Disappointing. Why do people love this one so much?

Rating: 5/10 (12 August 2013)

I really don't understand why fans adore this film. The original Spider- Man trilogy had a chance to revamp itself after Spider-Man 3 but unfortunately that wasn't the case because of the reboot, which I wasn't supportive of to begin with. Though I saw a few previews on TV about a week before it came out so I decided to give it a chance. And even though I did like it on the first viewing, a part of me felt disappointed. And that's probably the best way to describe this movie: disappointing.
This movie is not without positives. The visuals have improved a great deal but it's been a decade so it's expected. Martin Sheen, Dennis Leary and Emma Stone I thought did very good with their roles and they were probably the only people in this movie that I was really interested in.
Andrew Garfield is a great actor and I was really impressed with him in "The Social Network", but his version of Parker is nothing like his comic book counterpart. He looks way too handsome to be the biggest loser in the school and he's not very likable overall. Now I don't blame Andrew Garfield. He does his best with what he's given, and I believe he can do a really good Peter Parker if he was given the right character design and material. But nothing about this Peter Parker said underdog to me. Plus has no character arc. Unlike Spider-Man 1 and 2 where Tobey's Peter learns about responsibility and sacrificing what you want the most, this Peter Parker (not Andrew's fault though) doesn't get better. In the end he breaks a serious promise he made to a man who gave his life to save him, therefore putting Gwen in grave danger.
As for the relationship between Peter and Gwen, I didn't buy it. Emma and Andrew do have good chemistry with each other but it almost seemed way too easy for Peter to get Gwen's attention. This movie missed the point completely. The whole point of the Spider-Man lore is that he's trying to get the girl's attention, and it seemed like they were throwing themselves at each other from the start. They don't get to know one another, and they don't go out on a date. Why did they like each other? Because they do!
What's the Lizard's plan? Turn everybody in NYC into lizards! I'm not asking that he be a complex villain like the Joker or Bane, but at least make it somewhat convincing. But no, all the lizard wants to do is take over the world! In the comics, the Lizard was a normal, nice guy who desperately wanted to fix his severed limb. When the serum he uses turns him into the Lizard this gives Spider-Man quite a problem: He has to stop the Lizard but he doesn't want to harm his friend. In this movie, there's no arc for him either and there's no evidence of any humanity that we're supposed to attach to with Dr. Connors. I can't say anything that hasn't already been said about the Lizard, so the bottom line; the Lizard is one of the weakest movie villains I've ever seen in a movie.
As for the tone, it was way too dark. Not every superhero movie has to be "The Dark Knight", which was proved by "The Avengers". I'm not entirely opposed to a darker tone, but it's not always the right choice to go for a darker and realistic tone in a superhero movie. Just because you use a dark tone in a superhero movie, it doesn't make it better. In fact, the movie gets so serious that it feels depressing and all the fun is sucked out of it. I know that Spider-Man is going through a tough time but life's not always dark and gloomy. There's nothing wrong with a dark tone, but there's nothing wrong with a light- hearted tone either. It's okay to be cheesy sometimes. Here in TASM, I didn't feel any heart whatsoever. But hey, all the fans care about is no more chessiness right?
This is probably my biggest problem with the movie aside from the character of Peter Parker; "The Untold Story". What untold story? This was the main reason that raised people's interests including me. All the hype around this movie was that there was some big secret about Peter's parents having something to do with the spider that bites him. After seeing this movie, the answer never came. All we know about peter's parents is that something happens where they had to disappear and leave Peter with Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Then years later Peter does some research after finding his father's bag in the basement and discovers that his parents worked with Dr. Connors at Oscorp. And that's all we're told. It never comes up again and it's forgotten about halfway through the movie. Granted, in the first entry of a new series we shouldn't get all the answers right away and that's not what I'm asking for, but I want to know something about them. People keep saying that it will all be explained in the sequels so we should give the movie a pass. Well guess what? The trailers weren't advertisements for a sequel, they were ads for this movie. It really makes me wonder why are fans not bothered by that?
Hey, if you like or absolutely love this movie, good for you. But I don't really find it that great. It's not by any means a terrible film, it's just not up to Spider-Man standards as far as I'm concerned. I don't blame any of the cast or Marc Webb. As for the upcoming sequel I am willing to give it a shot and I think has a better chance of being good. Let's hope it does.