When Sony’s plans to reboot the beloved Spider-Man franchise were first announced, reactions were mixed to say the least. Some saw it as an early yet necessary reboot in order to remain in keeping with the tonal change of comic-book films in recent years as well as to distance the franchise from the infamous Spider-Man 3; while others saw it as nothing more than the studio’s blatant and obligatory means of retaining the rights to the iconic character (which is true). Despite these concerns “The Amazing Spider-Man” received generally positive reception and now with the release the awaited sequel Sony are eager to prove that they plan to keep the rights to this character for quite some time.
There is no doubt that the studio have far-reaching plans for this rebooted franchise, including sequels and spin-offs that are sure to spark box-office buzz. And this is incredibly obvious when given the amount of content that has been put into this film to either tell the story at hand or set-up for future films. This is where the biggest issue of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” becomes apparent; there is simply too much going on for one stand alone film. In terms of plot, we follow Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) experiencing the highs and lows of being Spider-Man whilst struggling to maintain a relationship with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) as well as fighting emerging villains including Electro (Jamie Foxx), his childhood friend Harry Osborne (Dane Dehaan) and for a brief segment the Rhino (Paul Giamatti). With even more on top of this, the screenplay is simply unable to give all of these elements the focus they deserve resulting in multiple character arcs and plot points feeling rushed or underwhelming.
“We have plans for you…”
This is interesting because after the famously disappointing “Spider-Man 3” you would think the studio will have learned their lesson from putting too much content in one film. However what added insult to injury in “Spider-Man 3” was the fact that it was the last in that particular run of the franchise and so we were never going to see more of Venom or the other rushed elements; that is clearly not the case here. And so it can be argued that while the creative team may be throwing far too much into this film, it is being done with foresight and planning for future films that was not present during the production of “Spider-Man 3”. Whether these decisions are being made with the interests of the characters and story at heart or with simply making a profit are debatable and whether they will actually pay off with strong quality, even more so.
Despite the excessive content here, to say that every aspect of the film is of poor quality is simply not true as there are a number of strong elements here that deserve to be credited. Firstly, the handling of the character of Peter Parker/Spider-Man is very well done here. While in the previous film the character was all over the place in many ways, coming across as a distant outcast with no reason to be; but now as he has embraced his Spider-Man lifestyle, the character’s behaviour and attitude makes a lot of sense and it is a delight to watch. From the second scene in the film it is clear that the writers as well as Marc Webb and Andrew Garfield have a clear understanding of the essence of the original comic-book character and the film captures it in a way that the Sam Raimi trilogy did not. Spider-Man was always intended to be the wise cracking teenage superhero, not necessarily a perfect character who clearly understands right from wrong but one that does his best to apprehend criminals, save the innocent and have fun doing it. This is portrayed brilliantly thanks to some fast, funny and effective dialogue that Andrew Garfield delivers flawlessly. The jury is still out on whether he is a better Peter Parker than Tobey Maguire yet few can deny how well suited he is for the role here.
Garfield and Stone have chemistry that is unmatched in today’s comic-book adaptations.
The same amount of credit deserves to go to the extremely well done romance between Peter and Gwen Stacy. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone share some incredible chemistry that few actors could achieve. While this was present in the previous film, the romance itself in “The Amazing Spider-Man” did not seem to develop that much, the couple started with making googly eyes at each other and the film ended with them making googly eyes at each other. Here, their relationship is explored, tested and moved forward in an effective and relatively believable way. Due to his directorial debut being “500 Days of Summer”, Webb is clearly most comfortable behind the camera when directing these intimate scenes. The result is a romance that is leaps and bounds over the awkward and at times infuriating romance between Peter and Mary-Jane from the original trilogy. However, as strong as Webb’s capabilities as a director are when it comes to the intimate and romantic moments, he is also required to deliver the big comic-book action scenes and villains that are inherent with superhero films and unfortunately, this is where much of the film’s problems stem from.
“You lied to me!”
