The Amazing Spider-Man rises to the challenge of rebooting a commendable movie franchise while giving a respectable nod to the beloved comic book. (If you are a comic book purist then slowly step away from this review because nothing will make you happy about any comic book adaptation. Accept this fact.).

The Spider-Man story can't be told without its tragic moments; Peter Parker is orphaned and loses Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen), due to his own lack of responsibility which helps him take shape as a saviour of the people. Such tumultuous childhoods shape most comic book heroes, and villains too, for that matter.

The Amazing Spider-Man successfully stretches out its story threads to become the first of any trilogy to do more than just introduce its characters. We finally meet Peter Parker's parents and are shown glimpses of their story, including Peter's father Dr Richard Parker being a respected scientist at Oscorp. (Hopefully as the franchise moves forward there will be a further development in their story since many questions were left unanswered.) Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker / Spider-Man luckily has his trademark comic book wit, also there are scenes which illustrate the behaviour of any teenager who has just discovered that he is superior to those around him. What's a teenager without a love interest? Enter Gwen Stacy, played by Emma Stone, who becomes every character she has played in every film for this particular role. But she's cute so that's ok with us. Oscorp scientist Dr Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) is running a department which is working to create a serum which can regenerate limbs. The God Complex most scientists suffer from leads Dr Connors into an unfortunate predicament. And so with Dr Connors transformed, we have a villain who doesn't see himself as one, who is trying to create a super species free of all the disease and suffering humans are always susceptible to.

The film takes a realistic approach in its plotlines, like biological warfare, and genetic modification. Some of which made me think of Hulk's origin story for a minute. At the same time the filmmakers keep many of the comic book elements alive, so those who know about them can smugly point them out while you watch the film.

Spider-Man weaved its web on our screens with its first film in 2002. The Amazing Spider-Man came onto the scene when studio executives felt that there wasn't much left to explore in that Spider-Man realm even though they had been planning Spider-Man 4 with the core team.

Comic buff/ movie critic Iann Robinson of Craveonline.com states, “If you want to really 'shake things up,' then start Spider-Man when he's already the wall crawler. Tell his origin in brief flashbacks and get right on with the story. If not, if the filmmakers felt a need to retell the origin, then try to stay with the spirit of the comic if not the exact word. The spirit of Spider-Man is tarnished with this vigilante mess.” We saw a lot of the comic book origin story come into The Amazing Spider-Man film and some scenes felt like déjà vu from the other Spider-Man films - that is why I will agree with this critic to not rehash the entire origin story but delve right into Spider-Man; like a good book that you keep reading the best parts of over and over again.

So did the film get my Spidey senses tingling? Yes it did! The Amazing Spider-Man is an entertaining film for comic book aficionados and the family looking for a reprieve from nonsense Bollywood films.  

*CINEMATIC SUICIDE
**FORGETTABLE
***WATCHABLE
****COLLECTIBLE
*****AWARD-WORTHY
— Kiran Haroon