Peter Parker's transformation into Spider-Man was much more drawn out and given a greater attention. Much like the Raimi film, there were the hijinks of adjusting to his powers and the tragedy of his uncle, but the viewer was given time to adjust to each development before moving on. In his first outings, Parker was more of a punk vigilante than a superhero. It was only when the Lizard came on the scene that he was truly forced to step up as a superhero. As such, the film was not so much about being Spider-Man, but about being Peter Parker. Many of the film's elements and soundtrack encouraged the his boyhood perspective. Parker is a boy going through strange and hard experiences and director Marc Webb successfully related that to the viewer.
The script, coupled with Garfield's casting, gave the lead characters some much needed dimension. Unlike Macguire, who was either a creepy, yet sweet nerd or a tortured hero, Garfield's portrayal had many layers that brought it much closer to the source material. He was still a nerd but not so unapproachable. At times he was a bully, or an aloof teen, or a romantic. And of course as Spider-Man, he was sarcastic and cocky. Compare Macquire's scene when he caught MJ's lunch tray to when Garfield asked out Gwen for the first time. There were similarities, with Peter losing his words and making it awkwardly funny, but Garfield's scene felt more real. Stone and Garfield, though a bit old for their roles, had excellent chemistry together (which didn't escape their notice) and together, they had one of the best superhero romances to date.
Peter's relationships were very defining to his actions. His initial crusade against the criminal world was more about punishment than justice. He then developed an adversarial relationship with the police that complicated his romance with Gwen. In the meantime his absent parents interfered with his aunt and uncle's parenting and eventually introduced him to Dr. Curt Connors, a.k.a. the Lizard; a super Jekyl/Hyde metaphor. The psychological factor was much stronger during the first half of the film, and most of it got lost in the end. Some of these threads remained unresolved, though more sequels are clearly in the works. Unfortunately, the climax was less about the heroic journey and more a superpower throwdown. Fortunately, the Lizard had a more masterful plan than just kidnapping Pete's girlfriend and throwing her off a high rise (foreshadowing not intended). What was really missing was what he learned about being a hero. The Great Power = Great Responsibility concept was touched on, but wasn't pushed hard enough to really sink in. There was an excellent opportunity for it too, but it was wasted in lieu of a tragic romance lesson. We got that line from Macguire, we didn't need it again.
Though the film got a little indulgent at the end (all of NYC suddenly got behind Spider-Man for no apparent reason), the rest of it was handled very well. What perhaps weakened the climax was that the writers tried to do too much and couldn't cover all their bases. There are still sequels coming, so those may just be stories for another day; Peter's parents being the largest question mark. Be warned, there's a rather vague scene buried in the credits that's supposed to tease something more. I've read a lot of Spider-Man and I couldn't make much from it. Still, it's a start.
Rating: B-
Great teen story with good performances and action. Loses itself a little in the climax.
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