Minor Spoilers Unless Noted Otherwise
This review may be late, but this one is mine. I went into this movie thinking it would be an utter train-wreck, and just the thought of that makes me really upset. Upset enough to cry? Well, no, but pretty close. The reason for that is because I am a massive Spider-Man fan. I always thought of him as not only my favorite comic book character of all time, but a huge inspiration and a major part of my life, especially my childhood. I felt that Spider-Man 3 was such a huge mistake, but it could have been the greatest CBM of all time. Instead of saying how it could have been better, I'll just say that the final product made me ready for a reboot. I was actually looking forward to Marc Webb's take on the character. I didn't mind that they were starting over from the beginning for basically two reasons. The first is because Spider-Man has such an "amazing" origin that I would love to see someone else's interpretation of it, and the second reason is because it would give the franchise a fresh start.
The movie sucked. I was wrong, and I was so disappointed that this didn't work out. So when they announced the sequel, I was looking forward to seeing how they could improve, being the optimistic person I am. Over time, though, I realized how big of a mess this movie could be. In the end, was it really as bad as I had thought?
I'd probably start by talking about one of the things that was praised about the movie. Peter and Gwen's relationship. The actors and the crew, along with the fans that saw the movie, constantly talked about how much their relationship was heartfelt, full of emotion, and really beautiful. I would say that I agree, and I kind of do, since it feels like a great relationship. However, many of the scenes they are in feel like they are missing something. What could that something be? Oh, yeah, that's right... GOOD DIALOGUE. Some of the earliest scenes in the movie were good, especially the times when Peter feels guilt about his decision to be with Gwen, but once he makes up his mind and decides to be with her, their relationship turns into something from a teen drama. Some of the moments were emotional, yes, but this is a Spider-Man movie, not something from a Disney Channel made-for-TV-movie. But even though they share some great moments together, Peter still comes off as being a jerk to Gwen. The term on-again-off-again is really prominent in the movie. They are literally being together for some of the movie, and being not together. Peter keeps pushing her away, only to want her back later. It's not really a relationship that should be looked upon by young teens, which is what this movie feels like it's aiming for.
I thought that Garfield was absolutely terrible in the first movie, especially in most of his scenes with Aunt May and Uncle Ben and with Gwen's family, but there were still moments that showed he was able to improve. I thought he was decent in Lions for Lambs, and I knew he could get better as Peter Parker. Honestly, he actually did improve significantly, although he was still pretty stale in the role. As for his Spider-Man, the way he talks is just so annoying. I love the way the voice is done in (most of) the TV Shows and Video Games he appears in, and his voice was decent in Raimi's movie, but Garfield just does NOT have the voice for Spidey. I can't hear half of what he says, and it just sounds so... un-heroic, if you catch my drift. Emma Stone also improved a lot in her role, and is perhaps one of the best cast members of any Spider-Man film. Word. As for Sally Field, I felt that she did a horrible job as Aunt May in the first movie. After seeing this, I realized it wasn't her that was bad, but just the script. She was one of the greatest parts of the movie, and her scenes with Garfield was amazing. Just. Amazing. Those scenes made Garfield look half decent! There were two scenes specifically she had with Garfield that stood out most.
As for villains... *Sigh* I don't know where to begin. I really don't. I'll start with Electro I guess. Max Dillon was written terribly. He was supposed to be a comic relief, but he was just simply not funny. If anyone other than Jamie Foxx had played Electro, I would have hated it more. Foxx did a great job with what he had. As Electro, I thought Foxx was phenomenal, but unfortunately the character was handled poorly. He was basically a side-kick to Dane DeHaan's Harry Osborn. Electro had some good dialogue with Spidey, but most of it was stupid. I completely understand his motivation, I just think it's stupid. He is evil because no one could remember him, which quite frankly is idiotic. The thing that was pretty decent about it though was the fact that he was shown to be a little... insane... before even becoming Electro. Some of the stuff Dillon does is a little psychotic, and at least that makes his motivations made a little bit of sense. A little.
