The Amazing Spider-Man 2…huh…hmmm…what to say about this film. Usually my reviews consist of some overall opinion such as “I love this film” or “It’s a good film with some flaws” or “I absolutely loathe it,” but Amazing Spider-Man 2 makes generalizing fairly difficult. To start with, the film has flaws; and I don’t mean a few minor ones, I mean dozens ranging from minor to major…yet I still enjoyed it. So then it’s a guilty pleasure right? Well, no because (despite what you may have heard) there IS some good content throughout Amazing Spider-Man 2 that even improves upon the first Amazing Spider-Man. Plus, there’s a certain scene that stands above and alone the rest of the film. So screw it, I’m going rouge and changing up my reviewing format; here’s what I’m calling:
The Amazing Spider-Man 2: The Good, the Stupid, and the Amazing
Where I point out film content that worked, failed, and was splendidly well done in complete MAJOR SPOILER fashion. (So readers beware if you haven’t seen The Amazing Spider-Man 2 yet).
The Good:
- The comedy can be pretty good, and has its unexpected moments of hilarity; most of which comes from or at the expense of Peter Parker (props goes to Andrew Garfield for some well-timed comedic reactions). In particular my favorite comedic scene is with that one overly energetic cop with the loudspeaker. His reaction to seeing Spider-Man really cracked me up for a while.
- Compared to the first reboot, Spider-Man is much more upbeat and jovial when fighting against villains. The first reboot’s writers seemed to be copying Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight approach; making Spider-Man grittier, dark, and more emotionally tormented. Similar to the Man of Steel approach however, what they failed to realize is how polar opposite Spider-Man and Batman’s characters are (Spider-Man’s nicknames of Amazing, Spectacular, and Friendly Neighborhood don’t really spark the image of dark and gritty); thereby destroying much of the persona Spider-Man’s loved for. Amazing Spider-Man 2 must have realized the error and redesigned him into a more positive, fun-loving version that works much more efficiently…for the most part.
- The relationship between Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker is, for the most part, well done. The chemistry between the two leads has improved since the first film; working well off each other in terms of comedy, romance, and drama. In particular the entire closet scene at Oscorp showcases all these factors quite satisfactorily, being a very cute, funny and sincere scene between them (while ending with an amusingly comical escape scene).
- The internal conflict Peter has between dating Gwen or following her father’s last request of leaving her out of his superhero life. I disliked how easily Peter disregarded the request in the first film; it made him look uncaring towards Captain Stacy’s feeling (even after the man saved Peter’s life). Amazing Spider-Man 2 deals with such a conflict significantly, even giving Peter PTSD-ish visions of Gwen’s father. The conflict is given depth, thought and plays out relatively well…again, for the most part.
The Stupid: (There’s a reason I keep writing “for the most part”)
- About 10 minutes into the film and our lead couple, that the first film spent so much time setting up, break up. I really wanted to see these two as a couple as it brought so many possibilities for interesting plotlines. Yes, they used the father’s last request as the reason (which I still praise for acknowledging), but they could just as easily had Peter conflicted while still dating Gwen! It’s also done so early and out of nowhere that I swear if you slow down the footage you can make out an image of the writers flipping its audience the bird. To add insult to injury, Andrew Garfield over-dramatizes the entire scene; whining at childish levels instead of talking out the situation (at least it’s one of the few times in the film Garfield hams up the scene).
- The entire first fight sequence; all Spider-Man had to do was use his super strength to pull the Russian mafia driver (Paul Giamatti oddly enough) out of the truck, which (if common knowledge applies) would slow the truck to an eventual stop since no one’s pressing the gas. Instead, Spider-Man spends a good several minutes goofing off (a negative example of making him more jovial), despite having the chance of grabbing the driver after he politely rolled down the window for Spider-Man…which also begs the question of WHY the driver would roll down the window in the first place!? As a result the driver crushes several cars; most likely killing many people Spider-Man could have saved. He also nearly kills a bus full of people all because Spider-Man decided to goof off (good job hero).
