Spiderman with a web-ful of personality and spfx.

Rating: 8/10 (22 October 2015)

I know there are some issues concerning this reboot coming out so close to Sam Rami's trilogy, so I'll give my hopefully unbiased two cents on that first. Perhaps the time interval didn't call for a re-boot, but I think the overall story did. The re-boot has a vastly different feel to it than the films of the early 2000's with Tobey Maguire. This is really Spiderman for a different audience, so be prepared to hate one or the other. I think the reboot did a better job with making Peter more relatable and easier to root for, acting and scripting, character writing, and general plausibility. The older versions had a more cohesive story and established Spiderman more as a hero than as a person. I personally think that TASM came out better overall, though I haven't seen the '04 and '07 installments, but the perception of which is better seems to be a matter of taste more than anything else.
Peter Parker, while somewhat reserved, is portrayed as likable and emotional. He's a very active protagonist: everything extraordinary that he does is a result of his own actions. He makes his own web-slingers and suit and actively initiates and pursues a positive relationship with Gwen Stacy. Even the pivotal radioactive spider bite is only possible because of his scientific curiosity and his quest to discover his past. Peter is driven equally by his emotions and morals, as we see from start to end that he is willing to do good, but is blinded by emotion in the scene of Uncle Ben's death and his quest of vengeance against his murderer. Gwen is also a very prominent figure who is important in both sides of Peter's life through her complex relationship with him, her position at Oscorp, and her being the police captain's daughter. The irritable Captain Stacy is an antagonist through his hunt for Spiderman, but he's not a really a villain since you can sympathize with him. The real villain is Dr. Conners/The Lizard, who has some interesting motives that we get a good look at. At first, we're on his side, but when he takes his desire to expunge weakness too far, he becomes a literal and figurative monstrosity. Some of his scenes as the Lizard felt a little clichéd with his taunting dialogue and roaring, both of which seemed out of character. Aunt May and Uncle Ben show up occasionally, mostly to emphasize the difficulty Peter has in balancing his life. Uncle Ben's death comes in a very valiant fashion, and I absolutely loved the new version of the "with great power comes great responsibility" quote. It's not as memorable, but I think it's a lot better in inspiring greatness in Peter and the audience.
The story begins with Peter searching for his father, which leads him to Oscorp. Eventually this story line just sort of dissipates, which could be a problem for a lot of people, but incorporating it into the rest of the story wouldn't have felt quite right either. The same happens with Peter's search for Uncle Ben's killer. It starts off as a strong motive for Peter and his gradual transformation into Spiderman, but then he just suddenly stops looking for the man without explanation. The bulk of the story involves the classic superhero/super villain face-off, though we do get to see a lot of the villain's side of the story. Of course, there's also the internal conflict of Peter and Gwen's relationship and how it is challenged by Captain Stacy and Gwen's own courage.
The execution was excellent on almost every level. The dialogue was motivated and realistic, but the script lacked in some of the high-school scenes that felt pretty old- fashioned. Fortunately there weren't too many of those scenes, but I would sign the screenwriter up for a crime comedy over Breakfast Club reboot. The acting was nice with lots of personality and some incredible chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. The special effects were very stylized and resulted in some very cool action sequences. Some of the CGI didn't look stunningly realistic, but we don't exactly love superhero movies for their realism. James Horner contributed an awesome main theme that he uses throughout.
If you were disappointed in 2000's movies, then I would definitely give this a try. One thing to be wary of in your decision to watch it is the trailer. Much of it gives you a good foretaste, but DO NOT hinge your hopes on any of lines from the trailer because most of them are not included in the final product. That's actually a good rule to follow when watching any trailer since there are lots of tricks the editors can use to fool you into thinking there is a whole conversation taking place that is not in the movie at all. If you're skeptical, watch until Conners first becomes the Lizard and then decide if you want to continue. Overall Rating: 8.35/10.