Doesn't reach the heights of Spiderman 2, but a great movie nonetheless.

Rating: 8/10 (7 July 2012)

Looking back at the previous three Spiderman movies, the 2nd one was the best followed by the 1st, while the 3rd one as we know crashed and burned.
This movie -- though it deserves to be looked at by its own -- beats the 3rd one by mile, is somewhat a little better than the first one, but falls way short of the 2nd one (which I consider one of the best superhero movies).
This movie goes back the origin of Spiderman and it does well exploring Peter Parker as a character. Unlike Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker, this Peter Parker lacks the charm and sincerity. That being said, Garfield is excellent in portraying the vulnerability and insecurity of Peter Parker, who after all is an adolescent with a big void left in his heart by his parents. This movie drops the innocence and 50's-like atmosphere for a grittier set-in the 21st century feel, in which Peter Parker has a cell phone -- remember Raimi's Parker calling from a payphone?
Anyway, the plot line involves the transformation of Dr. Connors into the Lizard, and how Peter Parkerand his parents fit into that.
Director Marc Webb has done a great job. More than the action scenes, he has aced in the emotional content of this movie. The scenes between Emma Stone who plays Gwen Stacy and Garfield are brilliant. And what can I say about Emma Stone? She's absolutely a dream.