After watching 2012's
The Amazing Spider-Man, I felt underwhelmed and thought the film was mediocre at best. Despite that the sequel is an improvement, unfortunately it's not enough to warrant the convoluted story, and jumbled narrative. Yet again Sony does a terrible marketing job, showing off a majority of the film, whereas I wasn't surprised by the main plotpoints, along with leaving many scenes out on the cutting room floor.
Of course there are some positives with this film, one of them being Andrew Garfield who truly is a great Peter Parker/Spider-Man. And the relationship he has with real life girlfriend Emma Stone really shines here, and even though the little intimate scenes between Peter and Gwen seemed forced, it works for what it's going for. As for the villains, starting off with Max Dillon/Electro portrayed by Jamie Foxx is overly goofy, which I had no problem with. But Electro was supposed to be looked at as a sympathetic character, and I didn't see that. The same can be said for Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn, who does a good job, later leading up to the Green Goblin arc which felt rushed. And for Paul Giamatti as Rhino? He wasn't needed at all, and was way over the top.
The story itself like I said was all over the place, reiterating the "Untold Story" from the original film, diving into the real reason for the disappearance of Peter's parents. But wasn't important, as it didn't really push the movie forward at all. Feeling that it dragged on for too long. Overall it was incomplete to me, and it could've been much better, with it trying to do way too much.
The action was cool, and having some very intriguing visuals. But the main thing that really stood out was the swinging scenes. Seeing Spidey doing all these insane acrobatic moves was fantastic, and looked very realistic. I literally felt like it jumped out the pages of the comics. Hans Zimmer's score was interesting, being able to utilize techno themes for Electro and a very sinister one for the Goblin. But the Spider-Man theme he chose was great, which I catch myself humming from time to time.
Overall
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 isn't great, nor is it bad, it's just ok. And I really don't see myself getting excited for the
Sinister Six and
Venom spin-offs. Marc Webb does what he can, but with what he and Sony have established with this franchise so far, doesn't do much for me.
RATING: 2.5/5