I'll say that I was really excited, yet disappointed, when Electro was announced as the main villain. Why? Well, I was really looking forward to finally seeing Spidey use his intellect. Realistically, Spidey shouldn't beat Electro with just his fists since Electro is so powerful. It would take Spidey's brilliant mind to come up with a way to defeat him. It had potential to be the first time we really see Peter Parker as a true genius. So why was I disappointed? Because deep down I knew Sony would mess up.
And they did. Sony took an amazing opportunity and through it away. I don't want to see Spidey face a physical threat. We saw that many times now! I want to see his intellect come to good use. But they failed! Big time! Spider-Man tried to enhance his Web-Shooters so that they wouldn't malfunction when facing Electro. But instead we get a terrible montage where Spidey experiments on his Web-Shooters by watching a series of Youtube videos for CHILDREN on what electricity is!!! WHAT THE HELL?! Then, it ends with a "humorous" (actually quite terrible) moment where his web catches on fire and he puts it out only for it to re-spark again seconds later and he puts it out again. This is a joke I'd expect to find in a children's show. Eventually, Gwen is the one that help Spidey beat Electro. I have no more words on the subject, so let's move on.
Let's talk about Harry Osborn, played by Dane DeHaan. I said this many times before the movie came out and I will say it again. He is not needed in this movie. DeHaan did a pretty good job at playing Harry, especially the way he shows madness slowly develop over time. Like Electro, I completely understand Harry's motivations. I get it completely, and it makes total sense. But it just doesn't work. His motivation has so much flaws. I get what he is doing and why he is doing it, but it just doesn't make any sense. (Highlight Text For SPOILERS) Harry wants to take Spidey's blood because it will cure his disease. This disease also killed his father, who tells him that Harry will develop symptoms by this age. I don't understand why he tries so hard to take Spidey's blood, and even goes far enough that he would break Electro out of prison, when he has the rest of his life to find a new cure. Earlier in the movie we saw a young Norman, and by young, I mean he was at least in his forties. This means that Harry won't start getting deathly ill for at least thirty-forty years. Why in such a hurry? He's head of OsCorp now, so he has lots of funding for research. FLAWLESS PLAN THERE, EH?!(End Spoilers)
Finally there is Rhino. Bad design. Bad acting. Bad accent. Bad character. Moving on...
Overall, the villains didn't work. Rhino was hardly in it, and Electro and Gobby Boy weren't given a good enough balance. Gobby Boy wasn't needed at all, and they would have been better off keeping Harry Osborn as the secondary villain without him ever transforming. It wasn't needed at all. All the cameos in the movie didn't work either. They didn't need Smythe or Felicia. They could have called them Ray and Lisa and it would have made absolutely no difference. Then there is Dr. Kafka who isn't needed and could have been easily blended with Colm Feore's character. They were not needed, and honestly they should have been cut from the movie instead of some of the key scenes from the trailers (such as the "question of the day" scene, Mary Jane's entire role, Norman Osborn's talk to Peter saying that "we have plans for you" and "not everybody has a happy ending," and a few others).
Next is something that really disappoints me. Comedy. One thing I didn't like much about the Raimi movies is that Spidey doesn't make jokes like he did constantly in the comics. Then with The Amazing Spider-Man, he made jokes, but they were awful and unfunny. This movie did NOT do any better in making some funny jokes. There were only four scenes at my theater that produced laughter, and they weren't even that funny, really. The first is the scene I mentioned above with the Web-Shooters, the second is the Chimney scene, the third is when Spidey's phone rings while he is trying to stop the truck, and the fourth is when Aleksei gets pantsed.
There are moments in the film that are clearly meant to be funny. You can tell that based on the way there are breaks in between lines for laughter. Compare this to a movie like Avengers, where the jokes don't feel forced and even the jokes that aren't trying to be that funny are actually funny. As I mentioned before, Rhino's accent is terrible, and so is Dr. Kafka's, and it makes me think that maybe they were trying to make that funny. Regardless of if they made their accents bad on purpose for comedic reasons or the actors really don't have a clue what they are doing, it is still so bad that is makes me think it's a parody movie. Most of the "jokes" in the movie are cringe-worthy and don't deserve to be in a Spider-Man movie.
