The Amazing Spider-Man

On July 4th I went out to see The Amazing Spider-Man. As a huge comic book fan and a movie lover I was very excited but also somewhat apprehensive to see the flick. I wasn't sure what it would be like seeing a totally new version of Spidey which comes so soon after the Sam Raini Trilogy which starred Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson, Wilem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin and James Franco as Harry Obsorn/Green Goblin. When the first film came out I was in love with the character of Spider-Man even though up until that point my only exposure to the character had come through Saturday morning cartoons. As the series continued I lost my enthusiasm for the cast. By the time I finally saw the third movie my tolerance had dwindled down to nothing and my expectations had been thoroughly let down.
And that was it, for years I had realitively no exposure to Spider-Man. Around Christmas time I was putting together the inevitable list of 'wants' and 'wants more' and on it I had a couple of video games that I would end up getting: Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. Both of these games feature Spider-Man and as I battled my may through them on my Xbox 360 I started to think about maybe giving comics a try. And sure enough I did and I love them too. All of which lead me up to the release of Amazing Spider-Man last week.
No spoilers but trust me when I say this: it is SO much better than any of the three previous films. I cannot think of any way in which the new film doesn't spank the crap (lovely image, I know) of the old ones. Andrew Garfield plays an excellent high-school Peter Parker and makes us care just as much about his life outside of the red and blue suit as in. Martin Sheen delivers a wonderful performance as Uncle Ben. The lovely Emma Stone plays a cute and (very convincing) teenage love interest as Gwen Stacy.
The story flows extremely well from start to finish and somehow we don't get the feeling that the re-introduction of a villain (who is forced into being in very similar circumstances) and the re-acquiring of Peter's Spider powers. I suppose the only thing that I was disappointed with, not that I really think about it, is that fact that the words "With great power comes great responsibility" are never actually spoken in the movie.
Fellow True Believers and Fearless Readers alike should make their way out to a theatre soon to see this movie. I hope that like me you will not be disappointed by what you see.