The Amazing Spiderman: Have we met before?

When Sony announced that they were going to reboot their Spiderman franchise back in 2010 and canceling Sam Raimi's proposed Spiderman 4 not everybody was enthusiastic about the prospect. There were many "haven't we been there before" comments thrown around and "it's too soon!".
However, having seen what The Amazing Spiderman has to offer, one must give kudos to Sony to green lit this project.

The Story returns to Peter Parker's days in High School, a part that Raimi glossed over quickly in 2001's Spiderman. One could also say that this film is a remake of Sam Raimi's film due to the high number of similarities between the two. From the confrontation with Flash Thompson, Uncle Ben's death (yes, another prick gets robbed and Peter let the robber go to get even), and even the green gas The Lizard use (what was the colour of the Green Goblin's gas again?). The similarity of some elements are not surprising since some of the crews were part of the Sam Raimi's Trilogy (Producer Laura Ziskin and Writer Alvin Sargent for example)

Andrew Garfield is perfect as Peter Parker, and unlike Toby Maguire's Peter (which is a good boy through and through), this Peter Parker is not shy about showing his darker side, and clearly much more damaged (not to mention much more obviously resourceful and humorous). His relationship with his aunt and uncle is also much more strained and interesting to follow compared to Tobey's Peter

Unlike Raimi, the love interest in this film is not Mary Jane Watson, but rather, Gwen Stacy (played by Bryce Dallas Howard in Spiderman 3 and Emma Stone in this one). The chemistry between Peter and Gwen feels much better than Peter and MJ (that awkward corridor chat and that cheeky prelude before the kiss!) it should also be noted that she is also for the first time in a Spiderman film not a love interest/Damsel in Distress (a role MJ was too good at).

The only new element that immediately sets The Amazing Spiderman apart from Sam Raimi's Trilogy is the emphasis on Peter Parker's parents (hell, Raimi never even mentioned them in his trio of films) and oh, the inclusion of those delightful POV shots of Spidey as he swings through New York on his manufactured web shooters (I like the idea of an organic web shooter in Raimi's Films, but  hey at least they add to Peter's character as a genius).

All in all, The Amazing Spiderman is a very familiar new film with a much more human Peter Parker, it has to be on par if not better than the original three.

4/5