I really want to like this. Spiderman is one of my favorite comic book characters of all time, but this movie just isn't it. There are all the elements to make a decent spiderman movie, but this isn't it. I don't know what went wrong with this movie, there is so much wrong here with basic filmmaking and I don't know if I should point my fingers at the directing, editing or the sneaking suspicion of cooperate meddling and rushing. No matter the case this movie is a jumbled mess trying to be something, when in fact it ends up being a whole lot of nothing.

Peter Parker is an outcast teenager that lost his parents at an young age. He lives with is aunt and uncle now. One day Peter discovers a clue about his parents that he leads up. This leads to him being bitten by a genetically enhanced spider that gives him spider powers. Meanwhile a scientist is working on getting his arm back in an experiment that backfires.

The biggest problem of this movie is it´s focus issues, pacing and bad editing. This movie wanted to do so many things at once. Wanted to do so many stories at the same time without any of them fitting totally together. This makes the movie feels so rushed and jumbled of different things. They want to do a storyline about Peters parents, Uncle Ben, vigilantism, Lizard, and having fun with spider powers, a love interest and all of these things have to be told and rushed to fit in the movie. The problem is also the terrible editing work. Not only is fighting scene poorly edited as well as just basic scenes, but this movie seems out of sequence sometimes with revelations coming after they are told the first time and there are scenes where it feels like it should have been something else instead of what it was. Gwen Stacy, Peters girlfriend, name drops spiderman in a way that makes it sound like we should know what that was and a later scene makes it sound like it´s the first time it´s said. There is also some chronological things with Peter discovering things about Doctor Connors that makes it seem like Peter shouldn't know who that was until that time, instead of him already knowing. It´s a huge jumbled mess this movie and it really feels like editors picking for scraps to make a movie work here.

I think the acting is pretty good with Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy being the stand out performance. But while I like the acting of Peter Parker I just think the portrayal isn't the best here. He seems a but too weird in this movie, like he has a spectrum illness or something. Maybe his supposed to have that but at the same time hi totally socially adapt and normal in any other way. This Peter Parker just isn't for me.

The villain of this movie is totally butchered in an unrealistic way. While his original goal makes sense and his obsession with that should have been the focus of the movie, he ends up becoming something completely different, might I add, familiar to the Raimi trilogy. I think the movie easily could have added the same plot elements as this movie, but making the villain to be about desperation and accidents instead of becoming a full supervillain. It´s boring and it feels like they wanted no more than a green goblin rip-off from Sam Raimi's spiderman.

The score is pretty good and really works for the movie. Sometimes the score can seem a bit unfitting to some scenes but is still good in it of itself.

The cinematography is so boring and stale here. This in tantrum of the bad editing creates this really stale looking and confusingly moving movie. I don't know if they used green screen sets or not, but sometimes the backgrounds are slurred to an extreme degree, a trick often used on CG backgrounds. If not it´s just distancing together with the framings, especially closeups.

The effects are not good here. While there are some good action scenes and some fun fights, the CGI really doesn't complement the movie and makes everything look and feel so fake. The lizard looks terrible, spiderman only looks good occasionally, backgrounds are either fake or really poorly edited and the dry ice at the end looks hilariously bad.

There are some really great scenes and ideas here. Uncle Ben has some great second-degree dad moments. Flash explaining his life story in one sentence. Spiderman helping a kid by doing the classic "everyone could be under the mask" thing. The ending dialogue with Spiderman and Gwen's dad. There is things to love and like and some care was put into aspects of this movie.

The journey of Peter Parker in this movie feels rushed, inorganic and unresolved on some parts. Peter is a loser before becoming spiderman, then takes the vendetta route, then becoming a hero. The steps are not clear and the journey seem so poorly laid out. This is the classic spiderman origin, but the evolution of the character shouldn't be expected from the movie.

That is also a thing I don't like about this movie. It feels like it expects you to know stuff about spiderman and also doesn't want to lean into clichés that are mandatory of a new spiderman. This is why I also has some issues about MCU spiderman but that's another topic. They rush so many aspects of spiderman's growing to be a hero, and dance around sentences we know should be said. I don't care if I need to hear "with great power comes great responsibility" every time we have a new spiderman, or "anyone can wear the mask". It´s integral lines to the character and if done right is impactful every time.

This movie also things spiderman is a literal spider? He doses a bit too many things that borderline turns him into a spider hybrid, and it doesn't feel natural here. Also, I know the sequel will touch on this and I might have slept though that part, but should the last battle have affected Peter too? I digress.

I think what really bugs me is that I´m not engaged in this movie. It´s just not fun or interesting in any way and there are so many poorly made things about the movie that would be forgiven had the story elements or the portrayal been fun and engaging. I´m left numb and just shrugging until something bad happens and I cringe. If this movie engaged with me I would like it more, but it´s a jumbled mess of nothing that really didn't bring the energy or feelings spiderman should.