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Flirtation
The Moment: Gwen Stacy explains to Dr. Connors that Peter is the second smartest pupil in their science class. "You sure about that?" smirks Peter. "Pretty sure," replies Gwen, with just a trace of a smile.
Why It's Key: Straight from the off, the chemistry between the two leads is both plausible and infectious. We like.
A Great Dad
The Moment: Having given Peter a quick pep talk in which he does himself down for his own shortcomings, Uncle Ben practically wells up at Peter's conciliatory claim that "you're a great dad". He's not the only one…
Why It's Key: Martin Sheen is at his cuddly, good-natured best as Uncle Ben, and this is a lovely little moment by which to show the bond that exists between he and Peter. Prepare to be put through the mill by his inevitable fate...
Take It, Flash
The Moment: Peter makes a fool out of playground nemesis Flash Thompson, keeping a basketball away from him before slam dunking it home with authority. Pick that one out!
Why It's Key: Flash is even more obnoxious in this film than he was in Sam Raimi's universe, and it's thoroughly gratifying to see him taken down a peg or two here!
Crossover
The Moment: Peter heads to Oscorp to explore his father's shadowy past, arriving to find the company housed within the dizzying structure of the Oscorp Tower. Needless to say, he'll be getting acquainted with its unrivalled views later in the film.
Why It's Key: The Oscorp Tower was actually set to make a cameo in The Avengers , with Marvel Studios and Sony discussing the possibility of a potential overlap. Sadly, The Avengers ' Manhattan was already fully rendered by the time design on the tower was completed, but at least the two studios were open to the idea…
Teen Angst
The Moment: Peter storms out of his aunt and uncle's house, raging about his missing parents and the way things seem to be conspiring against him in general. Smashing the patio door is probably a bit much, but you can see how upset he is.
Why It's Key: Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man is a lot more conflicted than Tobey Maguire's counterpoint, although thankfully, he manages to restrain himself from growing a greasy fringe or dancing on any tables…
Callback
The Moment: During a rooftop chase with a gang of street hoods, Peter goes plunging through a treacherous piece of roofing and lands flat on his back in the middle of an abandoned wrestling ring. Taking a look around him, his eyes come to rest on a familiar-looking figure…
Why It's Key: It gives Peter the idea for his Spidey Suit and also serves as a nice call-back to the wrestling scene in Spider-Man . There's also a poster for a wrestler named Crusher, a reference to Crusher Hogan of the comics. No Bruce Campbell though, sadly.
Egg-Head
The Moment: Curtis Connors makes his bow, leading a group of interns in a brief discussion on cross-species experimentation. The class seems suitably in thrall to his obvious academic verve…
Why It's Key: With this coming hot on the heels of his slimy turn in The Five Year Engagement , it's apparent that Rhys Ifans gives good academic. You wouldn't have guessed that after Notting Hill , would you?
Swing Low
The Moment: Peter puts his new abilities through their paces at an abandoned warehouse, first by taking his skateboarding skills to new levels and then by swinging from the rafters via a host of handily placed chains.
Why It's Key: The sense of exhilaration is tangible, particularly as the scene comes straight after Peter has successfully asked out Gwen Stacy. When he lets out a massive whoop at the end of the sequence, you feel like joining right along! We could have done without Coldplay, though...
Geek Chic
The Moment: Peter's pre-transformation scenes paint him out as a much less tragic case than Tobey Maguire's equivalent. In this film he might not have girls swarming aroound him, but he stands up to Flash willingly enough, and he's already caught Gwen's eye pre-bite.
Why It's Key: Times have changed since 2002, and the geeks have inherited the earth. In this film, Peter's personality doesn't undergo much of an overhaul, even if his physical abilities do.
Ripped
The Moment: As Gwen tends to Peter's Lizard-inflicted wounds, our hero peels his shirt off to give her a better look. That's some serious claw-work from the big, green bad-guy…
Why It's Key: It shows off Andrew Garfield's newly buffed physique. it's this film's answer to Tobey Maguire admiring himself in the mirror!
Downtime
The Moment: Having laid a web-based alarm system in the sewer network where the Lizard is hiding, Peter lays back and waits for his nemesis to show himself, playing a game on his smartphone to pass the time.
Why It's Key: It's a great visual reminder that while Peter might be out fighting crime on a regular basis, he's still an average teenager in many respects. A throwaway moment, but a significant one.
Web-Shooters
The Moment: Rather than producing web organically, Peter gets hold of some high-tension fibre and knocks himself up a pair of nifty wrist-mounted dispensers. Handy with a toolkit is our Pete!
Why It's Key: It's a return to comic-book lore. Spidey's web-shooters were originally non-biological in the source material.
Whatever A Spider Can
The Moment: Spidey and the Lizard lay waste to Midtown High as they battle through the halls, trashing pretty much everything around them as they go. Spidey SMASH!
