to be a combination of the original Spider-man that first appeared in the 60's and Ultimate Spider-man which launched either in the late 90's or early 2000's. And the match up worked and now if they wish to continue the success they need to continue the story in an interesting way and not let it end as badly as the third Spider-man film ended without a resolution.
This story is an origin tale, so you know the basics without me going into details. Those not familiar with the ultimate story arc may be confused about certain things such as Peter knowing his parents and things of this nature. The main thing that is different though is the villain as we finally get the Lizard. You also get to see Peter learn to use his powers a bit more here than in the first film. It is not quite the smooth transition. He soon begins fighting crime which leads him to having to try and capture the Lizard. The Lizard has plans of his own though.
Things this movie did that the previous films did not do are plentiful. Do not get me wrong, this one was not as good as the second Spider-man film, I am just saying they did the Spider powers better. They also had the web shooters, even when I was at my most negative about this film from the first trailers I salivated over Spidey finally using mechanical web shooters. They also had him move like a spider more. During a fight with a lizard the way he entangled the lizard in the web was very spider-like. They also had a scene where he shot multiple webs in the sewer and used the vibrations to try and locate the Lizard. This Spider-man also wisecracks and constantly talks during battles, another trait missing from the previous entries. So all in all this Spidey was more like the Spidey I know from the comics.
The villain is the Lizard and while I enjoyed how they integrated him in the origin plot there was a problem I had with him. Mainly that it was not explained that he could telepathically communicate with other reptiles. I knew why there were so many lizards and such present, but for those not familiar with the character there may be confusion. Just as in his motivations. When fully transformed he hates humans and wishes reptiles ruled the world, while this comes across a bit in the film I read a review where the person questioned his motivations and how he became evil so quick. Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy was great, much cuter than Kristen Dunst and looking more like the character she was portraying. I thought her and James had good chemistry and I liked how their romance was not simply he pining for her.
Finally, I want to cover one thing that this movie did that I was so happy when a certain something did not occur. That is Gwen did not get taken by the villain and Spider-man did not have to rescue her! I was so certain this would happen, but to my surprise and delight it did not. Sorry, but Mary Jane being kidnapped at the end of all three of the first films was a bit monotonous. I swear the makers of this film felt this too as it looked like Lizard was going from her and then he just gets what he was coming for and leaves her in the room. Leaving me to think the makers were like "Gotcha! Ha, thought she was going to be taken for the final confrontation didn't ya?" So this film was a nice restart, though I do hope they film the movies quicker and get in a good three or four films in and have a complete story done. The first series was good, but it did not end all that well as there were still a number of things left in the air. This one has set up a good beginning and hinted at a future villain in the upcoming films. I believe if all goes well the next film could be the best one yet, but let me reiterate if all goes well. And should they complete this set of movies I would want for them to reboot once again. I love Spider-man and want to see him on the big screen...however, I am good on origin stories so you can at least skip that next time. This time though it was simply nice to watch Spider-man swing his way in and out of danger once again.