The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
When New York is put under siege by Oscorp, it is up to Spider-Man to
save the city he swore to protect as well as his loved ones.
Director:Marc Webb
Stars:Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx | See full cast and crew »
Storyline
We've always known that Spider-Man's most important conflict has been
within himself: the struggle between the ordinary obligations of Peter
Parker and the extraordinary responsibilities of Spider-Man. But in The
Amazing Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker finds that his greatest battle is
about to begin. It's great to be Spider-Man. For Peter Parker, there's
no feeling quite like swinging between skyscrapers, embracing being the
hero, and spending time with Gwen. But being Spider-Man comes at a
price: only Spider-Man can protect his fellow New Yorkers from the
formidable villains that threaten the city. With the emergence of
Electro, Peter must confront a foe far more powerful than he. And as his
old friend, Harry Osborn, returns, Peter comes to realize that all of
his enemies have one thing in common: Oscorp. Written by
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Movie Reviews:
The
Amazing Spider-Man 2 is more of the same from director Marc Webb. It's a
good thing that I didn't pay to see it. Because of the film's marketing
campaign and the trailers I was, for some time, looking forward to
seeing this sequel. But what I saw was almost as bland and unengaging as
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). As was the case with the first film, the
trailers for the sequel made it seem much better than it actually is.
It's a cheat in a way. One of the three supervillains in the trailers
isn't even an important character in the film. All the action scenes in
the film were featured in the trailers. Yes, there's a shortage of
action. The actions scenes are few and far between. There's also nothing
particularly impressive about them. Director Sam Raimi did the same
thing a decade earlier and he did it much better. In addition he made
the action scenes lengthy, something that Webb still isn't capable of
doing. But Webb's inexperience (or is it a lack of talent?) is evident
not only in the action. It's evident in the way he directs actors. We've
heard enough about Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone being a couple. But
does this make a difference in the film? It makes little difference
really. The featured romance is typical for a superhero film. It makes
you feel little for the couple, something that becomes much too obvious
during an important scene. The screenplay by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci
and Jeff Pinkner doesn't impress. At times it's poorly written. It
doesn't help the romance or the proceedings. It doesn't make the
characters interesting. It's formulaic. It contains unnecessary parts.
These parts are a burden on the film's running time, which is 2 hours
and 22 minutes. Yet we still get two underdeveloped and unmemorable
supervillains. We get to know their motivations but we don't really get
to know anything else about them. This is a fault of the screenplay.
Jamie Foxx (Electro) and Dane DeHaan (Green Goblin) don't provide good
performances with Webb's direction. In fact, the performances and even
the film itself seem cartoonish at times. Also, for a film with such a
large budget ($255 million), the CGI looks surprisingly underdeveloped
in some scenes. There's just a lack of style in these Spider-Man movies
by Marc Webb. If it wasn't for Andrew Garfield playing Peter Parker it
would have been a chore to sit through this film. It's not all bad
though. Sometimes the actors manage to brighten up a scene. There are
some genuinely funny audience-friendly bits. A good electronic score by
Hans Zimmer & The Magnificent Six is a bit of an improvement over
James Horner's orchestral score for the first film. But at a time when
Marvel and Disney are releasing one solid superhero film after another
this aimless Spider-Man reboot by Columbia seems primitive. The Amazing
Spider-Man 2 is only a minor improvement over the first film. Take my
advice and don't see it in a movie theater. Don't get duped for a second
time.
