137 - Amazing

 So, with the first of the Spider-Man reboots, and we get a plot about a scientist whose experiments go wrong turning himself in to a super-villain... hmm...

Clearly the best thing about this one is, unlike the last lot, Gwen Stacey. Here, played by Emma Stone, she is absolutely perfect, and the performance and script absolutely nails the character. 

Unfortunately, much of the rest of the film doesn't live up to her brilliance. We get another version of the Spidey origin, which takes too long. Surely we all know by now, bitten by spider, gains powers, doesn't stop person who kills Uncle Ben... blah, blah, blah... it just takes too long. 

And then there's the whole building up a sense of mystery about what happened to Peter's parents... It's not really needed, especially his dad's involvement with the spider that bit Peter, and with Dr Connors. It almost seems like an afterthought as it's really very tangential to the film, and doesn't really go anywhere (and yes, I know, thanks to the mid-credits scene, and memeories of the next film it's continued there...).

So, we finally get Curt Connors, and I'm rather underwhelmed. Rhys Ifans gives a good go at things, but it's a weaker character than Doc Ock and Norman Osborne in the previous iteration. 

(And speaking of Norman; the mentions of him, and that Connors works for Oscorp is clearly laying the foundations for the future.)

The absence of J Jonah Jameson is also felt, with Captain Stacey taking on the main ant-Spidey voice in the film. But, we won't be seeing JJJ for a while, sadly...

It just seems disjointed, and as if the studio had a deadline to meet, and they decided to press on without giving the script a bit more of a polish, as there is some good stuff buried in here. The interactions at the school between Peter and Flash, for example. These moments are really well handled. But there's not enough of them.

It's not as bad as Spider-Man 3, but the first two Maguire films trounce it. 

I recall the next one being much better, though (with one notable exception), so it'll be interesting to see how my memory is...