Amazing Spider-Man, The

Synopsis
Typical teenager Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) embraces his incredible destiny after uncovering one of his father's most carefully guarded secrets as Columbia Pictures reboots the Spider-Man franchise.

Reviews
3 stars out of 4 -- "As a new chapter in the superpowered arachnid saga, it stands on its own quite nicely, focusing more on human emotions than on a panoply of special effects." (USA Today)

"Having an actor of this high level of ability goes a long way toward making the implausible plausible, and Garfield also brings an interesting whiff of James Dean-type teen anguish to the role..." (Los Angeles Times)

"[With] several gorgeous setpieces....It's his journey -- not his destination -- that makes this reboot worth the ride." (Box Office)

3.5 stars out of 4 -- "This is a more thoughtful film, and its action scenes are easier to follow in space and time....[The story] provides better reasons for why Peter Parker throws himself into his superhero role." (Chicago Sun-Times)

4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here's a satisfying thwack to the set-pieces. Parker's practice flights bruise; a sewer scrap with the Lizard scars; a lab encounter with another mutation shocks." (Total Film)

"THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN may be the first big-ticket, big-budget, big-action-sequence comic-book movie that doubles as lilting coming-of-age indie." -- Grade: A- (Entertainment Weekly)

"[T]here's plenty of fancy action to appreciate....Spidey's webslinging has been upgraded to spectacular laserlike marksmanship." (Wall Street Journal)

"[W]hat THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN does have is a pair of extremely charismatic leads in Garfield and Stone..." (Movieline)

"THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN arguably represents the most lithe, vital and emotionally potent rendering of the superhero to date." (Sight and Sound)