UPDATE: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 - What Are The Critics Saying?

We all know Spider-Man can multitask – those wrist-mounted gizmos fling out the sticky stuff every which way. But can his director? Marc Webb, returning after the last instalment, again shows a better feel for the relationships than he does for juggling all the overlapping story elements. At times, with its many villains, this one veers perilously close to the overplotted trouble zone of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 and Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises: a case of too many crooks spoiling the broth. [3*]

But there's so much more wrong with the film, including some stuff that gets into spoiler-y territory that we won't discuss here. We went into "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" hoping that it would take what worked about the first film and run with it. We left thinking that, if it continues on this downwards curve, we'd avoid future Spider-films like the plague. [D]

Though there are inevitably a few plot inconsistencies and moments where you’re left to scratch your head, seeing as this film is about a man dressed up as a spider, saving people from a scary blue man with electronic powers, you can forgive its fantastical, surrealistic approach. By playing up to such a tone, it makes for a film that’s inherently good fun and a more than worthy trip to the cinema. Ultimately, that’s what truly matters where blockbusters are concerned – making this particular picture something of a success. [4*]

Despite the uneven nature of the whole endeavour, praise needs to go to Garfield for holding it all together. He's more at ease in the role than Tobey Maguire ever was, and manages to nail the big moments when called upon. He's an absolute revelation as this character. Peter's past, present and future all intertwine in a sequel that offers bang for your buck but with all that said, you can't help feel the franchise bean counters at work here thanks to all the ominous foreshadowing and unresolved character arcs. Too many cooks and all that... [3*]