Mediocre and forgettable reboot with a cool Lizard

Rating: 4/10 (27 February 2014)

Sam Raimis Spiderman was cool. It was fun, heartfelt, action packed and even had good dramatic moments. Above all, it was a passion project-only Sam Raimi could have put out those films.
The Amazing Spiderman lacks the energy and passion and comes across as cold and cynical. It has it's good moments but is overall a solid "meh".
Andrew Garfield I feel is a talented young actor who could be a good Spiderman. However he comes across as very unlikeable here, more of the hipster smart-ass douchebag I was at school rather than the lovable geek we have come to expect. He does excel in scenes with Gwen Stacy, played wonderfully by a stunning Emma Stone. This character is one of the highlights of the movie-she is cool and clever but also is reckless and gets into the action a lot-not something you see so often in comic book women. Rhys Ifans is creepy enough as the Lizard who is a decent bad guy. Although his motivation are a bit thin he is undeniably cool to watch on screen. The CGI can be ropey at times but the design is pretty cool and the motion capture is well done. Overall a highlight of the film.
Denis Leary is likable as Captain Stacy, although I did side with him in his arguments against the detestable Peter Parker. Sally Fields is decent enough as Aunt May but isn't given much to do. Martin Sheen makes for a very good Uncle Ben and while he doesn't say the iconic line "With great power comes great responsibility" he is the highlight of the first half.
And that's the biggest problem: the first hour. It is boring. I'm not complaining that it is a rehash of the first Spiderman film-its a poor rehash. A film like Batman Begins, Man of Steel or the Incredible Hulk were good reboots because they change the structure of the origin giving us something we haven't seen before. However the Amazing Spiderman shows us old tricks used in Spiderman and Batman Begins. And the worst part is that it seemed no one cared when writing it. Sure the acting is strong but what's the point if I don't care. The only interesting stuff that was happening was the relationship between Gwen Stacy and Peter and the whole Curt Connors sub plot-and that's because I've never seen it before. It also moves at a snails pace. Once Connors becomes the Lizard the film picks up with a silly plot of turning everyone into lizard people. Surprisingly this is more interesting than the death of a kids uncle and gaining super powers. Yes its comic book cheese but its decent. I would have preferred it if this had been the main story 10 minutes in. The sub plot on Peters parents should've been the highlight but its just clumsily shoved in there and forgotten about.
The action lacks the kinetic style of Raimi but is decent enough, especially at the end against the Lizard. In fact any action scene with the Lizard was pretty cool and are the highlights of the movie.
The directing is decent from Marc Webb, but the visual style is somewhat lacking. The scenes in the sewer look admittedly nice with the green lighting but New York looks like Gotham city in the Dark Knight (and I was no fan of Gotham in that film). Spiderman costume looks decent enough as does Oscorp. James Horners score is OK but isn't very memorable.
The film treats the source materiel with as much respect as the Raimi films. It has mechanical web shooters now but removes the characters of J Joanh Jameson, Norman and Harry Osborn completely as well as make Peter Parker unlikable.
Overall the film is unremarkable. The second hour is a pretty decent comic book movie but the first half is a slog. I'd say ots the weakest spiderman film so far. While Spiderman 3 was more of a mess it was a least interesting and memorable but this film is neither. Watch it for Emma Stone, Martian Sheen and the Lizard with a few cool action scenes here and there but as a satisfying reboot to this franchise? I'd rather have seen Spiderman 4.