The Amazing Spiderman 2 (2014) ***/5: Marginal improvement over the first film but there are too many story webs. There is a great story here but not fully developed.

The Amazing Spiderman 2 is a marginal improvement over its predecessor. With that said a marginal improvement for this film does not place it within the elite of the superhero canon. I was not sure which story they wanted to tell and so a lot of elements are either convoluted or tacked on to ground the film. By including many elements it does not remove the fact that these elements are still superficial. If they focused on one of the many story threads that have been woven into this film it would have been more of a success.  Also the film carries on from its predecessor by trying to overwhelm us with emotions but I was not overwhelmed and was cringing most of the time. It also did not learn from the first two spiderman films directed by Sam Raimi (which started the golden age of superhero movies) by showing a bit of restraint. Sam Raimi let it all go in Spider-man 3 but I believe that there was pressure from executives which must be factored into that overloaded film. I also think it is the same here because one has to generate ticket sales and the best way to do that in a superhero film is to jack up the action.  I will disagree with the critics that say that the romance between Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) is a standout. The romance was hackneyed and you are not clear which direction they were taking it apart from kissing and saying ‘I love you’. The real standout, for me,  was the character of Gwen Stacy.

This film basically carries on from its predecessor with Peter parker going into his first year of college. He still has to grapple with the death of Gwen’s father and this makes him wary of his relationship with her.  His responsibilities as spiderman vs. his more realistic duties as friend, nephew and boyfriend come into contact with various characters. The main villain here is Electro/Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) (I remembered his name). Also the death of Norman Osborne, head of Oscorp, brings Harry Osborn (Dane dehaan), heir to the throne, into the spotlight. The main connecting thread here is the mystery surrounding the peter’s parents.

Positives

The primary positives have been carried on from the first film. The first being the updated look that contemporary audiences can relate to and this serves its purpose up until a certain limit. The contemporary vibe is welcome whereas in the Sam raimi versions the aesthetic seemed more comic book in nature and did not include contemporary references etc. I have no issue with the raimi version only to say that the aesthetic was limited to how it was presented in the comics.

Another positive is that this series of spiderman films are more faithful to comic book version. This is clear with the amount of time spent with the development of the relationship between Gwen Stacy and Peter parker. In Spider-man 3 she was an afterthought. Also parker creates his own web shooter here and a lot of time is spent on these particularly as he has to adapt after a duel with electro. There is a lot of physics involved. As peter parker Andrew Garfield seems more at ease with the scientific jargon than Tobey Maguire did when he played the role under Raimi. Garfield does seem more at ease as spiderman in this film particularly his attempts at smart mouthing.

I also liked that they delved deeper into peter’s past surrounding his parents. This was always a sore point of the Raimi versions. It does help to explain a lot about why peter parker was allowed to become spiderman. Won’t spoil it here. It is an important connecting thread and gives the film a distinctive feel as opposed to merely being in the shadow of the Raimi versions.

They bring a lot of star power to this film that anchors some of the many absurd premise. Jamie Foxx makes the quirky character of max Dillon believable especially when he becomes electro. A lesser actor would have bombed. Sally field as aunt May provides some nice touches particularly with the emotional scenes. It is a good sign for comic book films that serious actors are coming on board on a regular basis. Superhero films are the best action films out there right now. It is now a great vehicle for an actor to improve their ratings with the public. Films like this benefit from having experienced actors because they keep the character grounded.

The action is ok but it is not jaw dropping. What the 3d does for the film is that the scale of it is expanded. Also one other improvement is the specific nature of spiderman’s special sensory ability. This is demonstrated in his first encounter with electro. There are more physical demands on spiderman in this film although they are yet to top the train stopping scene in Spider-man 2.  

The visual effects are well done and seem very organic or well integrated into the context. A lot of the fantastic CGI is explained scientifically to make it seem even more plausible although the main villains emerge in a very strange manner that no science can explain.

The villains, however, are a clear improvement over the first film. Big improvement. The lizard in the first film was a joke and I already stated why in my review of the first entry to this series.

The main standout character for me was the character of Gwen Stacy. Very involved in the action just by using her initiative and this contrasts with Mary jane from the Raimi pictures that acted helpless most of the time.

Negatives

The main negative here is the story. There are too many threads woven in this web created by the producers. There are several story lines here with each being a film in their own right. I don’t have a problem with the abundance of characters but it is clear that not everyone can play a major role. It should have been established from earlier on who the head honcho is however they only acknowledged that by the end in anticipation of  part 3. In this film however each storyline could have been a movie on its own. The harry Osborne story alone would have been enough; even electro could have carried a movie. It is because of all these threads I was not sure what story they wanted to tell. At first I thought it would be about some experiments relating to peter’s parents; then I thought it would have been about electro; then I thought it would be about harry Osborne; and I thought they would devote a section to rhino (paul giamatti).

Apart from the storyline related to the parents which could have been linked with Osborne there does not appear much that is really necessary. The connection between electro and spider man is flimsy. Max Dillon is obsessed with spiderman but that should not be the only connection. He could have been his own villain but he is merely represented as a power surge for all his tough talking. He does not represent anything that could alter how we understand the world of spiderman. There are some superficial moments, such as two passenger airlines on a crash couse with each other,  that are entertaining tidbits but do not necessarily explain anything or move the story forward. Electro wants attention and that’s good but there is not much more to it.  When Harry becomes the goblin it would only make sense if his father was the green goblin before. Sam Raimi understood this well and this film never established the connection from the first film. How did Harry become so proficient using advanced weaponry? The best superhero films demonstrate that the villain is always related to a more general trend in the particular world which they reside. The Oscorp politics provided the basis for such an exposition of the villains in this film. It seems it will only play that role for par 3 but it is not clear why Oscorp has to resort to villainy. Is it because of their experiments? Probably. Harry Osborne would not have to resort to becoming the goblin to be a major player in this film. Instead the power plays are done by anonymous characters that are of little consequence.

They have a great story here but it needs to be clearly highlighted who is the one controlling all the strings. Here it is more like everyone finding their way and so the film comes together somewhat by the end. It comes together but it makes it clear that a villain like Electro was not necessary. Rhino would have been a better fit based on the role he plays towards the end.

I thought the romance was hackneyed. It didn’t offer much apart from I love you etc. I understand the issue with the father but when the film starts they are happily in love and then he suddenly breaks up with her; then he follows her around; then they try to be friends; and when there is supposed to be a clean break they say I love you again only for it to end in tragedy.

There was too much crying and teen angst in this film that did not have much of an impact on the film. They were trying to build up towards a release that never occurred apart from the sentiment attached to Gwen stacy. Peter you don’t have to cry for everything.