Film review: The Amazing Spider-Man

David Larsen's verdict on the latest blockbuster adaptation of the comic-book superhero.

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14th July, 2012

Film review

There are only 10 basic plots in all of fiction, Peter Parker’s English teacher explains, near the end of Marc Webb’s Spider-Man reboot. We’re meant to grin knowingly. The point, clearly, is that if there are a limited number of the things, The Amazing Spider-Man should be allowed to reuse the one where a put-upon nerd named Peter Parker gets bitten by a spider, develops superpowers, lets it go to his head, and as a result fails to prevent the death of his beloved Uncle Ben, after which he devotes his life to protecting the innocent. Shakespeare must have fallen back ...

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