not bad as a stand alone film, but seems long and all too familiar being a reboot of a franchise that debuted only ten years ago

Rating: 5/10 (3 July 2012)

Ten years ago, Spiderman came to the silver screen when Sam Raimi directed the web slinger with Tobey Maguire and Kirstin Dunst in the lead roles of Peter Parker and Mary Jane. Ten years later and three Spiderman movies in the book, a reboot is released starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone and directed by Marc Webb. It isn't that the first three Spiderman movies were the worst ever. In fact, Spiderman 2 is one of my all-time favorite superhero movies. The fact was between contract negotiations failing and a new direction being sought that the best move was to reboot the entire franchise.
They may have been wrong.
And it really hurts me to say this. Because, in reality, The Amazing Spider-Man is a really decent film. It is entertaining, visually fun, and well acted and directed. Unfortunately, it is a movie we have seen before and a story we completely know.
You have seen the first Spiderman and you probably knew the story before that. Nerdy boy gets bit by a spider, becomes a strong and instinctive crime fighter, loses his uncle, tries to hunt down the killer, and ends up fighting an even scarier foe all while trying to win the heart of a girl. This is both the plot and format of Spiderman and The Amazing Spider-Man, which is not the fault of the latter, but keeps you from experiencing this film fully. The fact is, if I was 12 and had never seen Spiderman, I would have loved this moviebut neither are reality and it kept me from really enjoying the film.
To read the full review (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/the- amazing-spider-man/