Why It's Key: The fight sequence itself isn't the most thrilling, but it's interesting to note the way that Spider-Man scuttles and scampers out of harm's way. Webb was keen to have our hero move like an actual spider, and you certainly get a sense of that in this set-piece.
Flash Comes Around
The Moment: Peter spots Flash sporting a Spider-Man t-shirt towards the end of the film. Flash protests it's to impress girls, but we think he's got a bit of a hero-worship thing going on…
Why It's Key: Could this be a nod to the comic books, in which a Spidey-inspired Flash decides to tap into his inner hero and joins the armed forces in Iraq? We like to think so.
Cameo
The Moment: Stan Lee makes his obligatory cameo as a school librarian happily listening to his collection of classical music, completely oblivious to the super-brawl going on behind him!
Why It's Key: It's probably the funniest of his cameos for quite some time, with the scene itself being quite amusing on its own merits.
Rear Window
The Moment: A scene inside Peter's bedroom shows a very prominent poster for Hitchcock's Rear Window on the wall. Peter is clearly a man with impeccable taste in films…
Why It's Key: It's a subtle nod to Peter's ambitions as a photographer, with Jimmy Stewart's character following the same profession in the suspense-filled classic.
Godzilla
The Moment: When Peter presents Captain Stacy with his suspicions about Dr. Connors, the older man reacts in superbly deadpan style. "You know recently Dr. Connors gave Gwen a glowing college recommendation," he begins. "it was beautiful. When I read it I cried. But you would have me believe that he, in his spare time, is dressing up like a giant dinosaur. Let me ask you a question. Do I look like the mayor of Tokyo?"
Why It's Key: Denis Leary and Andrew Garfield share some great comic chemistry, and this is one of their better moments together.
Aunt May
The Moment: Aunt May spends a lot of the film on the sidelines, but her quietly understanding embrace at the close of the film is a genuinely touching moment. She really wanted those eggs, didn't she?
Why It's Key: Rosemary Harris's incarnation was, for want of a better phrase, bloody irritating. Sally Field's rumpled, sad-eyed version is a marked improvement.
POV
The Moment: Marc Webb gives the audience the chance to become Spider-Man with a number of POV action sequences in which the web-slinger does his thing among some of the city's tallest buildings.
Why It's Key: Sam Raimi did this kind of thing to great effect in the original trilogy, and it's good to see Webb maintaining that tradition here. Everyone enjoys these bits, don't they?
With Great Power
The Moment: Uncle Ben delivers some more pearls of wisdom to Peter, telling his nephew that, "if you can do good things for other people, you have a moral obligation to do those things. Not choice… responsibility."
Why It's Key: It would have been a bit tiresome to trot out, "with great power comes great responsibility" for the umpteenth time, and this alternative does the job nicely.
Spidey Begins
The Moment: An early flashback to Peter as a child is weirdly unsettling, from the storm raging outside his house to the creepy game of hide and seek (anyone else unnerved by the shoes under the curtains?). One to be revisited later…
Why It's Key: We get the briefest of glimpses of Peter's parents in a storyline that still has a long way to run. Perhaps more significant however is the debt owed to Batman Begins . Its very reminiscent of scenes involving the young Bruce Wayne...
Creepy Crawlies
The Moment: Peter goes snooping around Oscorp, finding his way into a room full of arachnid test subjects. After touching something he shouldn't, a whole host of spiders come tumbling down upon him, with one going on to take a sizeable nip out of his neck.
Why It's Key: The spider bite is less arbitrary this time around, with Peter led to his destiny as a result of his father's research, rather than blind chance. it's a more satisfying transformation than the one Sam Raimi opted for.
Out The Window
The Moment: Spider-Man's school-set dust-up comes to a dramatic close with Spidey getting Gwen out of harm's way in unconventional style. "I'm going to throw you out of the window now," he says before doing just that. Fortunately he's thought to attach a web to the building, so broken bones are mercifully avoided.
Why It's Key: After a slightly lacklustre fight scene, it's a pleasingly innovative finale. And from Gwen's expression as she gently swings to safety, it looks as though she could get used to having a superhero for a boyfriend.
Stars And Stripes
The Moment: The crane operators of New York band together to help Spidey out, placing their cranes in position to create a quick and easy route to Oscorp.
Why It's Key: There's some not-so-subtle patriotism at play here, with a billowing American flag prominently in shot as the city's working men pull together to rescue New York from a biological disaster. Post 9/11 connotations, ahoy!
Secret Identity
The Moment: Peter peels off his mask to reassure a young kid he's rescuing, in one of many occasions in the film in which he reveals his secret identity. Fortunately, this little nipper will be too traumatised to remember it for long.
