A Fresh New Feel for a Superhero Movie

Rating: 10/10 (3 July 2012)

I hesitate in giving this movie a "10" for not being taken seriously, but it was a great film and excellent in my mind. Why so many bad reviews then? I think the expectations might have been different for many viewers.
This film was a fresh grounding to reality for a superhero movie. I've always wondered why the directors make superhero films feel "different" ... almost "cartoony" at times? Some might expect a 2 hour long epic battle with a spider-man character that is the most powerful ever - able to anything and everything. Instead, we see a young man, a high school teenager, struggling with all the elements of that age as well as some deep rooted personal family history. He becomes something more, given the abilities of Spiderman. The transformation is somewhat messy, and we get to see the learning curve. Integral to the transformation is his personal life, which is interwoven perfectly with his transformation into Spiderman. Peter maintains his humanity both physically and emotionally.
Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone have great chemistry on screen. Denis Leary is believable and does not overplay the role. Martin Sheen and Sally Field play Peter's aunt and uncle as well as anyone could. Martin Sheen especially.
The film doesn't feel forced like many superhero movies. It feels real as if it could actually happen, it might go down something like this. I understand many viewers consider it too slow and boring, but that may be a representation on our have-it-now society. It is not rushed, and time is taken to depict the characters in enough detail to engage the audience. Peter's reaction to his new powers as well as the saga that unfolds is both exciting and emotionally engaging. The story is similar to the first film in some key elements, but those really cannot be changed without significantly deviating from the comic. The balance of real people and super-hero action is perfect. It's not like The Avengers, but instead more of a Batman Begins. There is a lot of time spent on character development and I felt engaged and emotionally connected to the characters and the story as much as any other well written non-superhero drama.
I hope the public supports this type of superhero movie. I'm getting tired of garbage like the second two films in The Transformers saga. The Amazing Spiderman gives a very human and very real feel to the Spiderman franchise. Go into it expecting a great movie, not a soon-to-be-forgotten popcorn summer blockbuster. I don't think this reboot could have been done any better. This was exactly what I had hoped for and the creators delivered phenomenally.