The Amazing Spiderman (dir. Marc Webb)

The untold story? Oh really...

Here it is, the inevitable reboot of a story we've heard so many times before. Boy becomes orphan, boy grows up with aunt and uncle, boy gets bitten by radioactive spider, boy's uncle says some stuff about responsibility before getting shot, boy gets pissed, boy becomes vigilante dressed in a red and blue unitard... as you do. I myself am a self professed comic book geek. But where I care for Deadpool, the world apparently just needed another Spiderman film (WHERE'S MY DEADPOOL MOVIE, MARVEL?). So you have to give it to them, making me care about a character I previously didn't really care for is a massive feat. Snaps for you. 

I think what really saved this movie and made it far more interesting then it's predecessors is the casting of Andrew Garfield. Wow. He is Spiderman. He is awkward, he is lanky, he says sorry a lot, he's a smart ass, we get to see his love for science (Oh em gee he built his own web shooters; NERDGASM); he is the quintessential Peter Parker that all comic book fans know and love and thank god for Andrew Garfield. He is so charismatic and really just embodies the character. Like Robert Downey Jr owns and Heath Ledger owns the Joker, Andrew Garfield owns Spiderman. 

Props can also be given to Rhys Ifans. I have been reading reviews, and I personally believe people aren't giving this wonderful actor (well, in my opinion) enough credit. He makes you empathise with the character. You want him to succeed in his experiments. Jesus, give the man some acting props, he played a giant lizard for crying out loud!

Performances from Denis Leary and Emma Stone are also strong. Unfortunately, Gwen Stacy is very much the girlfriend character but at she actually does something... you know, like create the antidote that saves the whole city... SPOILERS! Stone is so charming, you can't help but be drawn to the character. 

I could be biased here because 500 Days of Summer is one of my favourite movies, but Marc Webb has done a great job directing this. The point of view scenes when Spidey is swinging around New York are awesome and the fight scenes are great. 

Unfortunately, yes we have heard this story. It was only 2007 when the last Spiderman film came out, so was it too soon to reboot the whole series? The material feels reused and old, despite making the best of it. It is a much better origin story then the Sam Raimi Spiderman so it's such a shame that those films still linger in the back of our minds and almost taint this one. 

Maybe we should just burn all the DVDs and taps because THIS is Spiderman. 

So if you'll excuse me, I have a comic book series to read seeing as now I am emotionally invested in Peter Parker. 

FOUR OUT OF FIVE NOLAN CLAPS (it's my new rating system, leave me alone, I'm excited)

UPDATE: I have to add then when I left the cinema that first thing that came to my head was "but the Dark Knight Rises...". We'll see how you fair in the box office then Spidey...

-Cassie