Film: Amazing Spider-man 2

I think I’m in the rare minority who actually preferred the first Amazing Spider-man to the films created by Sam Raimi. Andrew Garfield was to me the perfect embodiment of Peter Parker, funny and weird in equal measure, being just as likely to mock a bad guy as he is to beat the crap out of him. Emma Stone was also a fantastic love interest, playing well off Garfield and creating such a believable romance that its not hard to see why the two became a couple in real life. However the film did suffer in some regards, particularly when it became bogged down with the mystery of what happened to Peter’s parents. It also introduced elements such as the hunt for Uncle Ben’s killer which were seemingly just completely forgotten about. 

Unfortunately this sequel also suffers from an overstuffed plot which attempts to balance Spidey’s confrontation with Electro, the Peter and Gwen romance, the Parker mystery (I know, again!), the rise of the Green Goblin as well as the introduction of other members of the sinister six. Not surprisingly it struggles to maintain all these stories even with an extended running time and in an attempt to cover everything the film feels rushed and rough around the edges.

One thing that thankfully the Webb movies continue to do perfectly is bring Peter Parker to life on screen, Andrew Garfield captures the fun of the character while also keeping him weird and nerdy. From the first time he appears on screen it seems like he’s leapt right out of the comic book - mocking lunatics with machine guns, saving lives and even stopping to help out little bullied children. The primary message of the film is hope, it being easy to believe that this Spider-man gives hope to the people he protects. The final scene of the film in particular uses this to great effect, seeing a small child being inspired by Spidey to believe that he too can be a hero.

The relationship between Peter and Gwen is another highlight, exploring the effects of what it must be like to date a superhero, especially one as neurotic as Spider-man can be. Emma Stone brings a real fieriness to Gwen, a woman who refuses to simply be the damsel in distress or have her life shaped by her boyfriend. Gwen controls her own life and is a hero in her own right, without needing to don a spandex suit. She almost feels like a critique of many the superhero girlfriend who just exist to be kidnapped by villains, which actually makes it quite impactful when in her final scene this is what she’s reduced to by the Green Goblin.

New villain Electro starts off in an intriguing way, he’s a pathetic loner who after being saved by Spider-man becomes obsessed with him, Jamie Foxx playing up both the comical and sad sides of his character to great effect. This changes dramatically after he gains his powers, when he becomes a lame, catchphrase spouting villain with only his dubstep fuelled mind keeping him separated from the thousands of other villains out there. His characterisation can best be summed up as chronic neediness, all his actions being the result of him wanting to be noticed. To be fair this is a bit better than the general villain wanting to destroy the world but his plan to shut down the power grid as some sort of ill explained revenge for Oscorp stealing his designs makes no sense - and kind of leaves you with a headache if you try to rationalise it.

Dane DeHaan joins the series bringing Harry Osborn into the mix, his portrayal of Harry as someone destroyed by his father’s constant put downs and lack of love creates a villain that we can actually feel for. He’s just desperate to find a cure for the illness that killed his father and is slowly killing him too, taking things too far in his desire to survive. This story is one of the more rushed of the film and introduces its most frustrating element - the Special Projects division at Oscorp. You see when Norman Osborn was trying to cure his illness he had created or tracked down (it’s not entirely sure which) certain technologies which he believed could keep him alive, these technologies being representative of many of Spider-man’s greatest enemies including Doctor Octopus and Vulture. So in the midst of the big battle between Spider-man and Electro Harry just throws on the Green Goblin outfit, which of course comes complete with the glider and all his gadgets. It’s just such a lazy way to establish all these villains in time for a future Spider-man movie that pits the hero against the Sinister Six and almost ruins the film entirely.

The Parker mystery in particular is reintroduced without offering much in the way of new information, feeling like one of those weird ‘secret origin’ story lines that comics through out every once in a while. It clearly has a purpose in the story, to establish that Peter and only Peter could have become Spider-man from the spider bite as opposed to it being a random occurrence, but this could have and should have been covered in the last film. I’m sure I’m not alone in that origin stories are hardly my favourite part of a superhero’s story, generally films get them out of the way in the first instalment allowing for a second film that can just jump right into the action. However for some reason this film chooses to open on what happened to Peter’s parents, just as the last film did, creating a sense of deja-vu. After we get through this lame opening, we are reintroduced to Peter Parker having a blast being Spider-man, which would have been the perfect way to start the film. I really hope they put the mystery to rest in this film as its something we need to overrun the trilogy.

The film’s big showdowns are quite impressive, particularly the first encounter between Spider-man and Electro which quickly establishes him as a real threat when he is able to disable one of Peter’s web shooters forcing him to think differently about how to take down the villain. The final battle between Spidey and Goblin makes good use of its cramped clock tower setting, making for a very close combat battle. 

While the main cast put in near perfect performances of the classic comic book characters, the film is dragged down by a story that tries to do too much at once. When you realise that Sony plan to release a Sinister Six movie as their next film it becomes all too clear that the villains are being forced into existence through the Special Projects program, leaving a bitter taste in the mouth. At the end of the day no matter how good a superhero he also needs strong villains to play against. This film fails to give him that in the form of a lame Electro and a rushed version of Green Goblin. A third Amazing Spider-man outing needs to bring the same fun portrayal of its hero while finally giving him a convincing villain to fight against.