The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Sally Field, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Colm Feore, Denis Leary, BJ Novak, Chris Cooper, Paul Giamatti, Felicity Jones, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz
Directed by: Marc Webb
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) has to confront his relationship with Gwen (Emma Stone) as well as a new villain (Jamie Foxx).

Review:

Tim: There was a great deal of hope for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The previous film was a bit of an unnecessary reboot, so we suffered through a redundant film with the promise of it all paying off here- the new franchise was going to hit its stride and deliver the amazing movie we'd all been waiting to see. Unfortunately, this movie fails to deliver on nearly all of its promises. It's a good movie, sure- maybe even very good. But, in a franchise as storied as this, very good isn't nearly good enough. While enjoyable, this is easily the worst film of the franchise. It was disappointing box office-wise, and it's disappointing in the quality department. This film makes me rethink this new trilogy- two films in, it's a far, far cry from the Sam Raimi days.

One of the biggest complaints about Spider-Man 3 was that there were too many villains- Green Goblin, Sandman, and Venom couldn't coexist in the same film. You'd think someone involved with this movie would be smart enough not to make the same mistake again. Unfortunately, here we are- with Electro, Green Goblin, and Rhino. Once again, we have too many villains. Rhino is the easy complaint here- he doesn't show up until the final scene, which is one of the most unsatisfying conclusions in recent memory. He shouldn't have been in this film at all. He pulls away from the other two. The main villain is Electro, and I have to say he was a bitter disappointment. Electro was always so cool in the comics, and he comes across like a maniac smurf in this movie. He looks ridiculous, Jamie Foxx delivers a cringe-worthy performance. There's nothing formidable or exciting about him. When Electro was first announced, I was incredibly excited. After seeing him in this film, he's completely forgettable. His back story was boring and dull. The movie also brought back Green Goblin. He's one of Spider-Man's most dangerous foes, but he's been in several movies already. It felt redundant. This movie would have been better with fewer and more compelling villains.

I do have to highlight the best part of the entire film- the courageous and unforgettable decision to tell one of the most memorable Gwen Stacy storylines from the comics. It couldn't have been easy to make this decision, but it's incredible to watch this unfold on screen. I loved the way it was portrayed, and even the changes the film made to the original story were for the better. This is an emotional, excellent way to end the film. It was hands-down my favorite part of the entire movie. It's one of those cinematic moments you'll never forget. If only the rest of the movie was half as good as that sequence.

Andrew Garfield is once again good as Peter. He's not nearly as good as Tobey Maguire, but he continues to make the character his own. Emma Stone is quite strong as Gwen Stacy. She and Garfield do have chemistry on screen together and their relationship is one of the stronger aspects of this film. Jamie Foxx is woefully miscast, as mentioned. The poor script didn't do him any favors. Sally Field is again great as Aunt May. Dane DeHaan makes a surprisingly good Harry Osbourne and a surprisingly cheesy-looking Green Goblin. Paul Giamatti was fine as Rhino, but he really shouldn't have been in the film. The movie features a number of other supporting actors in small roles, but it all felt like the movie was trying to do too much. Rather than focusing on telling the best story possible, this movie was overly focused on building a Spider-Man cinematic universe for Sony. That really hurts the film. Did we need to focus on Felicity Jones as Felicia? Did we need to be introduced to B.J. Novak as Alistair Smythe? This film sets those and other characters up as potentially important, but it detracts from the overall quality of this movie. It tries to do too much, and it fails.

While I'm being quite harsh on The Amazing Spider-Man 2, I do want to acknowledge the film is fairly entertaining. I liked the movie. The problem is that I was supposed to love it- I was supposed to be blown away by the new direction of this new trilogy. It was supposed to be significantly better than it actually was. It's no surprise that the lowest grossing Spider-Man movie is also the least effective. Sony expected this movie to launch their own cinematic universe, and instead, it slowed down and possibly derailed their plan. It surprises me how much this franchise has decreased in quality. This is the first not-great Spider-Man movie. How can that be anything but a disappointment?

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man trilogy, The Social Network, Zombieland, (500) Days of Summer