The Amazing Spider-Man

Directed by Marc Webb
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field

Ten years after Sam Raimi revitalised Spider-Man and unleashed a craze for mammoth superhero films in the summer, Marc Webb (whose name could hardly be more suitable) starts all over again with an origin story.

The new start, which will doubtless lead to a trilogy just as the Raimi film did, is entertaining and full of spectacle with a terrific central performance by Andrew Garfield (NetwThe Social Network). However, it does feel familiar, even though some significant details have been altered from the 2002 film starring Tobey Maguire.

Garfield is more robust and charming than Maguire and brings a certain believability to the role of Spider-Man with its often ridiculous demands. His take concentrates more on the young Peter Parker's intelligence and suppressed anger. He also has good chemistry with Emma Stone playing girlfriend Gwen Stacy rather than Mary Jane Watson from the earlier version.

The film begins with the well-known story of how Peter Parker came to live with his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt Mary (Sally Field) and how he is bitten by a spider. In this case, it is a genetically modified one in the laboratory of Dr Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans).

Ifans is excellent as Connors, resisting the temptation to play him as a mad scientist and making him creepier in the process. The problem with the film comes when he, too, begins to genetically change.

The build up to the show-down in the final act is generally fine, with nice supporting roles from Sheen and Fields for older viewers and Peter Parker trying out his new-found powers. Webb proved he's good with actors with surprise hit 500 Days of Summer, but he doesn't have a bold visual style.

The final confrontation between Spider-Man and a large lizard rampaging around New York does deliver on action and some of the sequences are very strong, but they don't have the confidence Raimi brought to his version. The effects and the 3D are superb but there is no one outstanding moment here.