One other problem I had with the movie is the music. TWICE within ten minutes was a montage of Peter either investigating what happened with his parents or trying to Electro-proof his Web-Shooters. Just like the last movie, we see him use the internet to find answers through montage, which is a great example of ways Marc Webb has raped Spider-Man. Then there is the Spider-Ma theme being Peter's ringtone, which I will admit is a nice nod, but then they go and have his phone ring to that beat about five times, and then it becomes unnecessary. Then finally, Electro beats up Spidey by having him bounce around the city to the tune of Incy Wincy Spider. GOD!!!
And how about Hans Zimmer's score? Total bust! Instead of a nice simple tune like in The Dark Knight, Inception, or Man of Steel, we get overly campy tunes and annoying songs, and let's not forget the "voices" Electro hears. It's like the soundtrack is talking to me subliminally. Spidey's theme is actually not bad during it's first appearance, but then we hear it constantly throughout the movie and it gets annoying. It's like a video game soundtrack that make you so mad you MUTE THE TV and turn subtitles on just so that you don't need to hear the score.
As for the story... oi. The movie doesn't really have one consistent story, which is a big problem. We pretty much find out exactly what went on with Peter's parents, which is a good thing because now we won't be bored with that stupid plot point in the sequel (hopefully). Harry Osborn/Gobby Boy and Electro both have their own introductions and conclusions, and his relationship with Gwen covers ever aspect of their relationship that will ever need to be brought up. The Sinister Six is of course mentioned, and I will honestly admit that they set it up better than I thought. The final few minutes of the movie explain why the Six is there, and it makes a lot of sense.
The web-swinging is great. The opening swing is a lot better than the final swings in Spider-Man 1, 2, and The Amazing Spider-Man, and it is visually sensational. The "belly shot" of him swinging was really lame though, and it would have been really cool to see more first-person web-swinging, but instead we were left with just a single first-person shot. As for costumes, Spider-Man is absolutely perfect. They couldn't have done his costume any better, and I will be really mad if they change it significantly for the sequel. Electro looks really cool in stills, but in action he looks awkward. He was cool in his original sweater, but his costume looked odd. Gobby Boy and Rhino both looked like trash. Gobby Boy's suit actually made sense within the film though, but the scene of his transformation was terrible. He went from being normal Harry to being fully suited up Gobby Boy in less than two minutes. That was an utter failure.
A few other quick comments. I loved how they made Spidey seem more of a hero. The scenes he shared with the kid was truly emotional, and perhaps one of the greatest parts of any Spider-Man movie. Some of the action was really good. The first fight with Electro was great, and could have been better if it wasn't for the writers being lazy and finding an easy way to end the scene. Spidey's second battle with Electro had some cool shots, but ended way too quick. He never got to have a good fight with Electro. His battle with Gobby Boy was really quick. It was just some dialogue, followed by a twenty second chase, followed by more dialogue, then a minute of random fighting, then the scene ended. The opening fight scene with Aleksei Sytsevich was pretty cool, and the final battle with Rhino was too short, yet at the same time I'm glad they didn't make it any longer because that meant having to withstand the awfulness that was Rhino's design.
With a great cast, great special effects, and a few good moments throughout, combined with a poorly thought out story, incredibly cheesy moments, and terrible execution of many of it's scenes, Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is simply a visually great movie ruined by a lackluster story, which is sad because it definitely had some potential. While not the worst Spider-Man movie to date, Marc Webb and the gang must definitely step up their game for the sequel in order to revive the franchise.
Following the complicated process of Abary's epic scale of movie grading, I give this movie:
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"In “The Amazing Spider-Man™ 2,” for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), life is busy – between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen (Emma Stone), high school graduation can’t come quickly enough. Peter hasn’t forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen’s father to protect her by staying away – but that’s a promise he just can’t keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro (Jamie Foxx), emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past. The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & Jeff Pinkner, with a previous draft by James Vanderbilt, and based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are the producers. The latest chapter in the Spider-Man story is set for release in 3D on May 2, 2014."
Starring Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane Watson, Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon/Electro, Sally Fields as Aunt May, Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn, and Paul Giamatti as Aleksei Sytsevich/The Rhino, you can check out Marc Webb's THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 when it hits US theaters May 2nd, 2014.