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Reagen Sulewski: I think the larger problem with the franchise is that it doesn't really have anywhere to go that's as iconic as The Joker. We've just (relatively speaking) seen a terrific Green Goblin, and I don't believe Venom is as well-loved as Spider-Man fans think (it's also way too soon to do that character). It's the difference between a filmmaker who has a grand vision a la Nolan or Raimi, and a hired gun like Webb.

Matthew Huntley: Coming off of the much-maligned (and deservedly so) Spider-Man 3, yes, I would say the Spider-Man franchise has been redeemed. The new film is better looking, better acted, and has a more coherent and relevant plot, all of which were a mess with the last film. The Amazing Spider-Man is far from flawless, but I can imagine it gaining traction the more times people see it. David is right that its box-office numbers won't be as high as the previous films, but at least it will regain moviegoers' respect. It's already been confirmed there will be a sequel (scheduled to be released the first week of May 2014), so hopefully the filmmakers will work out the narrative kinks of this one and give us something even better.

Tim Briody: I think Reagen has nailed it. The Batman franchise has a bunch of villains that immediately come to mind when you name the character. As well known as the Spider-Man character is, it's actually tough to name any of his primary nemeses unless you're a giant comic book nerd. (Sorry, giant comic book nerds.)

Felix Quinonez: I would disagree that Spider Man doesn't have iconic villains (or that the Green Goblin in Spider Man was anything close to terrific) but then again, I am a giant comic book nerd. As far as whether or not Amazing Spider-Man has redeemed the franchise, I think it has or at least it has set things in place for the sequel to do it. No, it won't match even the lowest of Sam Raimi's movies box office wise but it is a very good step in making people forget about Spider-Man 3.

Edwin Davies: I think it's too early to tell, at least from a business perspective, whether or not this result has redeemed the franchise. The Amazing Spider-Man isn't doing Avengers-style numbers, not that anyone expected it to, but it cost Avengers-style money to make (both have budgets in the $220 million range). Even though the character is iconic and it's hard for a comic book movie to flop at this point, this was still something of a gamble for Sony and it looks like they'll probably cover that cost domestically, but after marketing costs won't see a profit until the DVD release. Basically, the film will probably walk away with the bare minimum it needs to justify its sequel.

However, like David, I don't think that this has had the impact on audiences that the film really needed to in order to make that sequel into the sort of event that it needs to be. If we look at Batman Begins, that film not only did great business relative to its predecessor, it pretty much obliterated the memory of Batman & Robin and left audiences gasping to see what The Joker would be like in this brave new Bat-world. I've heard a lot of people say that they liked The Amazing Spider-Man, but little love. It's going to take another film for it to completely overshadow the original Spidey films, but that film needs to be genuinely Amazing in nature, not just name.

Kim Hollis: I think that the number of people who see this film as unnecessary tells all the story we need here. I think there are people who are real fans of Spider-Man who are happy that this reboot is a decent film that gets a new series off to an okay start. But I also think that you have people like me who are sort of indifferent to the character and are having a hard time finding a reason to go see the film. I don't really feel like The Amazing Spider-Man has done anything to redeem the franchise, but that we rather have a pretty transparent grab for dollars here instead.

Max Braden: I think opposite of redemption, this most recent installment has only muddied the waters for the Spider-man franchise. I just don't find any of the following appealing: same cast, same villains; same cast, different villains; different cast every year. I'm either left bored with the thought of going a direction where we've already been, or untrusting of how minor changes could improve it. At this point I feel like they should bring in Tim Burton to shake up the tone of the franchise.

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