It takes too long to get there

Rating: 5/10 (17 October 2014)

If this movie had been a road trip, it would be the equivalent of the drive from Jacksonville, FL to Los Angeles, CA. It takes too long to get there and once you do get there, there's not much time to do what you came to do.
There was no reason to reboot this franchise. Spider-Man 1, 2 and 3 were just fine with Tobey and Kirsten. The visual effects in this reboot as at least as good as the first three, but the writing here is like Spidey meets an evening soap opera.
Adding Martin Sheen and Sally Field doesn't help. Both put in their typically solid performances, but it's not enough to make this film into a must-see. In fact, I thought all actors put in very good performances but the writing held them back and the pace of this film is simply... too... slow.
This is supposed to be an action film, based on the development and subsequent exploits of a Super Hero. What it turns out to be is a little bit of action and a little bit of Spidey thrown into a 90210 made-for-TV movie.
If I'm 50 minutes into the film and they're just then developing the character of the Super Hero, then they're doing it wrong. This ain't Smallville. This is a major franchise that's in danger of being permanently damaged.
5/10 overall 9/10 visuals 8/10 performance 3/10 writing