It’s taken me about a month to get around to seeing this blockbuster action movie because I just couldn’t get excited about it.  I liked Sam Raimi’s trilogy with Tobey Maguire and just don’t see the point of “re-imagining” the concept one decade later. The whole exercise just seems unnecessary and uninspired.

That isn’t to say that Marc Webb’s new films don’t have merit.  They are just as, or nearly as, cool as Raimi’s visions, and some very talented actors among the cast, including three Oscar winners: Sally Field, Chris Cooper and Jamie Foxx.  Webb has also made a strong effort to center the film around the human aspects of Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) rather than the spidery stuff.  But in an almost two-and-a-half hour movie, that still leaves a full hour of computer-generated not-so-special effects, all filmed at the breakneck pace that young viewers allegedly enjoy but which just give me headaches.

I also don’t really care about Peter Parker.  Although the personal relationship dilemmas that Parker faces are dramatic and realistic, he just doesn’t seem mature enough to deal with them; it’s easier for him to put on the Spidey-suit and fight bad guys.  Garfield’s portrayal is sincere enough, but it’s a folksy, James Stewart-ish, “aw, shucks” blend of modesty without the mask and then bold bravado while flying around in the suit; it just isn’t sophisticated enough to convince me of the character’s true complexities.

The supporting cast is also far too crowded, what with three different villains who appear at various stages.  The villains often make the movie (they sure do, or don’t, in the James Bond films), and these villains are troublesome.  Electro has no real reason for hating Spider-Man, Green Goblin is not developed properly and Rhino is just goofy.  None of them hit the mark, and neither does this movie.  Parker’s quest to unearth the truth about his father works, but that’s the best part.  All the hemming and hawing about whether Parker will romance girlfriend Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) or watch her move to England becomes tiresome, and all the electric hullaballoo between Spidey and Electro is just stupid.

This series so far has been fitfully entertaining, but it is a pale copy of what Sam Raimi did ten years ago.  Why bother?  ☆ ☆.  18 June 2014.