L V

So terrible it’s not worthy of a review. Would give it no stars, if possible.

My family and I were looking forward to this movie. But it is a major fail. It is slow-moving and soooo long — bloated at almost 2.5 hours. Although the movie is packed with action, it is boring and evokes little emotion. Tom Holland and Zendaya have lovely chemistry… but it isn’t enough to make the film. Benedict Cumberbatch is amazing, as always. Too bad his role is limited. Marisa Tomei, whom we generally like, is super annoying as the holier-than-thou crusader. The film is riddled with Hollywood tropes of our time: we can “cure” all the screwed-up people; all cops are evil; all newscasters are lying scum (ok, maybe this last one is spot on ;). The script is generally awful and self-righteous. My husband and I actually groaned at hearing the worn-out adage, “With great power comes great responsibility,” repeated several times. The plot had a mish-mosh of past movie villains that just didn’t make us care about the outcome — although it was cool to see the three Peter Parker actors come together (and these scenes made for the best moments of the film). Overall, the movie dragged on and we found ourselves yawing throughout. Watch only if it is free and you need something to fall asleep to.