The main villain that dominates much of the film here is clearly Max Dillon/Electro. As the studio is trying to avoid giving the audience a sense of deja vu, it makes sense that the creative team have decided to bring to life the “Spider-Man” villains that have not been brought to the screen before; with the previous film focusing on The Lizard and this film having Electro. However the unfortunate fact is that Electro contributed barely anything to the film as far as the plot is concerned. On paper, the plan to make Electro a more sympathetic villain could work but in practise that is simply not the case. While at first the character of Max Dillon does come across as believably obsessed with Spider-Man to a sympathetic degree and is played rather well by Jamie Foxx; but once the obligatory comic-book transformation incident occurs, the character morphs into the traditional villain archetype far too quickly and it is never indicated that he is a victim of his condition which seemed to be the intended concept. His sudden hate for Spider-Man also comes across as rushed unbelievable. This is made worse by the fact that Electro seems to only exist in order to give way to a small number of set-piece action sequences throughout the film as well as deliver some awful lines of dialogue that would be better suited in the likes of “Batman and Robin”. Despite his plentiful screen-time, the character could effectively be removed from the film and the overall framework of the plot would be untouched. The only real contribution the villain makes is his brief assistance to Harry Osborne towards the third act of the film.
It was the story surrounding the character of Harry Osborne that should have been made the main focus of the film. Given how clear the trailers have been making it, it is no spoiler to say that the character of Harry takes his steps to becoming the iconic Green Goblin villain in this film. The potential here is undeniable as Harry is introduced as an old childhood friend of Peter’s and so the opportunity for an interesting and complex character dynamic is clearly on the table; yet the screenplay does not make the most of the opportunity. When the two characters meet at first, Garfield’s and Dehaan’s performances are very believable and the characters do genuinely come across as old friends yet in the midst of everything else going on in this overcrowded plot, the pair do not get enough time together to evoke a genuinely concerned reaction from the audience when their friendship gets complicated. Much like Electro’s character, Harry’s development into a villain is painfully rushed and fails to give the impact that was intended. This is made worse by the fact that it is the actions of Harry that affect the plot and characters the most and the repercussions of these actions will be affecting future sequels; so why the writers decided to give more attention to Electro who contributes little more than a few action sequences to the film, rather than Harry who actually is significant is baffling.
Despite the issues with the character, Dane Dehaan was inspired casting
As the Green Goblin villain has been done in recent memory in the Sam Raimi trilogy, the studio’s reluctance to focus entirely on the villain again here is understandable but it does beg the question of why give him such a significant role in this film? While the character will undoubtedly have an impact on future sequels, more time still needed to be devoted to him here. This is a real shame as Dane Dehaan gives an incredibly strong performance and the potential for an emotional and compelling story arc was clearly in reach.
Paul Giamatti’s character (The Rhino) thankfully has little input here and while it is good that the writers did not introduce another element to the screenplay that was demanding much attention but the character’s presence just seems completely unnecessary. Of course he is in this film to serve as a teaser for his involvement in future films but the character feels like an afterthought that was not at all needed. Yet his involvement is so minimal that his presence does not really become a problem.
Despite the large amount of issues and flaws this film has, it should be noted that much like it’s predecessor it is highly enjoyable. A plus of having so much going on is that the audience will never get bored as there are plenty of funny moments, exhilarating swinging and action scenes and even some hard-hitting and emotional scenes that are sure to keep the audience interested; which is quite an achievement for a 142 minute long film. The entire cast delivers brilliant performances and despite the flawed script, they are all believable as their characters (mostly). It all adds to a highly enjoyable and entertaining film that is not completely defeated by its problems (which are plentiful).
“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is one of those rare films that manages to be fun and enjoyable despite containing numerous flaws. If this run of the franchise wants to improve in quality then a lot of criticisms will need to be responded to but until then, we have a flawed yet enjoyable superhero flick that is worth watching at least once, just don’t expect it to deliver on the “amazing” from its title.
CG Media 