The Amazing Spiderman

Amazing Spiderman is amazing. I was tempted to leave the review there, because the tautological meme amuses me. But no, I’ll write an actual review, inasmuch as any of my reviews are actual.
This is an excellent movie. Easily better than anything in the previous franchise. It’s not my new number one only because the Avengers was a broader and (frankly) happier film, which equates to “more fun” in my mind. As a reminder, these rankings are my purely subjective ordering of enjoyment, not an absolute statement of quality.
Good things about Amazing Spiderman, in no particular order: acting, dialogue, plot, sets, effects, thematic trueness to the essence of Spiderman.
Bad things about Amazing Spiderman: the lead actor’s affect might be annoying to some people. It didn’t quite grate on me, but it was right at the edge of overacting; the effects, despite being good, were sometimes more obviously CGI than I would like.
Special award: a character who could have been boringly one dimensional like so many others of his (stereo)type surprised me by being smart, reasonable, and flexible in addition to practical, serious, and tough.
Extra special award: the director’s name is Webb.
Oh: there is, as usual, a teaser in the credits, but they don’t make you wait all the way to the end for it. Nice of them.
In Sum: This movie is in turns moving, insightful, suspenseful, action-packed, funny, and (rarely) cheesy. It captures Spiderman perfectly, never feels like a retread of the previous franchise, and deserves sequels of its own. And, importantly, it has humanity. Of all Marvel’s heroes, Spidey may be the most human, with the most human of problems. His story is not about aliens, or the fate of the human race, or the struggle of one group against another – Spiderman is more personal than that, and the writers of this movie understood that. Good for them.

1. The Avengers
2. The Amazing Spiderman
3. Brave
4. The Cabin in the Woods
5. The Secret World of Arrietty
6. Men in Black 3
7. Prometheus
8. Hunger Games
9. The Lorax
10. Snow White and the Huntsman
11. Mirror, Mirror
12. John Carter