What I'm about to say might shock people, so I feel like I should qualify it first. I absolutely loved the first two Spider-Man movies by Sam Raimi. I thought they were two of the best superhero movies of the 2000s. Even the abysmal third Raimi Spider-Man movie wasn't enough to sour my taste for the first two. And yet, despite all of this, I believe that Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man blew them out of the water. The film is a re-boot of the Spider-Man cinematic franchise. We watch Peter Parker go through all of the motions of becoming Spider-Man: getting bitten by a radioactive spider, not saving Uncle Ben, struggling to impress Mary Jane...uh...I mean Gwen Stacy, and fighting off his first supervillain. And yet, all of it seemed incredibly fresh. I chalk it up to two things: Webb's directorial vision and the phenomenal acting. Webb seems to be trying to bring the cinematic Spider-Man closer to his depiction in the comics: extremely smart, socially awkward but not overly so, and even occasionally head-strong. Andrew Garfield does a spectacular job bring Peter and Spider-Man to life. Emma Stone is positively breath-taking as Gwen. Rhys Ifans is brilliant as Dr. Curt Connors, the scientist who will eventually become the Lizard. And Martin Sheen is the perfect Ben Parker. The special effects can occasionally disappoint. I think the Lizard would have been much more intimidating and effective if he was an actual puppet or costume. His CGI work looks unfinished. But at their very core, superhero stories and movies are morality plays. The story is what matters most. The Amazing Spider-Man captures Peter Parker's story perfectly.
7/10
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