CookieKid's Review of The Amazing Spider Man 2

So yesterday I went  to the AMC premiere of ASM2 in Texas. 
First, let me say that the movie is worth the money if you don't know the ending going into it. If you're a comic book reader and know that Gwen Stacy is going to fall to her death then it's not worth the money. Before I get into that though...

What I Liked:
The action. First scene in the movie you're jammed right in the middle of a battle between Richard and Mary Parker and an assasain sent to kill them while on a airplane. That scene felt like something right out of a Bond film and the action from Spider-Man himself is nothing to sneeze at. Garfield makes Spider-Man look like anyone could pull it off. Despite using a CGI Spidey in some scenes, Garfield still impresses me in this role. He manages to mix hardcore action with comedy that doesn't feel out of place or unneccesary.  Electro's scenes were, in my opinion, the best because he kept you guessing with all the different range of emotions that Foxx's character goes through you cannever really pinpoint how he'll react to a specific situation.

Second thing I liked about the movie was the story. ASM2 had a heavy load. They were adapting the death of Gwen Stacy to film, which is one of the best and underrated Spidey storylines that shape who he is as a person. I like the subtle changes they did for the movie like Electro not having that god-awful starfish mask and Rhino having a mechanical suit. All these changes and the most notable as far as story-wise is from Harry Osbourne played by Dane DeHaan. So, in this film Harry's father suffers from a disease that basically has the same effect of smoking crystal meth (in a nutshell). Norman, trying to both motivate and somewhat demean his son, tells him that the disease is genetic and points out several symptoms Harry already suffers from. This suceeds in making Harry a sympathetic villain while also tying him to Spider-Man, as he needs Spideys blood to cure himself. Harry nontheless gets control of Oscorp. once his father dies. Max Dillion became Electro before Norman actually died, so Oscorp., without Harry's knowledge covers it up and basically kicks Harry out of office.  Harry fetches Electro so he can take control of his company and Electro can have Spider-Man, who refused to give Harry Osbourne his blood due to the fact that Spidey's blood might make his condition worse. Harry finds the Green Goblin suit that Felicia, his assistant spoke of earlier. Instead of curing him, they transform him into a hideous, goblin-like creature at the cost of his sanity. Harry sees Spider-Man with Gwen Stacy and puts together that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. He then kidnaps Gwen and drops her. A fight between GG and Spider-Man occurs while Gwen is falling to her death. Several attempts are made by Spider-Man to save her but when he finally catches her it is too late and she hits the concrete, killing her. Great emotion in that scene by the way, the theater I attended was dead silent during Stacy's fall, a collective gasp whe nshe hit the concrete, and a room full of sobs during Garfield's tearful scene. 

What I Didn't Like:
The movie somewhat lacks the in-universe style that the original trilogy had. We still haven't seen the Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson or anyone or anything like that. Green Goblin must've got about twenty minutes tops in the movie. There's been talks about bringing Gwen back through the Carnage storyline.Gwen should stay dead and have the S6 and third ASM movie focus on Peter's quest for the truth about his parents. No problem introducing Black Cat or MJ but no serious relationship should happen until the fourth movie.. By the way, the next film needs to show J. Jonah Jameson already as they put a little emphasis on him in ASM2. That being said, we as viewers can finally journey inside the Daily Bugle and meet some important characters to Spider Man like Betty Brant. With Peter's talk of the Bugle in ASM2 if they continue to not show it then it will start to feel like Peter is making up this job simply to put off Aunt May from knowing he's Spider Man. Good film overall but they might be heading into X-Men territory with unanswered questions and flaws from previous movies. I was personally not moved by Gwen Stacy's death but I did notice that in the theater I went to there was utter silence and then a collective gasp as soon as she hit the ground so I figured they must have done something right as far as that goes. The suspense was great in that scene as even I (who knew the ending) was on the edge of my seat either waiting for Spider-Man to catch Stacy or for her to fall to her death. Movie definitely felt rushed but they should be able to answer all the unanswered questions in the next one. As far as the actions of the characters it was very much like a B Horror Movie for me like "Why would he go there?" and "Just get out of the way" type moments. Overall great film and I hope there's alot more in the future. I also love how Electro was randomly accompanied by dubstep.

In The End:
It all comes down to if you that Gwen Stacy dies. If you have a friend and they have no idea that Gwen Stacy dies then recommend it but if you know Stacy dies in this film then just watch it on DVD when it comes out or something. This is strictly set-up for the Sinister Six movie by the end and you will miss nothing if you already know the ending. Hope you enjoyed the review.