Let's be honest: no one needed a reboot of a film that is not older than ten years this summer. Of course, a new version will have to live with being constantly compared to the original. But whatever the thoughts and intentions behind that decision were, let's ignore them for a while and focus on the result. And the good news is: it's actually en par with Sam Raimi's trilogy.
Spoilers ahead for anyone entirely unfamiliar with Spider-Man's story.

The biggest problem for a reboot seemed to be: the casting for the originals was near-perfect. But again, there is no reason for worry: Andrew Garfield is actually the better actor when compared to Tobey Maquire. His Spider-Man is more spider-like, his Peter more awkwardly charming. Emma Stone is a very lovable and sweet Gwen Stacy. Their chemistry together is great. Sally Field does not look like Aunt May at all, but she nails the character anyway. Even better: Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben. The scenes concerning his demise are really well done and actually top those from Raimi's version. The film does take its time to get there and to the spider-bite, but never fails to entertain on the way. Once things get more action packed, the movie soon encounters its biggest flaw: Rhys Ifans is an excellent, multi-dimensional Dr. Connors. The computer animated Lizard, on the other hand, does not work in every scene and reminds me you of the special effects way too often. That does not ruin a pretty exciting and spectacular showdown, though.

Motives like the city coming to its hero's rescue and Spidey breaking up to keep his girl safe feel a tad repetitive by now, considering those stories have already been told a couple of times in the last years. But they just belong to a Spider-Man film and they are done really well here. Director Webb clearly knew what he was doing. As for the 3D effects: they are sometimes unnoticeable, and at others give you a real fun impression of what it must be like to swing through New Yorker streets.

The funny thing is: the general feeling you get from the film is not all that different from Raimi's. Overall, the franchise is in good hands. And if you read the post-credits scene correctly, the next villain and his actor are already champing at the bit.

7.5 out of 10 spider webs.