Review of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) by Bosconian87 — 06 Sep 2014

I have just put myself through a marathon this week of the Amazing Spiderman movies as I hadn't seen them, and where I enjoyed the first one, and acknowledge how solid it is, I also felt that it was unspectacular as well - a great setup for sure, but it didn't really take any risks, and suffered for it a little.

With number 2, its obvious that Director Marc Webb had to push the ante, by not only moving the story to what we will eventually see, but also moving the story to its logical 'cliffhanger' questions that will be answered when The Amazing Spiderman 3 and The Sinister Six arrive on the big screen. All this no doubt was a herculean task, and sadly, Webb, didn't get it all quite right. But did he come close!!

Let me get the criticisms out of the way first: Electro isn't given the due screentime to explain himself fully - if it was really that hard, why not just have him arrive, and do a montage of events explaining his past and the moment of Electro's creation? I can accept that ultimately he's not the main event of the movie (I'll get to that), but surely if you're going to give a little, explain yourself? And then there's the fact that we're supposed to just accept that Peter Parker and Harry Osborn are good friends, just like that, when it wasn't even broached-upon in the first movie? Okay, I'm nitpicking here I know, and maybe its a fault of the first movie - but hey, at least a little continuity please?

So lets get to the good points - the relationship between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy is the main point of this whole movie, and whereas such a move has failed in past superhero movies, here it soars. It was enough to pass a blind eye to the faults I've mentioned above, and actually recognize, that this film is trying to do something different. And then there's stirling support from Dane DeHaan, who puts a wicked spin on a well-known villain to great effect. Its really evident of everyone in the movie, that for all its faults, that it does work so well. And then there's the special effects - somebody has actually thought about them, for goodness sake!! As a last point of good, having seen the deleted scenes on the Blu-Ray, Marc Webb left out a lot (including a certain character), and I say good to him - had he included them, this movie would not have been so effective, and if anything, any emotional investment would have been met with a bucket of cold water.

And there you have it - watch this film and know that whilst its not perfect, and its a conduit from an introduction to something much bigger, and you'll have a blast. Its very good for all its flaws, and not as bad as many would make you believe.