The Amazing Spider-Man is, I think, a reboot of the franchise that was basically killed after the last, awful Tobey Maguire-starring film. Gone are the old actors; in are newer cast and in too is a retelling of the origin story.
Which is a shame really as the first Tobey Maguire Spiderman film was really great, and did a brilliant job of showing the lanky, gangly, geeky Peter Parker transform into the dynamic, muscular, web-slinging Spiderman, and the reasons for his mission to save New York.
The Amazing Spider-Man covers the same ground (albeit with the details changed), but does it in a very "by the numbers" way. Boxes are checked, tragedy follows triumph, but the "beginning" takes a long time to get going and is done in a fairly lazy way.
It's lucky then that the cast for the Amazing Spider-Man is superb. Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker is far too good looking (and has amazing hair that is unaffected by any sweat generated when he wears a mask for hours of cardio) to ever really be a convincing "super nerd" (the Maguire transformation was a lot more believable, and I don't think Maguire's Parker had the Braniac-level genius of this incarnation nor was awesome on a skateboard. However, Garfield is an amazing actor who can stammer and cast nervous looks aside and look every inch a bit socially awkward - though he still looks either like he could model for Abercrombie and Fitch, or like a big haired, big eyed Japanese anime character .
Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey is always awesome (have you seen Easy A? If not, do so NOW) and is one of those actors that deserves unconditional love. The role itself is not really that demanding and quite implausible in cases (a High School Student who not only works for a super science lab at Oscorp but also has security access to their computer system), but her big blue eyes outshine Garfield's huge brown ones, and her smile is completely infectious.
Add Martin Sheen in with all his Presidential power as Parker's Uncle Ben, and with Sally Field, Rhys Ifans and Denis Leary in the mix as well, and you can't really fault the thesping talent at all. The special effects are similarly spectacular, if a little nausea-inducing and (sometimes) a bit obvious.
The story is what kind of lets it down, though that is not to say it is bad. It is unadventurous really, aiming for a very "family friendly" level, with only its occasional attempt at pulling heartstrings really striking a wrong note. Spiderman's one-liners to the cops and crooks he encounters are routinely bad (perhaps a nod to the comic book) and I don't think I heard anyone even stir when they were uttered; whereas the more comedic moments of Parker were a lot better handled.
At two and a half hours long, the movie takes its time telling its story, and it is not hard to see where the plot could be trimmed (*ahem* origin story), but the whole cast is likeable enough to carry the film the distance. It doesn't pay to think a lot about the science and Peter's web-slingers too deeply, but then the Amazing Spider-Man is not designed to endure indepth analysis. It is what it is: light, frothy fun with lots of action for the whole family, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Verdict: A great cast make up for what the Amazing Spider-Man lacks in plot and pacing, and at two and a half hours long, it is a little... long. What story there is is well told, and while the teaser for the sequel is a bit "huh?", I know I will still be keen to go and see it. 7 spider bites out of 10.
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