The Amazing Spider Man ***

Marc Webb directed this Action film. Watch Preview. Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen, Sally Field. Rated PG-13 for sequences of action and violence. Running time is two hours and sixteen minutes.

Peter Parker's (Garfield) story begins with him as an outcast high school-er,  abandoned by his parents, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Things start to look up when he meets his first love (Stone) but get a little strange when he visits the lab of his father's former partner (Ifans) and gets bitten by a spider.

I must admit I'm not a huge fan of the comic book hero films. Perhaps it's because I never was a comics fan or because the movies based on them seem a lot silly to me. This one is a cut above average, with a fast paced plot and two leads who look as though they could be in high school (although Garfield is 29 and Stone is 24). They do have good on-screen chemistry and the rest of the cast supports their efforts well. The CGI effects are well done and I suspect they would look good in 3D, although I can't guarantee that since I saw the 2D version. Small children may find the lizard man/spider man fighting a little scary but most will be entertained.

There is an additional scene in the middle of the final credits that indicates more is to come. The special effects will seem even more special on the largest possible screen. 2D Theatres/Times. 3D Theatres/Times. IMAX 3D  Times.