‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ – Movie Review [VIDEO]

It has been five long years since we last saw Spidey on the big screen in Spider-Man 3.  The plot was a bit hectic, the franchise seemed slightly exhausted, and Tobey Maguire appeared to be done. Cue 2012’s rendition and you have the all-new, Amazing Spider-Man movie. Read on to find out what we thought of this continuation!

Tobey Maguire has been replaced with a cute boy-man Andrew Garfield, and Emma Stone plays the reinvented version of Kirsten Dunst – may be the only reason this remake survived.

Marc Webb, director of the film, keeps the Spider-Man movie working only because he keeps the whole package, at least until the requisite final blowout, tied together by his two appealing leads. Many feel that both Garfield (28), and Stone (24) appear too old for high school, but then so did the characters who were introduced by the pen-and-ink legends Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1962.

The latest Spider-Man has been updated with a skateboard and a hoodie, but it’s unclear whom he speaks to, and for what reason. The story revisits Peter Parker’s home turf, but opening with him as a child with his parents, who, after a break-in at their house endangering Dad’s scientific secrets, rush over to Richard’s brother and sister-in-law -- Uncle Ben and Aunt May. They leave Peter there for safekeeping. Skip a few years, and within seconds the older, now orphaned Peter is shrinking around school while eyeing his crush, Gwen Stacy – Emma Stone.

Watch the Amazing Spider-Man Movie Trailer

This version of Spider Man seems to be a little, well, dull. Garfield and Stone are definitely the movie’s saving grace, and probably best players for the parts in this franchise. It’s a very drawn-out 136 minutes that works through a story that many moviegoers older than 10 may think they’ve seen because they probably did when the first movie burned up the box office.

Yes, some of the characters have changed — here it’s the blond Gwen instead of the redheaded Mary Jane, the green Lizard instead of the Green Goblin, the supercilious Captain Stacy instead of the super-silly newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson — as has the balance between the blue and red on Spidey’s suit.

Have you seen the movie? What did you think about the latest installment of the series?