The Amazing Spider-Man
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: July 3, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 42 Critic Reviews
Positive:
29
Mixed:
11
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsJul 2, 2012
Not just a reboot - it's a rejuvenation. From the first image of sensory awakening to the final acceptance of adult responsibility, it pulses with the warm blood of a very human hero. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumJun 28, 2012
What's most amazing in The Amazing Spider-Man turns out to be not the shared sensations of blockbuster wow! the picture elicits, but rather the shared satisfactions of intimate awww. Read full review
88
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanJul 2, 2012
Did we need another Spider-Man this quickly? Debatable. But if you wanted a new interpretation – especially one where story and action stay in the right balance – this is it. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertJun 29, 2012
This is a more thoughtful film, and its action scenes are easier to follow in space and time. If we didn't really need to be told Spidey's origin story again, at least it's done with more detail and provides better reasons for why Peter Parker throws himself into his superhero role. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesJul 2, 2012
This fourth installment is a complete reboot, returning to the web-slinger's creation story, and Garfield, more than any other factor, contributes to the sense of a bleaker vision along the lines of "The Dark Knight." Read full review
80
TimeMary PolsJul 2, 2012
None of this is new to us, but Garfield and Webb make it feel convincingly fresh and exciting. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJul 1, 2012
Director Marc Webb's action-adventure is grounded in a recognizable reality, but is also full of thrills. It's dark and mysterious, but doesn't skimp on fun. Read full review
80
Village VoiceChris PackhamJun 29, 2012
The film is also faithful to the smartassery of the Spider-Man of the comics, and Garfield's spindly physicality evokes the Marvel illustrations of the 1960s. Read full review
80
Boxoffice MagazineAmy NicholsonJun 27, 2012
Meet the new face of superheroes: Marc Webb's totally teenage and totally fun take on the Spider-Man franchise. Read full review
80
VarietyBoyd van HoeijJun 25, 2012
A mostly slick, entertaining and emotionally involving recombination of fresh and familiar elements. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerJun 21, 2012
While the two leads deliver the goods and manage to combine a frisky sense of first love with the movie's gloomier arc, they are well-served by a terrific supporting cast. Read full review
80
Total FilmStaff (Not Credited)Jun 20, 2012
It isn't perfect but this reboot's wins outweigh its wobbles. The leads charm, the action crackles and the grooves are well-laid for part two. Untold story? Next time, then. Read full review
80
The GuardianAndrew PulverJun 20, 2012
It's the successul synthesis of the two – action and emotion – that means this Spider-Man is as enjoyable as it is impressive: Webb's control of mood and texture is near faultless as his film switches from teenage sulks to exhilarating airborne pyrotechnics. Read full review
75
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJul 2, 2012
The Amazing Spider-Man is fun, as any summer movie amusement ride can be. But it left me feeling the same as Raimi's version; that groundwork has been dutifully laid for a winning franchise in need of a few surprises. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 2, 2012
This is the second-best Spider-Man movie yet made. In the previous trilogy, only "Spider-Man 2" surpasses it. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJul 2, 2012
The whiz-bang stuff doesn't kick in until the Peter-Gwen relationship (which is the best thing in the movie) is firmly established. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyJul 2, 2012
More honourable than "amazing," the latest reboot of the Spider-man franchise brings Marvel Comics web-slinging super-hero down to earth, in a mostly satisfactory way. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia PuigJul 2, 2012
As a new chapter in the superpowered arachnid saga, it stands on its own quite nicely, focusing more on human emotions than on a panoply of special effects. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJul 1, 2012
When a new actor slips on the Spandex for a superhero franchise reboot, we should, you know, notice. And we do with Andrew Garfield. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezJun 29, 2012
Part of the reason The Amazing Spider-Man feels so fresh and invigorating is that its story is so simple - anyone remember exactly what the deal was with Loki and that cube? - and its protagonist so relatable. Read full review
70
SlateDana StevensJul 5, 2012