Why It's Key: By the time the film has run its course, a fair few people have discovered Peter's alter-ego, including Gwen, Captain Stacy, Curtis Connors, his shadowy visitor, and possibly even Aunt May (although the latter is only implied). Not so secret an identity, is it?
Becoming Spider-Man
The Moment: The days after Peter's bite are marked by wooziness, uncomfortably enhanced senses and the stomach turning moment when Peter pulls a silky thread from his neck to reveal the spider still embedded in his flesh. Gross.
Why It's Key: The transformation process is a lot more uncomfortable in this version of the story, which makes sense, given the magnitude of what is happening to Peter. The spider reveal is deliciously icky, too.
Dinner
The Moment: Peter butts heads with Captain Stacy over the motivations of the new vigilante swinging his way through New York. Gwen looks suitably uncomfortable as the discussion moves from a friendly disagreement into slightly more aggressive waters.
Why It's Key: Web-slinging subject matter aside, it's a wholly recognisable scene for anyone who's ever experienced that first meeting of a girlfriend or boyfriend's parents. Gwen's pained expression adds a lot…
On The Prowl
The Moment: As Gwen cowers inside an Oscorp cupboard, clutching the crucial bottle of serum, the Lizard's grinning mug suddenly appears in shot, howling and scaring seven shades out of her.
Why It's Key: As well as providing a nice jump, the moment is also a subtle example of the screenwriters doing something a little different. The scare might be predictable, but instead of making further advances on Gwen, the Lizard simply grabs what he needs and slopes off. A man with a plan, rather than a posturing caricature.
Strike A Pose
The Moment: The film finishes with Spidey firing a web straight into the audience (keep those 3D glasses on), while striking a familiarly flexible pose….
Why It's Key: Mark Webb was keen to include as many iconic Spider-Man images as possible (indeed, much of the school fight with the Lizard lifts from classic Spidey vs Lizard panels from the comics), and that final slo-mo scene sees Spidey striking his most famous pose. Nice.
Spandex
The Moment: Peter combs through the internet looking for a suitable material from which to build his new suit. "Spandex… spandex… everything spandex!" he mutters angrily to himself…
Why It's Key: A coded reference to the proliferation of superhero movies in the summer blockbuster market? Probably not, but we found it amusing all the same.
Dr. Ratha
The Moment: Norman Osborn's emissary, Dr. Rajit Ratha ends the film with his fate unknown, as his car is tossed over the bridge by the Lizard, only to be snared to safety by Spider-Man. But how exactly with Ratha fit into the series as a whole?
Why It's Key: Interestingly, a scene was shot in which the Lizard appears to drag Ratha down to the sewers, before choking him out in his underground lair. That episode never made it into the final cut, suggesting Ratha (and therefore Osborn) may have a larger part to play further down the line...
Mostly Armless
The Moment: In the moments immediately preceding his decision to become his experiment's first human subject, Dr. Connors holds his arm up in front of a pane of glass, the mirrored reflection restoring its missing twin.
Why It's Key: It's a visually striking image, which coupled with Rhys Ifans' woebegone expression, inspires more than a little sympathy for the good doctor.
I'm Spider-Man
The Moment: Having rescued a small child from a fiery death, Peter is asked by the kid's father who he is. "I'm Spider-Man" comes the inevitable reply.
Why It's Key: Spidey gets his "I'm Batman" moment (although it's neither as cool or aggressive as Keaton or Bale's efforts), the first time at which he refers to himself by his popular moniker.
Costume
The Moment: Dr. Connors emerges from the sewers, his transformation having occurred before he could remove his white lab coat. There's the Lizard we know and love!
Why It's Key: Despite his generally underwhelming appearance, it's nice to see the Lizard in his traditional comic-book attire, even if only briefly. Shame he didn't get to keep it on a bit longer, really.
To-Do List
The Moment: At the end of the film the camera pans across Peter's noticeboard, where the police sketch of the man who killed his uncle remains front and centre. More to come on that score, we'd wager…
Why It's Key: While the film drops Peter's search for the killer rather unceremoniously around halfway through, this little scene is intended to reassure the viewer that it hasn't been forgotten. Expect the hunt to continue second time around...
Subway Takedown
The Moment: A newly sticky-handed Peter accidentally strips a fellow commuter down to her underwear, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend and his loutish mates. Without meaning a single blow, Peter proceeds to wipe the floor with the whole group before sheepishly retreating from the carriage.
Why It's Key: It's an extremely chucklesome sequence, and an innovative way of showing off Peter's newfound strength and agility.
Embarrassing Uncle
The Moment: Uncle Ben catches sight of Gwen in the school corridor and blurts out, "he has you on his computer," about Peter, before adding the finishing touch with, "I'm his probation officer."
Why It's Key: Martin Sheen helps himself to probably the funniest line in the film, and delivers it with mischievous relish. The twinkly-eyed rogue!
