I'm a longtime Spidey fan. He is undoubtedly my favorite superhero of all time and I grew up with the character. So I was quite nervous about this reboot to begin with especially with my unfamiliarity with most of the cast and the director (Marc Webb).
I'm glad to say that Amazing Spider-man is just that...AMAZING. Is a reboot necessary so soon? Probably not. But as a Spidey fan I'd rather have Spider-man out there than not at all!
Let me start with that I think Andy Garfield IS the best and most believable modern Spider-man. While you could probably relate Maguire with the 616 "adult and in the real world working" Spidey, Amazing Spider-man is more like Ultimate Spider-man and that's a good thing in my opinion.
Garfield acts with believability as a modern, outcast teen. He looks away a lot, fumbles his words, trips around and does a fantastic job as the shy Parker with hints of brilliance. There are scenes that hint how smart Peter is (discussing the broken a/c with Uncle Ben) and he does a great job of conveying emotion (something I think Maguire struggles with because he has a bland voice and sometimes emotionless expression on his face, it was one of my first thoughts when he was cast as Spidey) during the critical parts. Garfield also exhibits a lot more charisma and charm as the character than Maguire does.
Garfield's Spidey is also the Mark Bagley Spidey come-to-life. If Ditko ruled Spidey in the 60's, then comic fans know Mark Bagley has ruled Spider-man since the mid-90's until today. Spidey in this movie is much more lithe and trim, acrobatic and displays a greater variety of moves and action one would expect if you read the comics. There is a cool scene where he uses his webs in a very spider-like manner and also I loved the nod that Spidey is the everyman hero because you see him IN COSTUME answering the cellphone, carrying a backpack, being "bored" in one scene (and what do we all do when we have a smartphone and we're bored?) and these are things we've ALL seen in the comics. The scene where he rescues the kid also reinforces this.
There is also much more development on Peter Parker the person and his background than you would expect. If you read the comics, you'll enjoy some of it as it's lifted straight from there.
The rest of the cast is awesome as well. Emma Stone has always been a solid actress and does great as Gwen Stacy. She has a good commanding presence and her chemistry with Garfield is 100x better than the chemistry between Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst (where is Kirsten Dunst anyways? Is she dead?).
Rhys Ifan does a believable job as Dr.Connors, serving not only as the story's villain but a link to the bigger overall mystery behind Parker's parents leaving as well as the mysterious Norman Osborn (who doesn't appear in the movie). Obviously his Lizard is the plodding juggernaut with a hint of predatory intellect against the young and rookie Spidey. The Lizard is handled well in this movie, I had fears he would be almost too corny, yet the movie handles him delicately and shapes his transformation and growing instability well. You can see how Connors' noble quests are twisted by his growing addiction to become this savage Lizard and be "whole and equal" (those words will make sense once you see the flick).
Denis Leary is great. Always a solid and reliable actor as well as Martin Sheen and Sally Field. Sheen doesn't quite carry the loveable connection that Cliff Robertson's (RIP) Uncle Ben does but he carries the role well providing the "working man" contrast to Peter's chaotic and scientific world. Sally Field plays a younger Aunt May and though she isn't displayed in long portions in the flick you can no doubt instantly relate and care for her as she casts real emotion every time you see her. Once again as a nod to Ultimate Spider-man, we see a younger and "hipper" Aunt May.
The film cinematography is off the wall. The action scenes are some of the BEST yet (dare I say possibly the BEST Spidey action scenes? You be the judge) and you can see the very comic pages come to life. The camera spins, flips, rotates and even goes first-person just about as many times as Spidey does in the whole movie so you really get the sense of his movements. Garfield does a great job as a witty and charming Spidey. Cracking jokes both with his mouth and with his actions as the Webhead.
Is it the BEST Spider-man film? In my opinion, I still think Spider-man 2 is overall a better quality film, assisted by the stellar performance of Alfred Molina as Doc Ock, but the Amazing Spider-man is VERY close. The casting is almost picture-perfect and makes you eager to see who will pop up as which characters next. The film is GRITTY and slightly dark (think the original TMNT live-action movie), with touches of being Twilight-esque but possibly because of the teen drama and these are curt-tailed by the action scenes and the backdrop of responsibility, life & death, etc.
Go see the Amazing Spider-man, it's a story we all know and love, and some will say they've seen this one before...but certainly not like this!
Oh and there were a ton of Asians in my theater too...what is it with Asians and Spider-man? The movie blew records overseas in Japan!
