Other than that lizard... it's very good

Rating: 8/10 (8 July 2012)

Great previews usually lead to great movies, and there's a fantastic preview right before "Spidey". When I first heard about Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone heading this cast, I thought that it would be amazing. This film's previews looked great. Here's finally, the end product, and it's for the most part a fantastic movie, and the only criticism that we can come up with is that too bad it wasn't perfect, that the villain was well, not up to the rest of the story. Originally, the fear was that it was too soon to remake it; then you hope some good writer is part of the package (Argent) comes in, and we can see his touch, giving each of the central stars juicy lines to make them real, interesting, and endearing.
Andrew Garfield is the best thing that could have happened to the franchise. His eyes are full of wonder, inquiring, able to convey a myriad of emotions in seconds, and his genuine chemistry with Stone certainly makes us care about what could happen to either one. She is not a typical damsel-in-distress, and here's a hero who can shed a few tears in the right place without looking insincere or stupid. This is particularly important in the early scenes involving the incident with his uncle, and his yearning for his long-lost father.
Yet the film is a lot of fun, specially in the learning stages of his newly-acquired powers, when he can't really understand what is happening to his body. "Chronicle" did this effectively, but there was always an impending sense of doom. Here's only our expectations about how powerful he might become, which leads to the point of his nemesis, a terrific looking being that is well, not very threatening, particularly in this summer, full of some terrific antagonists.
The special effects are fantastic, and New York hasn't looked this great in years. Watching Spiderman swing from building to building, and his little adventure in the sewer system of Gotham City is exciting. The best we can say is that here is another part that feels just right. If only Lizard Man's ego has been unleashed in the way that a few other egomaniacs have shown up recently. Remember the psychotic Joker, and that prince from another galaxy demanding respect from his "new subjects"? I loved the claws, but if the best you can do is scratch people with it...? Back to Garfield's acting... This young man is one of the best things to come out of England/Hollywood recently. He can certainly carry a film and make it better and stronger than it might be. We want to continue seeing his adventures. Let's just give someone or something more terrifying and more threatening to go against next time.
**** out *****.