Amazing!

I feel this needs to be said. I love the new Spider-man movie. I hear a lot of mixed reviews, one big complaint being that it doesn't really cover new ground, and I completely disagree. First off, if you were expecting a drastically new origin story, you're an idiot. Spider-Man becomes Spider-man pretty much the same way he always does. The thing this story does that's new is the characters involved, and it shines for it.

Gwen Stacy, Captain Stacy, and Peter's Parents. First off, Gwen is so much better the Mary-Jane. Gwen is intelligent. She can actually challenge Peter on an intellectual level. MJ is one of those characters that never made sense to me, not in a high school setting anyways. In the comics she's a very nurturing, loving, supermodel. She's also an adult. As a teenager, it wouldn't work out. There's too much of MJ that needs to develop. She needed to go into the real world and realize her looks wouldn't be as useful out there, to have that failure that she wouldn't have as a teenager. Gwen on the other hand is just as much of an awkward nerd as Peter in this one (Stupid awkward sexy teenagers...). In general, Gwen works better than MJ ever did, but especially as a teenager. And Captain Stacy is fun because we finally get to see Spider-man's relationship with the police.

Peter's parents. This is unexplored territory in the movies, and due to movie rights being all over the place it can't be exactly the same as the comics. Peter's parents promotes the major drive in the film, besides uncle Ben. The trailers played up their purpose in this more than it actually was, but it was still an interesting addition, finding out who they were, what they were doing, and how it affected Peter.

And the second reason I loved it is the same reason I had a problem with the older movies. Spider-man quips. In the comics, he talks. A lot. He's smart, he's mouthy. That's something the other movies didn't touch down on nearly as much, and this movie shines for it. The scene with the car thief from the trailers was amazing when done in full. It was hilarious.

And the Lizard! If you're familiar with the recent changes the Lizard has gone through, you'll be familiar with this Lizard. He does keep a lot more of Dr. Connors knowledge than the current Lizard, he's still a chemist when monstrous, but there are a lot of notes from the post Shed world that are in this monster. And dear god is he ever powerful. When he fights Spidey you can really tell that Spidey is horribly overpowered.

All in all, the movie wasn't a new Avengers. But it was better than the old movies, easily. If you don't mind the retread of old territory, and one scene near the end that's kinda overdone, this movie will make you happy. Also, Stan Lee has what is easily his best cameo in this movie.