Sony

PG 13 136 min

You probably know that I didn't grow up reading marvel comics, but in recent years I've been forced to admit that the films have usually been top notch. I did not, however, love the previous spider man series. For that reason I wasn't particularly anxious to see another round of the same thing. On top of that, sure the original films were extremely profitable but gee whiz, isn't it a little early for a reboot? Not to mention that this latest episode is over two hours. Well, as it turns out my worries or for naught.

There was nothing groundbreaking here; in fact it's the shopworn tale of the origin of the Spider Man. You remember the nerdy kid with the missing father, the experiment, the spider bite the gamma rays and the super powers. Yada, yada…

In this story Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is now living with his aunt and uncle played by surprisingly substantial actors in Sally Field and Martin Sheen when his curiosity about his dads science projects lead him to a laboratory where the legendary accident will take place.

Now the previously picked on Parker has powers and abilities far beyond those of humans. Not quite as fast as a speeding bullet or as powerful as a locomotive but it's still pretty cool. After thwarting a few street crimes Spidey will be branded a vigilante buy a jealous police force. That's plot number one.

Plot number two is the one armed semi mad scientist whose research has led to the transformation. He's mixed up with some bad people who seem to have had a hand in Parkers father’s disappearance.

So when you add in the boy meets girl and deals with the bullies portion you have a pretty standard outline for a super hero film.

And you know what?

Predictable as it may have been everything in this film works just perfectly and that, friends, is about the only surprise here.

I thought Garfield has much more charisma then his predecessor, blank. As for the cast, the addition of Field, Sheen and Denis Leary is also a big plus. There is plenty of plot to counterbalance the action and the effects are as good as you'd expect. And even at 2 + hours nothing ever drags.

Hopefully the sequel will be as much fun and not lapsing into the usual two hours of noisy action and battle with a new super villain, but I'll worry about that next year. For now THE AMAZING SPIDER MAN is the best of the series to date.

A

WSS