Human Touch
The Moment: All of the early scene featuring Peter and Curtis working as a team show just how much Peter has missed his father, and how Dr. Connors himself is not a fundamentally bad sort, just an increasingly desperate one.
Why It's Key: Despite his monstrous transformation, Rhys Ifans turns in a very human and very likeable performance as Connors. It helps to explain his actions later in the film, even if he does go a bit panto towards the close.
Mystery Man
The Moment: As Peter is searching for stories about his father and Curt Connors on the internet, a story headline can be seen in the corner of the screen, entitled, "Where is Norman Osborn?"
Why It's Key: The Oscorp founder looms large over proceedings, although he remains shrouded in mystery throughout. His underling, Dr. Rajit Ratha, refers to "saving him", although from what remains unclear. So where is he? And when will the Green Goblin come out to play?
Small Knives
The Moment: Spider-Man shows off his wisecracking tendencies when he takes on a startled car-thief. "You've found my weakness," whimpers Spidey, as the hood pulls a blade. "It's small knives."
Why It's Key: It might have been played to death in the promotional material, but this is still a prime example of the new, wise-cracking Spider-Man Webb has attempted to lift from the pages of the comics.
Guilt
The Moment: Peter allows a convenience store robber to make his escape unchallenged, only for his upstanding Uncle Ben to tackle the thug, getting a bullet in the stomach for his troubles.
Why It's Key: As in the original trilogy it's Uncle Ben's death that sparks Peter's crime-fighting career, but this time, it's more explicitly Peter's fault. The ensuing guilt should be something that hangs around for the next two films to come. No last words this time, either.
Cocoa
The Moment: With Peter having snuck into her bedroom, Gwen has to think fast to get rid of her father and his offer of cocoa. Garbling something about homework, she eventually settles on "women's troubles", sending her Dad packing with the very mention of "cramps".
Why It's Key: It's a scene that lets Emma Stone work her goofy comedy chops to brilliant effect. Denis Leary's troubled expression is also fairly priceless!
Cutting Room Floor
The Moment: A missing moment, this one, but worth mentioning all the same. In several of the teaser trailers we heard Curt Connors snarling, "If you want to know the truth about your father, Peter, come and get it." In the film, that scene never appeared…
Why It's Key: The question of Peter's mysterious father was unceremoniously dropped halfway through the film. With two sequels now confirmed, we suspect Sony were keen to hold that particular mystery back for later...
RIP
The Moment: Captain Stacy takes one of the Lizard's claws flush in the gut, leaving him to slowly bleed out as the film's climactic action sequence comes to a close. "I was wrong about you," admits the Captain before slowly slipping away. Sniff.
Why It's Key: It's a surprisingly affecting climax, with Dennis Leary's warm but gruff performance doing plenty to tug at the heartstrings.
Richard Parker
The Moment: Peter's parents are forced to run away, for reasons linked to his father's research. We know that Richard Parker and Curtis Connors were making great strides in their species-splicing research, but who forced Richard to go on the run?
Why It's Key: The film promised to tell the "untold story", but really all it did was hint at it, before embarking upon a different tangent altogether. There's plenty yet to be discovered about Parker senior, and why exactly he had to leave Peter in the care of his uncle and aunt.
Getting The Girl
The Moment: Peter attempts to ask Gwen out on a date, without actually managing to get his words out into any kind of intelligible sentence. Fortunately she gets his drift and shows she feels the same way… again, without actually saying so. Ah, young love.
Why It's Key: The chemistry between Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield is the best thing in the entire movie, and Marc Webb makes the most of it here, using his rom-com background to sketch a brilliantly sweet-natured take on high-school dating.
Teaser
The Moment: A mid-credits scene shows Curt Connors languishing in his prison cell, when suddenly he's joined by an indistinct figure lurking in the shadows. He enquires as to whether Connors has told Peter the truth about his father before concluding ominously that, "we'll let him be for now…."
Why It's Key: According to Rhys Ifans, the figure is "a representative of Oscorp". All we know is that he can be seen sporting long hair and a fedora hat, but beyond that, we're guessing. It that Norman Osborne? Electro? Mysterio? Let the speculation begin!
The View From The Bridge
The Moment: The Lizard runs riot on a busy New York bridge, tossing cars over the edge with merry abandon. Fortunately, Spidey is on hand to swing in and save the day. He's good like that.
Why It's Key: It's undoubtedly the film's most successful action sequence, with the kid trapped in one of the dangling vehicles adding a sense of real peril to proceedings.
The Kiss
The Moment: Peter looks to have missed the opportunity to give Gwen a moonlit kiss, only to reel her back in with a well-aimed web-shot to her backside. Smooth.
Why It's Key: It's playful, romantic and a worthy successor to Spider-Man 's kiss in the rain. It also serves as the moment where Gwen realises who Peter moonlights as in his spare time…
