By Jeff Michael Vice
Special to MSN Movies

How soon is too soon, especially when it comes to reboots?

Director Sam Raimi and actor Tobey Maguire teamed up for three "Spider-Man" movies, two of which rank among the best superhero films of all time. (And each of the three made more than $300 million at the U.S. box office alone, which makes this one of Hollywood's biggest film franchises historically.)

Yet, only five years after release of the poorly received "Spider-Man 3," Columbia Pictures has hit the reset button, and takes a slightly different tack with Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's beloved comics creation. Director Marc Webb -- no, really, that's his name -- and the film's three credited screenwriters, go back to explore the origins of Peter Parker's long-dead parents.

Bing: More about 'The Amazing Spider-Man' | More about Andrew Garfield

And they've gone younger, both in terms of the actors and the audiences they're aiming for. British actor Andrew Garfield ("Never Let Me Go," "The Social Network") steps into the familiar Spider suit and plays Peter Parker as a teenager, and It Girl of the moment, Emma Stone ("Crazy, Stupid, Love," "Zombieland"), co-stars as his fellow high school student and love interest, Gwen Stacy.

(Columbia Pictures)