The Re-Boot We Deserved, But Not The One We Needed Right Now

Rating: 9/10 (5 July 2012)

I've heard the statement, "Better than it has the right to be" regarding this movie. In a sense, I agree with this. Is it early to be revamping such an incredibly successful franchise that had no reason of being changed? Sure. However, as a stand-alone film this is a nice entry to the Spider-Man universe. I was apprehensive about a year ago regarding this film. Hell, even three or four months ago I wasn't sure. But, being a big Spidey fan, I decided to check it out. I sat amidst the cheering fans, foaming at the mouth for the midnight premiere, decked out in Spidey attire. It brought out a child-like sense of enthusiasm, surrounded by a theater packed with people just as apprehensive, yet supportive as I.
After walking out of the theater, I couldn't quite pin my thoughts on it. I had to let it sit for a couple of days before I could dole out my full review on this film. With that said, my general consensus regarding this film has remained. I really liked it. It's not perfect, by any means. But for some reason, this movie impressed me a lot. I think for the most part the casting with this was spot on; Garfield does a good job in separating his Peter Parker from what we've seen in the past. Emma Stone is great, as usual, playing Gwen Stacy. Garfield and Stone have pretty good chemistry on screen, and it plays out well for their respective characters.
I've tried not to let myself be swayed by other's opinions towards this film, but that's difficult considering how polarizing this film seems to be. It's not the "Untold Story" it was advertised to be, but rather the beginning to a story that will span over three films, at least. This change came, reportedly, late in editing due to negative reaction to the changes to Peter's origin story. The film still hints strongly at an underlying story with Peter's parents, from his father's involvement with Oscorp to the spider's the engineered, which indirectly give Peter his powers. It's clear something else is at play, something far more elaborate.
The story itself is pretty well balanced in regards to how things happen. Peter is left by his parents, then later indirectly finds his father's briefcase. It contains an equation, along with other goodies, that could help the cross-breeding project he and Dr. Curt Connors had been working on. Peter finds it and goes to Oscorp to find some answers, but instead impresses Dr. Connors, gets bitten by a Spider and is forced to leave. He comes back to Dr. Connors with a working equation to help his research, and more information is revealed about his parents. This equation leads to Peter accidentally creating the Lizard, a villain he has to stop. Peter is essentially left in the dark about his father's involvement with Oscorp, and why they left him. Developments towards his parents will undoubtedly continue, spanning the rest of the series. That pretty much sums up the "Untold" part.
The rest of the film plays out pretty closely to what any fan has seen from Spider-Man before. While the re-boot may not have been necessary, it's a pretty damn good one. The future is promising for our beloved Web Slinger, he's in good hands.