Mixed bag, but a hopeful one

Rating: 6/10 (20 April 2019)

I know most people consider this to be the most accurate live-action version of Spider-Man, but as someone who isn't a big fan of Marvel Comics, I can't personally confirm that.
What I can personally confirm is that this is easily my favorite live-action version of Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Tom Holland's portrayal of a high-school aged kid who is naturally brilliant but in over his head after being randomly blessed with enormous power, comes off far more naturally than Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. He's always believable and enjoyable to watch on screen.
As for the movie itself though, I thought it was decent overall. I personally didn't like how long the movie spent making Peter look foolish performing basic tasks. It was endearing for the first 20-30 minutes but it took well over an hour for him to turn that corner. I also didn't like that Peter comes off more or less as Iron Man Jr, complete with a literal Iron Man suit. Again, for me it took too much time to get him out of that and become more Spider-Man than mini Iron Man.
It's a common issue with Marvel films that they're a tad over-long. I like Tony Stark as a mentor to Peter. It makes sense and worked. But if it took 60 minutes for Peter to shed the Iron Man fantasies and embrace his skin as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man instead of 90, it would have been a tighter and I believe better picture.
Then there were a couple of moments of dramatic conveniences that were a tad too much for me. Michael Keaton just happening to lose his job salvaging Stark Tower and also just happening to be the father of the girl Peter takes to homecoming? That really walked the line of being a bit too much and entering "come on, man" territory. It took me a minute or two to shake off that latter convenience in particular.
Those issues are outwieghed by the things I liked about the film, however. As mentioned, I love Tom Holland as Peter and to an extent I like the mentorship role Tony Stark plays. I also liked, however cliched, the high school elements of the story. They're well done, especially compared to previous iterations.
The thing I loved the most however, is Michael Keaton as The Vulture. Although the Stark Tower thing was a bit of a logical leap, it made perfect sense as motivation for an actual character, and that's what Vulture is here. He was on the brink of ruin for himself and his family and out of an act of desperation he turned to a life of crime. His turn from being a desperate man resorting to desperate measures to a man embracing being a "bad guy" was a bit too quick (we don't see much of a mental degradation) but Keaton plays what he was given flawlessly. His main fight scene with Spidey was good too.
Also Zendaya is a better MJ than Kirsten Dunst by merely existing.
And I'll never get tired of looking at Marissa Tomei, so there's that.
Overall I liked the movie, but it's one that more makes me interested to see future iterations of this Spider-Man than it was one that will stand out to me on it's own.
Aka, the Marvel formula.