The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Review

Director: Marc Webb

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Jamie Foxx

Based on the characters created by: Stan Lee

*Side Note*

Seeing as this is a review to the sequel of the first Amazing Spider-Man film, there will be some spoilers regarding the first instalment in the webhead’s new rebooted series.

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Finally, this is what I’m talking about!  After the horrendous disappointment of the first installment of the rebooted franchise, Sony sort of finally got it right.  I didn’t really hate the first Amazing Spider-Man; it’s just that it felt dull and lifeless. There was this incredible and very intriguing story lurking in the seams of the film that just wanted to be told, unfortunately the movie had to go through the motions of Peter Parkers origins from geeky high-schooler, to webslinging vigilante. It really had only been around ten years since we saw the origins of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, and regardless of how hard Webb tried to retell the story, Raimi had done a more commendable job which really jump started the superhero renaissance that’s taken Hollywood by storm.  Because of the origin story, the Amazing Spider-Man really could not become its own movie; it just felt like a rehash of ideas living under the shadow of its superior predecessor. So I can see why it was hard for Marc Webb to tell the same exact story but keep it fresh and new.

Sony had unfortunately cut a lot out of the first film, most of the mysterious “untold story” was not present in the film, and all of the interesting scenes from the trailers were cut from the final product. If you own the first movie take a gander at the deleted scenes, you’ll find some pretty important stuff cut from the film, such as the fate of Oscorp employee Rasha (yes he didn’t die during the bridge sequence). I sort of wrote the film off but I made a promise to myself, when sequel time came around I would give this new series a second chance, it wanted to be something new, but just like Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood and the Rebuild of Evangelion, we had to tread through some old territory before heading towards something new.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 takes place two years after the first film, Peter Parker (Garfield) has accepted his duty as New York’s savior, and is quickly making the big apple a safer place. The police are finally on board with him, and Peter has successfully integrated both his life as a superhero, and his love life with girlfriend Gwen Stacy (Stone), despite the promise he made to her dying Father. However Peters life is about to get far more complicated, with the return of childhood friend Harry Osborn (Dane Dehaan), the rise to power of  Spidey mega-fan turned god, Electro (Foxx), and the mysterious plans of Oscorp and the mysterious fedora wearing man, Peters greatest battle is finally starting to unfold, and his life will never be the same.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a pretty good movie, there hasn’t been a Spider-Man film this good since 2004’s Spider-Man 2. The film is Sony’s first step into creating a Spider-Man cinematic universe, in order to compete with 20^th Century Fox’s X-men Universe, Warner Bros DC Universe, and of course Disney’s Marvel films. It seems like every studio with a superhero property wants in on the gold mine that Marvel Studios has discovered, and while I still have my doubts on some Spidey themed characters getting their own standalone films, this movie has eased me into what appears to be Sony’s master plan (if there even is one). It seemed like Marc Webb had no idea what he was doing when he directed the first film, the guy had only really directed small indie films and was now the helmsman of a major studio production. Making Spider-Man dark and gritty was not a good idea; it threw out the fun and heart that is paramount with this character. Now, there is a time and place for intense themes in Spider-Man’s life, no doubt about it, but the character can’t just be all doom and gloom, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 takes the webcrawler from the dark and gritty and throws him into the bright spot light where the character deserves to be seen. Webb (most ironic name never) finally seems to have taken the bull by the horns and knows exactly what he wants to do. This movie is light-years ahead of its predecessor, fixing many of the problems from the first film. I don’t want to just focus on the past, I want to take this movie as it is, a new standalone installment into the Spider-Man film franchise, but there is some negatives (not many) so before we go there, let’s focus on the good, and there is a lot of good!

I will stand firm when I say that Andrew Garfield is the definitive cinematic version of Spider-Man, however his Peter Parker is really not that convincing I still prefer Maguire (let’s not get into that). What Garfield’s Parker does do effectively however, is showcase that spider-like reflexes are not the only weapon in Parker’s arsenal; he also has his incredible mind. TASM2 shows that Peter can’t always rely on brute strength when confronted in a battle, sometimes he has to look back on what he knows best, science. Peter uses his incredible intellect to defeat his enemies, and uses it in order to better his crime fighting lifestyle for the future. The fights that Peter is forced to undergo in this round against Electro really forces him to think outside of the box when dealing with an enemy that is basically a god. Fighting criminals with the characters famous wit, and having the best realized version of the iconic costume for the first time ever Spider-Man has jumped off of the pages and onto the screen.

Emma Stone is also fantastic as love interest Gwen Stacy, the difference between her character and Mary Jane are paramount with this character. Gwen dosen’t has to be saved 100% of the time, she can hold her own and her intellect compliments her boyfriend’s superhero alias. Gwen can help Spider-Man when he needs it, always giving him valuable advice. It’s great that her character traits don’t fall under looking pretty and getting captured all of the time. Emma Stone is fantastic and brings her great humor and wit towards the character of Gwen Stacy, almost all of the best scenes in the entire film center around Gwen’s relationship with Peter. The movie primarily focuses on the development of the complicated relationship between the two characters, and Marc Webb does what he did best in 500 Days of Summer, creates a very real interpretation of a romantic relationship, regardless of the fantastical world that the characters inhabit. It also helps that both Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are dating outside of their film counterparts, this gives the two something to truly draw on when acting in scenes together, it makes the relationship dynamic of the film all the more believable.

