“The Amazing Spider-Man” feels entirely unnecessary. Everyone is familiar with Spider-Man; he’s been around so long that his origin story is common knowledge, even for those who don't read comics. He’s a basic part of pop culture. And then there were Sam Raimi’s films—most people have seen them, they made a lot of money, and they are frequently on television; they are entertaining movies. “Spider-Man” gave us a solid origin story back in 2002. This movie simply didn't need to exist. I initially tried to give it the benefit of the doubt. Considering there was Burton’s Batman and Nolan’s, perhaps this would be a different Spider-Man—maybe a darker interpretation! Perhaps it would quickly address the origin and then move on with its story. Maybe… well maybe it wouldn't just be another rehash, a blatant attempt to remake, or as they call it now, reboot the same idea with minimal changes other than the cast. I was wrong. The entire film revolves around Spider-Man’s origin. They replaced Mary Jane with another romantic interest and held off on “The Green Goblin” because that would be too much of a provocation for fans, apparently. Instead we get Gwen Stacy and "The Lizard." The rest is just the same old story: the familiar uncle Ben plot, scenes about making the suit, learning to control his powers, the chase after the criminal Spider-Man lets escape with terrible consequences—it’s all been done before. And it's executed without any energy or creativity. Raimi’s movies were full of energy and excitement; they felt fresh. Seeing Spider-Man on the big screen, swinging through the city, fighting “The Green Goblin,” was incredible. We didn’t have "The Avengers" or "Iron Man" back then—it was a dream come true for comic fans. “The Amazing Spider-Man” feels stale and uninspired. I attempted to appreciate it on its own terms, but I couldn't. My mind resisted; I knew exactly what was going to happen next. I’d seen it all before! But even setting that aside, the movie just doesn't work. It's slow-paced and bogged down with an unlikable Peter Parker and a computer-generated lizard as the villain. Parker comes across as whiny and self-centered. His relationships with Aunt May and Uncle Ben aren’t fully developed; what little we see consists of Parker being rude for no apparent reason. The movie does have one positive aspect: the cast. Sally Field and Martin Sheen are excellent given their limited roles, Emma Stone is charming and appealing—that's her strength—and she delivers brilliantly. Rhys Ifans is decent as Curt Connors, and surprisingly I really liked Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man. Yes, seriously! He looks perfect for the role and he did his best with a poor script; he’s charismatic and brought his own spin to the character instead of copying Toby Maguire. Any originality the film possesses is thanks to him. Some of the action in the final third of the movie is also impressive. Spider-Man's movements during fights are well done, as is the web-slinging. The action sequences are well directed and exciting, and the film sets up a sequel reasonably well. However, it’s asking too much to retread familiar ground for two hours just to get a few minutes of cool action. The movie plays things so cautiously that it's detrimental. It is competent but never brilliant; tedious but overly long with only sporadic bursts of action. I hope the sequel allows this “Spider-Man” to find its own style and identity, providing room for growth and evolution—based on the character’s potential and Garfield’s performance, this could be a shaky start to an amazing superhero trilogy. Then again, maybe I'm just naive.

Source on TMDB