The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Review

"Three villains? What could go wrong?"

After the mistake that was Spider-Man 3, Sony rebooted the Spider-Man franchise and enjoyed some success with The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012. The film was flawed yet still generally liked thanks to a capable director and a well-chosen cast, but how does the sequel stack up?

Thankfully, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone return to reprise their roles as Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. These two have great chemistry onscreen, and feel like a real couple. There may be a little too much back and forth in their relationship in the sense of that they may or may not stay together, but overall Peter and Gwen are one of the highlights of the film. Every conversation between Peter and Gwen feels like a real conversation between real people. It gives the film a much needed down-to-earth vibe, which is further echoed by the venerable Sally Field in her role as Aunt May.

Emma Stone, wondering if there is a way out of these movies.

The main villain of the film is Electro (Jamie Foxx), formerly Max Dillon, a loser with no friends. Max idolizes Spider-Man after being saved by him, but after the transformation, Electro suddenly hates Spider-Man when he seems to forget who Max is. That is all the depth there is to Electro. Jamie Foxx is a talented actor, but he cannot carry a film portraying a character with such weak motivation.

Furthermore, Jamie Foxx plays Electro like a cheesy super villain out of a Schumacher film. He is not nearly bad as Arnold's Mr. Freeze, but a bit reminiscent of Jim Carrey's Riddler. It might have been easier to swallow had Electro been given a better backstory to work with.

Dat combover doe!

The one good thing about Electro is the special effects. The fight scenes between Electro and Spider-Man are spectacular, with some great use of slow motion and web action. It also adds to the film that Spider-Man is forced to use his brain to come up with a strategy to take down such a powerful villain. It is too bad that it just does not make much sense why they are fighting in the first place.

"Everyone must die!...... I forget why."

The film also introduces Peter's good friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), another character who is underdeveloped. The sad thing is that he did not have to be. DeHaan is a very capable actor, but Harry's character arc is rushed because Sony wants to create a mega-franchise the same way Marvel has with The Avengers. The problem is that Spider-Man is just one hero. They would have to use his film to shoehorn several characters so they can set up spinoffs because they do not have any other heroes to launch more films from. Thus, ASM2 ends up with too many subplots, and it all feels like a large setup for more movies. This just takes away from the story, which could have been a lot stronger if it were more focused.

"Hi, I'm Peter's friend. Please care about me!"

The subplot with Peter's parents, which was hinted at in the first film, compounds the problems further. It is a story element that could be completely omitted and no one would miss it. In fact, it would make the film stronger overall because there is already too much going on as it is, and it does not add anything important to the story.

The Rhino (Paul Giamatti) also shows up, but only for a total of about 5 minutes of screen time, and only half of which is in his suit. It is almost pointless except for the fact that Sony really wants us to know that the Sinister Six movie is coming somewhere down the line. But if no one cares about these characters, will anyone want to watch the future films?

"Is it my turn to fight now? No? See you in the next 3 films."

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 shows great potential, with all the pieces needed to tell a good story. Had Electro and Harry Osborn been fleshed out, and some of the story elements been omitted and less rushed, the film could have been a lot stronger. The fight scenes are thrilling, but with so much crammed into the film, the characters outside of Peter and Gwen are difficult to care about. As a result, a few of the more potentially powerful scenes lose some their emotional resonance. Ultimately, the film feels like a 2.5 hour trailer for future sequels and spinoffs. If you have to watch it, wait for on-demand or home video, but skip this mediocre mess in the theater.

"In The Amazing Spider-Man 5, I'm also a firefighter. Pew! Pew! Pew!"