Andrew Garfield does an excellent job as the geeky teenager who turns into a web-slinging superhero
Andrew Garfield does an excellent job as the geeky teenager who turns into a web-slinging superhero. In this fresh take on the character's origins, it's back to school for Garfield's nerdy science whiz Peter Parker, who goes from bullied wimp to wiry hero after being bitten by a genetically modified spider. As he grapples with his new powers, much to the puzzled consternation of his Uncle Ben and Aunt May (Martin Sheen and Sally Field, both endearing), Garfield is in his element, a moody teenager churning with angst and anger. And his courtship of schoolmate Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) is full of spark, too. But when Spider-Man starts swooping across the New York skyline against the city's ne'er do wells, his escapades fail to soar and his final skyscraper-busting showdown with the chief villain, Rhys Ifans' Lizard, is - like the film itself - good but not amazing.
