Review of The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) by Gerald G — 12 Jun 2017

It may not be as amazing as its title suggests, but the Spider-Man reboot is well made, well acted, and well shot. The action is fast-paced, intense, and well edited. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone both deliver strong, heart-felt performances. Honestly, I only have two problems with this movie:

1. Time. Spider-Man 3 was released in 2007. Five years isn't nearly long enough to wait before rebooting a franchise. You have to let the dust settle first.

2. Andrew Garfield. Don't get me wrong, Garfield's performance as Spider-Man gives Tobey Maguire a run for his money. The problem is the other side of the coin - Peter Parker. Peter Parker is, above all other things, a weird and socially awkward nerd. He doesn't skateboard. He's not cool. He's the nerdy guy the jocks like to pick on. That's where Andrew Garfield went wrong. He made nerdy cool. He made awkward cool. He made Peter Parker cool.

Those two things aside, The Amazing Spider-Man beat my expectations and overcame the majority of its flaws, succeeding in rebooting the franchise after Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 ruined it.