I'm not going to broadcast, point for point, what I liked or disliked about the film. I'm giving you a fresh, honest look at the film and how I felt about it after leaving the theater. This isn't an all encompassing critique, just what comes to the forefront of my mind.
I'll start off by saying, this won't be the best CBM you've ever seen, nor the best Spidey film....but it teeters on being great ( although I can see why a younger audience may overlook certain shortcomings ). What really held it back weren't the subplots ( well..Peter and Gwen's exchanges are actually especially bad this time around, Garfield being the saving grace since he conveys his emotion so well ), they really pertain to the quality of the actors here, period. Absent Garfield himself, who I'll note looks WAY TOO DAMN OLD to be playing a teenager ( especially during well lit scenes ) this go around, and his Aunt, EVERYONE else fails to deliver convincing performances. Rare are the instances where I'm completely taken out of a films immersion due to lackluster, or seemingly forced performances, bad chemistry and trite dialogue and the film has this in abundance. Jamie Fox, unsurprisingly, makes for an interesting physical representation of Electro ( not at all to his credit, ofcourse, since it's all effects driven ) but tirelessly falls flat trying to establish the earnestness of his position ( being obsessive, insecure ). Fortunately his character is oft, almost exclusively post power inheritance, accompanied by an amazing score of music that's closely related to the nature of his being ( think, ELECTRIC and yea some wub wubs ). A redeeming feature indeed, but such paltry acting extends to other important characters such as Peter's father and mother who give cliched performances as caring parents torn from their son. You won't buy it and it detracts completely from the emotional merit of the film. This crap factor extends to Harry Osborn as well, but I'll rest here since it's getting long.
Crap acting aside, alot of the film was actually quite good. The pacing is staggered and a little misplaced, ping ponging between highs and lows, but when it delivers HOLY CRAP does it deliver ( but as much is to be said for the more confused sections of the film ). I'm especially appreciative of how well Spiderman's movements, and broader sense of awareness, are portrayed. Seeing him surf the skies abroad webbing, navigating and circumventing the rooftops of New York is pretty breathtaking. Furthermore there are no shortage of impressive savior feats in this film, suffice it to say he isn't just rescuing cats from tree's ( as Harry D*****it would have you believe ) and his concerns for public well being are flat out in character, and admirable. I'm going to rush to conclude now ( i may edit to include other sentiments tommorow, but I'm sure no one actually gives a **** so I'll retire here), because I'm tired and didn't really want to give a play by play (sorry). To sum up the other aspects of the film, let's just say it's equal parts amazing and unexceptional. The attitudes about there being too many villains are misplaced, and the film really sets up well for further releases, and overall I'd recommend you view it pretty much NOW...so go.
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