Amazing Spidey Lives Up to Title

Rating: Null/10 (13 July 2012)

When director Sam Raimi stepped down as director of the Spider-Man movie franchise, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios decided to revamp the film series and take it to a brand new direction. With a new director, new cast and crew, a new story and into ten years forward after the first film, the question was, "what's the worst that could happen"? In fact, by the way I see it, nothing.
Watching The Amazing Spider Man is like seeing an old friend with old stories and new ones to tell. Connect one story to another, put them together and you get one fully-fleshed story in a new perspective.
There are changes from the first three films with having no Mary Jane, no J.Jonah Jameson and no Norman Osborne {although he's mentioned a little in this film}. But it is possible to watch this satisfying super reboot without having memories from the 2002 original.
Since his parents' death in a plane crash, Peter Parker {now played by Andrew Garfield} has long lived with Uncle Ben {Martin Sheen} and Aunt May {Sally Field}. In high school, he has a crush on Gwen Stacy {Emma Stone} and also, he's a target for bully Flash Thompson {Chris Zylka}.
One day, he discovers a suitcase with papers that belongs to his dad. Peter decides to finds out the secrets of his scientist father. To do that, he goes to dad's old job at OsCorp to investigate. While there, he goes into a modified spider lab. But one of the spiders bites Peter. Soon, weird things begin to happen as Peter discovers spider-like powers.
Then, one night, tragedy strikes as Uncle Ben is killed by a thief that Peter saw at a grocery store. Peter then decides to take action, so – first with a mask, then the spider costume- he tries to find his father's killer. But the police headed by Gwen's father {Denis Leary} thinks that Peter is a criminal trying to stop thieves.
Meanwhile, Peter's dad's former partner, Dr. Curt Connors {Rhys Ifans} is trying to regenerate limbs based on Lizard DNA. He tries to do the experiment on his left limb himself, but soon it makes him grow into a lizard. Peter -who is then now called Spider-Man- soon suspects that Connors is the lizard and he decides to find an antidote before The Lizard turns New York City into a land of non-human species.
Director Mark Webb {500 Days of Summer} and screenwriters James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves {Harry Potter film series} makes this reboot stand tall on its own two feet. They take the time well spent in the movie to develop on the story and they handle it well. They even beat a cliché from the original film series in the near end by not having Gwen being trapped by the villain while he fights with Spider-Man.
The film even shares some humor when Spider-Man is playing a game on his phone while waiting for The Lizard and when during a fight at school with The Lizard and Spider-Man, a school librarian {played by Marvel comics founder Stan Lee} is listening to some music and never sees and minds the fight.
Garfield inherits Tobey Maguire's role and he makes it his own. He put his own spin on the character and turns it into an electrifying, cool web.
Stone is radiant and delightful both on the outside and in the inside as Gwen Stacy.
Even though the actors are both past college age, Garfield and Stone take their high school characters seriously. The sparks on their romance fly here on screen as on off screen in real life.
Ifans is dynamic and sinister as both the large Lizard and the left limbless Connors.
Leary's strong policeman role makes a connection with the real life to the issue of having no real superheroes.
Field and Sheen hold their roles very well, respectively as May and Ben.
The camera work by John Schwartzman gives a remarkable scope to the flying and action sequences and makes the 3D version of the film worth the price of admission.
The special effects by Sony Pictures Imageworks does serve the story and succeeds in not having too much of it.
James Horner's score makes a fine and modest effort of not copying Danny Elfman's score from the original.
The film's moral is about finding about whom you are and what you're really made of. We all connect to that with Peter because we know who we all are not on the outside, but on the inside.
This is a perfect example of what a live-up-to-the-hype, powerful summer blockbuster should be. Please stay for the credits for a bonus scene. Trust me. You're gonna get ready for a sequel.
Rating: ***1/2
Parent Advice: Rated PG-13 for sequences of action and violence. Suitable for age 11 and up, if they don't mind the rating.