JOPLIN, Mo. — Hollywood spits out more than its fair share of unnecessary films. This summer, we’ve seen a movie based on a board game in “Battleship,” a third film in a played out franchise in “Men in Black 3”and a film based on a pregnancy manual. I think it’s safe to assume that no one asked to see these movies.

But yet they were still made, because someone thought they were good ideas. Just like someone greenlit a reboot of a definitive franchise only 10 years after the first film of the series. If it sounds totally unnecessary, that’s because it is. Now “The Amazing Spider-Man” exists.

The new “Spider-Man” was made only a decade after Sam Raimi broke free of the low budget horror films that birthed his career. Had Columbia Pictures waited any longer to make a “Spider-Man” film, the rights to the franchise would have reverted back to Marvel Comics, thus becoming the property of new parent company Disney. It was a move of desperation rather than necessity or demand, and so it was released with a lot of skepticism. Some of that skepticism, it seems, was warranted.

Andrew Garfield (“The Social Network”) plays Peter Parker, mild mannered photography enthusiast who is bitten by a radioactive spider and begins developing unusual abilities. His love interest is Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone, “The Help”), a beautiful and brilliant classmate. She works for Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), a scientist who used to work alongside Peter’s father. After Peter gives Connors a missing formula created by his father, Connors creates a serum that could help regenerate lost limbs and heal the sick and injured. But after testing the serum on himself, he finds that it has unexpected side effects, transforming Connors into a giant lizard. Peter must then use his newfound skills to help stop Connors and restore peace to New York City, all the while dealing with an overbearing bully named Flash and trying to win over Gwen’s father (Denis Leary), a captain in the New York Police Department.

This “Spider-Man” offers some spiffy technological set pieces, from first person web swinging perspective shots to some intense action scenes, and it offers some solid performances from Garfield, Stone, Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben and Sally Field as Aunt May. It is an impressive-looking movie. Yet watching it, I couldn’t seem to shake that feeling of deja vu. Director Sam Raimi’s first effort casts a long shadow over the film, and this new iteration just doesn’t hold up to that lofty standard.

There were quite a few things that didn’t work for me here. Peter seems to have a good life, aside from his missing parents. He lands Gwen with little effort, he is a scientific genius, and has a positive relationship with his aunt and uncle. Really, things are going well for him. It is his bratty insolence that ends up costing his uncle his life, yet the movie doesn’t do much to reconcile that, either.

In addition, the resolution of the relationship between Peter and the school bully is resolved way too succinctly and neatly. After developing lightning fast reflexes and strength, Peter humiliates Flash on the basketball court, and then with no further development, Flash and Peter are friends. Perhaps high school has changed since I graduated, but something like that would have gotten Peter jumped and beaten in some dark corner.

Connor’s driving motivations are also problematic. He creates the serum with the best of intentions, but after realizing the effect it can have on people, his intentions become sinister. While I assume that the viewer is supposed to think that the serum is affecting his personality, it isn’t really shown well in the film. Connors is, up to that point, a caring and sympathetic man. I would have liked to have seen a little more internal struggle before I could buy into the changing of his personality.

As I said, it is hard to view this latest version of the franchise without making comparisons to the original, and when doing that this “Spider-Man” suffers. From the exploration of Peter’s powers, to the budding relationship, to the driving motivation behind Peter’s vigilante streak, Raimi’s version is superior in almost every way.

Director Mar Webb (“500 Days of Summer”) has a unique touch, but this outing comes off as derivative. Worse still, the screenplay relies on cheap outs and predictable plot points to move the story along. There is never any question that Gwen and Peter will get together; that Peter will win the respect of Gwen’s father; that Gwen’s dad will play a part in the cliched finale.

I don’t want to sound overly negative about the film. In truth, there is a lot of fun to be had here. Just not as much as in the original. Had this film picked up where “Spider- Man 3” had left off, I probably would have enjoyed it much more. Instead, by opting to travel a well-worn path, the film sets a bar for itself that it could never reach. Here’s hoping the sequel can be a little more innovative.