It is obvious that there are very high expectations for Sony Pictures’ The Amazing Spiderman and how The Social Network star, Andrew Garfield, will play the web slinger. Let me start by saying that I am a proponent of Garfield and believe that he will bring a certain level of depth and realism to the character of Peter Parker/Spiderman, much like Christian Bale has so beautifully done with Bruce Wayne/Batman; but has Bale's performance caused us to completely forget about Michael Keaton? The answer is NO, it most definitely has not (don't worry; this writer will never bring up Clooney or Kilmer).
I have read far too many blogs and reports from fans of which the main focus is reasons why Andrew Garfield will be a better Spiderman than Tobey Maguire when the fact is, it is not the portrayals of the character that should be compared, but the different perspectives in which they take. To be frank, no one will ever be able to replace what Toby Maguire did with the Spiderman franchise, there’s a reason why Spiderman 3 holds the spot of third biggest opening in movie history right behind The Dark Knight (and let’s be honest, Spiderman 3 wasn't exactly the best out of the trilogy).
So to be very clear, Andrew Garfield is not replacing Toby Maguire, but more taking up his mantle with a fresh new perspective on the iconic superhero.