The Amazing Spider-man (3D) :Movie review

THERE were howls of protest when Sony announced last year that it was abandoning plans to make Spider-Man 4 and instead planned to reset the clock by ditching the original cast and taking the reboot route.

Sam Raimi’s three films, released between 2002 and 2007 had, after all, been feted as among the best superhero flicks ever made, taking a mighty $2.5billion between them.

And while there’s a lot to like about the new movie, it’s frustrating to have to sit through a story that doesn’t differ all that much from what’s come before.

Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, Never Let Me Go) replaces Tobey Maguire to play anguished schoolboy Peter Parker who’s raised by his uncle and aunt (Martin Sheen and Sally Field) after the disappearance of his parents.

Bullied by the local jocks and with a major crush on classmate Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), he gains superpowers after being bitten by a genetically-engineered spider.

Using his new abilities, Peter decides to find out what happened to his mother and father, a journey that sets him on a collision course with eccentric scientist Dr Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), whose attempts to regrow his arm turn the errant doc into the monstrous Lizard.

However, the plot isn’t all that different from Raimi’s 2002 film, although director Marc Webb allows more space to the burgeoning romance between Parker and his girl, which gives the film a satisfying dose of emotional wallop. It’s no surprise to learn that Webb was the man behind the angsty relationship drama (500) Days Of Summer.

As for the inevitable Garfield vs Maguire comparisons, I’d go with the former who convincingly blends Parker’s vulnerability with his alter ego’s cockiness.

Overall, Spidey satisfies but never soars.

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