This might be a fun summer blockbuster if only it even remotely needed to exist. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'HehirJul 2, 2012
Pretty good summer flick! Read full review
70
MovielineStephanie ZacharekJul 2, 2012
Probably not as good as you hoped or as bad as you feared. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJul 2, 2012
Watching Garfield swinging through New York or toying with criminals after he captures them is reason enough to welcome another telling of the tale. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJul 1, 2012
I've saved the best for last: The love interest played by that throaty redheaded (here blonde) darling Emma Stone, whose blue eyes radiate so much intelligence that any actor on whom she trains them in adoration becomes an instant movie star. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn LevyJul 2, 2012
The Amazing Spider-Man is agreeable. And occasionally it's more. But, as with the American remake of the Swedish film of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," you can't help but feel that you've not only heard the story before, but that you you've seen it before, too -- and recently. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaJul 3, 2012
Don't come to The Amazing-Spider-Man looking for originality. Read full review
63
Washington PostAnn HornadayJul 2, 2012
The good news is that Garfield and Stone whip up a warm, convincing froth as two teenagers caught up in a beguiling case of puppy love. The not-so-great news is that by "reboot," the studio means taking audiences once again through every step of Peter's transformation into Spider-Man. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversJun 29, 2012
Webb never loses touch with the film's emotional through line. And he allows time and space for Garfield and Stone, both stellar, to turn a high-flying adventure into something impassioned and moving. A Spider-Man that touches the heart. Now that really is amazing. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJul 3, 2012
On the whole, it's passable stuff, a surprise, given how mechanical the masked character seemed. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla DargisJul 2, 2012
Mr. Webb's Spider-Man movie works only because he keeps the whole package, at least until the requisite final blowout, tethered to his two appealing leads. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottJul 2, 2012
The problem is that the film must re-establish a great deal of mythology, much of which is already familiar to most moviegoers. Unfortunately, Webb's film never quite makes usshake the feeling that we've done all this before. Read full review
60
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJul 2, 2012
There are joyous moments when we share Peter's point of aerial view. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJul 2, 2012
The result is that "Spider-Man" goes in and out of focus. This is a film that is memorable in pieces but not as a whole. Read full review
60
EmpireIan FreerJun 25, 2012
Graced with great performances from Garfield and Stone, The Amazing Spider-Man is a rare comic-book flick that is better at examining relationships than superheroism. If it doesn't approach the current benchmark of Avengers Assemble, it still delivers a different enough, enjoyable origin story to live comfortably alongside the Raimi era. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsJul 2, 2012
The Amazing Spider-Man, helmed by "(500) Days Of Summer" director Marc Webb, doesn't put its own stamp on the material, which feels warmed-over in ways that don't help. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJul 2, 2012
For me, this is as deflating a movie as I have seen all year. Not the worst, to be sure, but a project so utterly unnecessary that it made me want to gnash my teeth in frustration. Read full review
50
New York PostLou LumenickJun 29, 2012
Sometimes dull and mostly uninspired, it's much less a satisfying reboot like "Batman Begins'' than a pointless rehash in the mode of "Superman Returns.'' Read full review
50
Slant MagazineNick SchagerJun 29, 2012
No mutation is necessary to clearly see that Marvel's "reboot" of their signature franchise is an unimaginative remake of Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJul 2, 2012
This hugely elaborate production is supposed to be the reboot of a foundering franchise, but rebooting a computer wipes the silicon slate clean. In the movie, what's old is old again. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTy BurrJul 2, 2012
Dumbed down, tarted up, and almost shockingly uninspired, it's the worst superhero movie since "Green Lantern." Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJul 3, 2012
In short, the character is a lot like the way Stan Lee first envisioned him, but the trilogy's screenwriter Steve Ditko would probably loathe this new, unsatisfying, and hollow-feeling entry into the new cinematic Marvel Universe. Read full review
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