First thing I need to get out of the way: Spider-Man needed to be rebooted. Their universe was pretty f***ed up and I think most of the actors/actresses needed to replaced.
Second thing I need to get out of the way: this reboot really didn't change much.
If you enjoyed the first two movies, and hell, even the third, you will like this movie. Why? It's largely more of the same. A lot of elements from the previous films really do carry over, much more than I expected. The citizens of New York helping Spidey out in the final moments of the film, the film ending (well, very close to the end) with a funeral, a little kid getting rescued by Spider-Man in a "growth" moment for Spider-Man. They might have new actors, but it felt a bit like going through the motion. To their credit, the main villain didn't die this time!
Speaking of which, the Lizard... bleh. He's pretty boring. And they repeat the whole "main villain has outward inner monologue where his 'evil' half insists they much continue their work." He wasn't bad, but he wasn't particularly interesting. His interactions with Spidey are weak, despite an odd insistence that he talk. Making him completely feral I think would have worked better, but then again Connors being aware of his transformation and "improvement" kinda justified his decision to turn everyone into lizard people. But still, when one of their final interactions is him mocking Parker's dead parents and uncle for no damn reason (since their interactions were relatively cordial). You could argue it was the "evil" Lizard side but really that was pretty weak.
A lot of elements were rushed. Some strange plot points, like how he invents the webshooters (hint: he does the equivalent of ordering them from ebay). They rushed other plot points (Uncle Ben's death) or they aborted them halfway through (Spider-Man is hunting down Uncle Ben's killer, gives up after a while).
That being said, it's still an enjoyable film. Spider-Man 2 is still my favorite, I think. But Garfield is a better Spider-Man (and maybe a better Peter Parker, it's close), the Gwen/Peter relationship is much less groan worthy than Mary Jane/Peter from the first movie. The CGI and general action sequences are very well done (though the finale is definitely rushed and a bit underwhelming, think Iron Man). This wasn't some huge change in direction from the previous films, it contains a lot of the same elements. But still enjoyable.
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TheRock ~ Slow dramatic zoom-pan. Doesn't phase the hooded man.
"You have issues." - MWC. Pot. Kettle.