Review of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) by Sean L — 26 Jul 2015

A confused, overstuffed follow-up effort that's strangely empty, given the classic stories inside. *ASM2* plays like a very good, well-intentioned script that was watered down and padded by too many cooks in the producers' kitchen. That leads to a rough, inconsistent tone, which often parades directly from one plucky bit of light banter straight into a dark, brooding, heavy plot development, then back again. Imagine if Adam West's Batman had rounded a corner in the 1960s and stumbled into Jack Nicholson's Joker parade from the first Tim Burton movie.

It's a wasted effort from Andrew Garfield, who's as close as we've had to a perfect rendition of the wisecracking Spidey everyone knows from the comics. His rendition of Peter Parker could still use some work, feeling a bit too "bro" for me, but a strong, essential bond with Emma Stone - his Gwen Stacy - smooths over most of those ruffles. Jamie Foxx is a puzzling choice as his main foil, too, in a limp-wristed role that's more pitiable than fearsome. Still, they march him out to a climactic fight scene, which rings as hollow and meaningless as the rest of his arc. More wasted acting chops.

The film can be a visual treat, especially when we're sailing through the skies on a zipline and Spidey's contorting his body into all manner of inhuman poses, ripped straight from the glossy covers. During the heat of battle, though, heavy doses of strobe, shakycam and jump-cuts can make it downright painful to keep up. I wanted to like this much more than I actually did. In all sorts of ways, it feels so much more authentic and grounded than the four efforts that came before, but it tries to do too much, drastically changing speeds and moods far too often. Let's start over again, I guess.