- Practically every cop in New York is completely useless cannon fodder that can’t do anything without Spider-Man's assistance. Security guards also apply as hopeless; heck, a sick Harry Osborn (who doesn't look as though he’s spent a single day working out) is able to take down two heavily armored guards with a simple Taser. In fact the only group that does anything useful is the fire department when they take down Electro, and even then they seemed somewhat incompetent without Spider-Man’s help.
- The main villain Electro (who strangely looks more similar to Spider-Man’s electric themed villain Shocker than his actual comic book counterpart) has one of the most clichéd backstories I've seen in recent superhero films; it’s essentially: meek, nerdy nobody becomes obsessed with hero, falls into pit of insert fictional mutagen here, gains superpowers and goes from obsessively loving the hero to obsessively wanting to kill him. His transformation from electric eels makes zero sense, especially since it was stated that Oscorp had gotten rid of all openly seen animal hybrid experiments. While I’ll admit his becoming a villain is strangely well done (the voices in his head were an interestingly creepy way of showcasing his growing insanity), his death sequence was anything but that. They spend so much time building up Electro’s character only to give him a swift, hastily done death scene where he’s reduced to ashes and never spoken of again. Electro's the first major villain in a Spider-Man movie to not receive any sort of redemption scene (excluding That 70s Show Venom from Spider-Man 3), despite setting him up to have one; such as having Gwen Stacy getting to know Electro pre-transformation, then appearing at the final confrontation yet not saying a single word to him.
- So many IDIOT MOMENTS! I don’t even know where to begin…why does the man sent after Peter’s dad wash his blood soaked hands RIGHT IN FRONT of him? Why is it that when Oscorp decides to keep Max Dillon’s transformation into Electro secret they leave him all alone in an easily escapable room where he does IN FACT escape easily? How come Gwen’s easily able to figure out how to make Spider-Man’s webs resistant to electricity (through something she learned in elementary school no less) while Peter spends DAYS trying to no avail? How has Aunt May NOT figured out Peter Parker is Spider-Man yet!? I mean how dense can you be; your nephew washes clothes (which he refuses to show you) that turns everything red and blue (while claiming he was washing the American Flag) and constantly comes home dirty and beat up with the excuse that he was cleaning the house’s non-existent chimney. Why didn't Spider-Man pull the Russian driver out when he had the chance (I know I already mentioned the scene but it’s REALLY annoys me)!?
The Amazing: (AKA Major Spoiler)
- So, I knew well before the first Amazing Spider-Man of Gwen Stacy’s fate; practically anyone who’s a fan of the comics knew it. It was bound to happen, it was only a question of which movie; unfortunately I happened upon two very loud people who unintentionally spoiled that it was indeed Amazing Spider-Man 2 where Gwen meets her untimely demise…about a week before I saw it. A funny thing about film moments however: if well-crafted and created with care, all the spoilers in the world can’t take away from its greatness; and these were some very, very, well-crafted moments. I find from the instant Harry grabs Gwen to the montage of Peter at her grave to be wonderfully constructed and made. It’s weird though, because the scene feels so out of place with the rest of film’s goofy, popcorn-flick atmosphere (as if it was made by a completely different group). There’s such stunning cinematography, pacing, and emotion placed into such a heartbreaking moment of Peter’s life. It’s a tragically beautiful part of the film; so unlike and far-surpassing of any other scene. I love the balanced mix of slow motion with fast pacing, how touching it was to see Peter’s web outstretch like a hand desperately reaching for Gwen, and how painful it was to see Gwen’s head hit the floor a second too late to be saved. Andrew Garfield’s emotional breakdown is surprisingly genuine without becoming overdone, with the music beautifully reflecting its situation all the way to the montage of Peter’s grief where its composition powerfully enhances the atmosphere. Despite knowing full well what was going to happen, the scene still hit strong; I’d go so far as to say it’s the most powerful scene in any Spider-Man film as of yet!