"The Amazing Spider-Man"

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2012)

I really appreciate Sam Raimi as a director, and I do really like his first two 'Spider-Man' movies, but the problem is that they stray so far from the comic books. And then after the mess that was 'Spider-Man 3,' I lost interest for the series. Now, five years later we have a reboot. Some argue it's too soon, and for a while I agreed, but then I started reading into it and watching the trailers and I began to be pumped.
'The Amazing Spider-Man' is directed by Marc Webb, director of the Indie Romantic Comedy '(500) Days of Summer,' so the amount of romance in the film can be expected, but surprisingly it works well. Marc Webb does a masterful job directing this film, creating the dark tone that was set for comic book films in 2008's 'The Dark Knight.' The performances in the film are top notch. Andrew Garfield, 29, is very believable as a teenager, and Emma Stone is absolutely great as Gwen Stacey. Martin Sheen and Sally Fields are great as Uncle Ben and Aunt May, Rhys Ifans is a good villain, and Dennis Leary plays a tough police chief, Captain Stacey.
The story telling is more intriguing than in 2002's 'Spider-Man,' mainly because we get back story and reasoning as to why Peter Parker does the things he does. This is a fantastic comic book movie, one of the best, and even though it doesn't quite meet the heights of 'The Avengers,' I really enjoyed it, and I think it is one of the best comic book films out there today.