The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and Rhys Ifans
Directed by: Marc Webb
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Grade: A++

As much as I love the original Spider-Man movies (with the exception of the third one we shall not mention), this one easily tops them. I was also skeptical about the casting choice of Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. As much as I loved him in The Social Network and Never Let Me Go, I just wasn't sure that he could handle a leading action role. Boy, did he prove me wrong! He was great in the soft moments as well as the moments of action. His chemistry with Emma Stone is one of the best I have seen in a long time and it makes sense that they are dating in real life. In this reboot, Peter Parker (Garfield) has a difficult life, being relentlessly bullied and going unnoticed for much of his high school life. He has lived with his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field) after his parents disappeared. He is led to the mysterious Dr. Curtis Connors (Ifans) by information from his even more mysterious father (Campbell Scott), who supposedly died in a plane crash when Peter was little. While at Dr. Connors workplace (OsCorp, which is owned by Norman Osbourne, AKA the Green Goblin in the comic books and original movies), he sees that Dr. Connors' intern is Gwen Stacy (Stone), whom Peter is in love with and who reciprocates these feelings. When Peter gives him an equation, Dr. Connors is finally able to fix his formula for a drug that eliminates human weakness. But, when he is forced to start human trials early and decides to test the drug on himself, he turns into the Lizard, a vengeful reptilian being who is out to turn the world into lizard beings just like him. It was a great reboot and, after the very vague scene during the credits, I can't wait for the next film.