Jamie Foxx plays Max Dillon, the Oscorp employee who eventually transforms into the powerful Electro. I absolutely loved this character, it seemed like Webb learned his mistakes with Curt Connors/The Lizard.  Electro is a character with a very powerful and emotional back story, of course it is a far cry from the character in the comics, but I think it was for the best. I was very skeptical when I heard of the casting for Jamie Foxx, I had no idea where they were going to take this character, however I was proven wrong, Foxx’s Electro is the best villain the Spider-Man films has had since Molina’s Doc Ock. Unlike other villains who are overcome by some strange multiple personality disorder, you can really see why Electro turns from obsessed Spidey fan, to his greatest enemy. There’s also the amazing theme song which has been stuck in my head since I’ve seen the movie, I’ve never seen a comic book film that uses the soundtrack of a character to the extent that Hans Zimmer has done for Electro. Listen closely to the lyrics of his theme song and you’ll see the deeper meaning it has with every scene Foxx has in the film.

The best casting choice in the entire film however is Chronicles Dane Dehaan, as Harry Osborn. I knew the moment he was casted that he was going to be phenomenal, I was wondering where Peter Parker’s best friend was in the first film and TASM2 gives a very interesting dynamic between the two characters. Harry is another character where I can fully understand his goals and ambitions in the film. The films villains really are not mad men with god complexes, but human’s driven to the brink of desperation and given the powers, and tools to do so. The movie also features Ontario’s own Colm Feore as Oscorp executive Donald Menken, and special appearances from Chris Cooper as Norman Osborn, and Paul Giamatti as Russian gangster Aleksei Systevich. Sally Field also returns as Aunt May, but I still am not fully on board with her interpretation of the character.

The action scenes in this film are also out of this world, where was all of this talent in the first film? It’s almost like the sequel is from a completely different franchise. There is not that many action scenes but each battle between Spidey and any of New York’s criminals are exhilarating, and the climax of the film is completely nail bite inducing and is one of the most intense scenes I’ve ever watched in a superhero film.  The only negative in the fights is that the cg for the characters are really obvious, I thought that the scenes showcased in the promotional material would have been touched up, but that was not the case.

This however is a perfect segues into the major flaw of the film, and when I say major I mean it, it’s a colossal one. Sony themselves are probably the worst thing to happen to this film; they have not learned from the first movie and have completely butchered the film entirely.  Remember when I said there was a lot cut from the first film; don’t get me started on this movie. If you’ve seen the trailers than you’ll know what I mean, all of the interesting lines and aspects from each trailer have been completely removed! I understand that sometimes things get thrown on the cutting room floor in film it happens all the time; however the things they’ve cut are very important scenes which seem integral to the story. This gives the movie a real disjointed and disorienting quality to it, also if you didn’t already know a character was completely cut from the film, want to know the characters name? The characters famous short term name is MJ. I hope to god there is a director’s cut because even Webb himself said the final fight in the film was supposed to be longer and more brutal.

 Another major problem is the trailers and the promotional campaign itself, if you’ve seen the trailers than I am very sorry to say but you’ve basically seen the entire film and know every single plot point that’s in the 2 hour and 22 minute film. You can peace together each scene, there’s even a twist (which I won’t spoil) but if you splice the trailers together you can easily figure it out. However there is one thing that annoys me to no end, and I cannot believe that Sony had the audacity to even do this, but the final scene in the entire film is in EVERY SINGLE TRAILER, AND TV SPOT. Heck just yesterday their facebook page posted the exact frame; you’ve got to be kidding me! Also the film has also promoted that there was going to be a big, epic three villain showdown between Spidey, Electro and two other very famous villains (if you have no idea than I won’t tell you) but that simply does not happen. The other two villains screen time has been reduced to the quality of Venom in Spider-Man 3, and once character has the screen time as Scarecrow in the Dark Knight. It’s pathetic, and frankly insulting that Sony Pictures are using this tactic to get people in the theater, they did it with the first film and they’ve done it again! You can call me a raging fan boy all you want, but when a movie bases its entire promotional campaign and plot on a premise that isn’t even in the film it’s completely distasteful and is just plain manipulating audience to see your film.

Yes, you do get some answers however, you see what happened to Peter’s Parents and what they were trying to accomplish. However this was a plot line that was originally supposed to be concluded in the first movie, Marc Webb even said so, but guess who made him extend it for the sequel? Yep you guessed it, it was Sony. The answer in itself is so miniscule that you don’t even need a spoiler warning for it, Norman Osborn and Oscorp are bad (cue dramatic music). If this was presented in the first film I really wouldn’t have had a problem with it, but you’re going to make fans wait two years to get the answer they already know? It’s like when they revealed the identity of Tobi in Naruto, everyone already knew who it was, but were forced to wait for five years to get the inevitable answer.

The film following this is a Sinister Six movie, which Sony is very excited for (they have every right to be), think of the Avengers but with villains. However they seem more excited for the idea of a film that doesn’t even have a script yet, so this film is primarily a huge set up for the sinister six film. I am highly excited for the eventual follow up, but the two other villains in the movie just seemed to be thrown in there to get people excited, like I said they promised audience members two very famous, and very prominent characters in Peter Parkers life, however they are just thrown in there to get you excited for the Sinister Six film.

The problems with the movie don’t really lie within Marc Web and co. but lie entirely on the constant involvement from Sony Pictures. They are the reason the series had to be rebooted in the first place; they battered Raimi down in Spider-Man 3 to the point where he didn’t care anymore with the fourth film. Webb is standing strong though, but it only looks like the studio is giving the director the illusion of control over his own film. This is the major problem with what is, primarily a very enjoyable comic book film.

I give the Amazing Spider-Man 2 a

7/10

It is a big improvement over the first film, but Sony is not Marvel Studios, they need to step back and trust that Marc Webb knows what he’s doing; he’s clearly shown that he does. I look forward to seeing where the web weaves next, so you can finally count me in on the reboots. I just wish Sony would stop ruining the complete integrity of the film.