So does Parker's search for why his parents dumped him with his aunt and uncle all those years ago - Dad having been a boffin at Oscorp with a special interest in arachnids.
Yes, this series is of course, different because Stone is Gwen Stacy here and Kirsten Dunst played Mary-Jane Watson opposite Maguire in the former trilogy. (Spoiler alert: Googling the comic book histories of either is not advised before seeing this.)
Still, so much of this feels like deja vu.
That's even with new additions like Jamie Foxx as a Stan to Spider-Man's Eminem who mutates from put-upon tech at Oscorp into supercharged villain Electro.
His creation as a one-note God-voiced mega-meanie comes aided by Dr Kafka, one of the company's madder scientists, in a brief but bizarre performance by Marton Csokas.
The B-movie nuttiness of his scenes are a reminder that director Webb can't seem to find a tone he likes - or a way to keep all his storylines moving in a way that sustains the interest for its way too-long running time.
This movie also has Peter Parker's old chum Harry Osborn to contend with.
As the sickly heir of Oscorp, Dane DeHann does a good audition for The David Bowie Story. But his eventual transformation into The Laughing Gnome - sorry, The Green Goblin - just isn't anything special.
This instalment does remind that Spidey is the people's superhero - he's forever saving citizens who would have been collateral damage in any recent Avengers, Superman or Batman flicks. Every time he's in a street-level showdown there's already barriers holding back a cheering crowd.
Predictably, the film has its visceral thrills - when it has a 3D Spidey flying through the Manhattan skyline, it's hard not to feel the brief moment of weightlessness at the top of his arc. It's cool. But the rest lacks that sense of swing, in a movie which feels like a flat cover version.
Cast:
Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan
Director:
Marc Webb
Rating:
M (violence)
Running Time:
142 mins
Verdict:
Neither amazing or electrifying
- TimeOut
