Earlier this year I saw boy most likely to Andrew Garfield on Broadway in "Death Of A Salesman". He was terrible but it wasn't entirely his fault. He was terribly miscast: the 20 something James Dean-y angst boy was all wrong for the role as the soon to be croaked titular salesman's, 30 something peaked in High School son.
On the other hand, Garfield is too old for Peter Parker/Spiderman, but otherwise he is a near perfect fit.
When I was pre-teen, comic books were to me what music became to me once punk hit. And Spiderman was the best of all. A teenage superhero with all the bullshit any teen might suffer from only he really was misunderstood. The cartoon didn't come close to getting it right, but Toby Maguire was pretty good in the original movie series. And Garfield is nearly Toby's equal, Garfield doesn't quite capture Toby's bemusement or pleasure, though I would give the original the edge overall.
This is a streamlined re-telling of the Spidey myth. They tell the same story on Broadway as well. Nerd gets bitten by radioactive spider, develops superpowers, doesn't help somebody being robbed and the robber kills his beloved Uncle Ben. Blah blah blah, stops Superfoe and gets girl.
The girl this time round is Emma Stone and she is too old for the role but otherwise is pure cinematic gold. This woman is in the process of being huge and is really excellent. The chemistry is pretty good with Garfield and the romance at the center of the movie works.
The periphery not so much. Parker's parents death back story is one plot too many and bizarrely, nothing comes of it. The Lizard is a crap villain. And the 3D effects are, except for the flying about nyc, is really lame. Some good actors: Martin Sheen, Sally Field and Denis Leary, are all lame. There aren't quite enough characters to fill it up, and, really, how many times are going to sit thru the same damn story. Stan Lee has a cool cameo, he is the guy listening to classical on earphones while the Lizard and Spidey battle thru Parker's High School.
Musically, there is nothing but Coldplay's spectacularly crappy "Til Kingdom Come' of X&Z on the soundtrack. What fools these mortals be.
Movie: B+
Music: F