Today I managed to watch The Amazing Spider-Man 2. I will start this review by going through the bad and then moving onto the good, letting you guys know what I thought of this latest installment !
First off, I was not exceptionally blown away by the villains in this film. Dane Deehan and Jamie Foxx do well with what they are given but there is not nearly enough time spent developing them as true villains. I would like to point out that Deehan in particular was a stand out. He definitely brings a new spin to the Harry Osborne character. I don't know whether this is a good or bad thing but I thought Foxx as Max Dillon was hilarious. For me I found him thoroughly entertaining in that role. The villains do somewhat come across cliched, but I do believe they will be given more time to develop as the Spider-Man cinematic universe expands.
The other negative I have is the pacing at times. The films gets going in quite a frenzy, that it takes a while for everything to sink in. One moment Spider-Man is fighting the mob and then it suddenly cuts to Max Dillon dropping blueprints on the street. It felt rushed because of this at points and it was bit jarring.
The middle of the film also tends to lag because it spends too much time closing up the loose ends from the first film. This time could have been used to further develop the villains. It does make the transition from one act to the other a bit abrupt but luckily this is forgiven, in my view, for how great the final act was.
Now to move on to the good. There was some really good comic releif in this film. It finds a perfect balance between Spider-Man 2 and The Amazing Spider-Man. Paul Giamatti is deliberatly cheesy but it works for a character like Rhino. It has fun with the Spider-Man heritage as there is a nod to a certain song that Spider-Man has as his ringtone. In my opinion, it is one of the funnier superhero films to come out in recent memory.
The CGI was outstanding and Spider-Man's web swinging is an exceptionally, breathtaking and exhilirating experience. It is easily the best it has ever looked and the use of camera angles in these particular shots are gorgeous. What I like about this film, is that it embraces the comic book element of Spider-Man to the core. The visuals help distinguish this feature, as the colours really pop-out during the action sequences and make it feel like a comic book page come to life.
Spider-Man is...... SPIDER-MAN !!! Finally they have nailed the Spider-Man I know from the comics ! And he really can do whatever a spider can ! Andrew Garfield deserves a big round of applause, in my opinion. He really delivers and you can tell he is enjoying this role. He is playful and sarcastic, while bringing a real warmth to the character. I found him likeable throughout and he was a very engaging Peter Parker. What this movie delivers in spades is the spirit of the character and Garfield embodies that wonderfully.
What works wonderfully and what really makes this film stand out from the other superhero films on offer is an authentic love story between Peter and Gwen. Emma Stone and Garfield have such a natural flow with one another and they really shine, when they share the same scenes. The film follows the emotional journey of these two characters and that is where it really stands out.
Conclusion :
What I take away from this film is that yes it is flawed but the positives outweight them in my opinion. If you want to smile, laugh and cry then this is the film for you. It is witty and it has fun. It understands it is a comic book movie and delivers on what it offers. Yes the villains are under utilised but the main focus of this film is Spider-Man's first love and on this aspect it delivers.
I think the the general audience and comic book lovers are used to having the villain being the most interesting character. For example many loved Joker more in The Dark Knight then probably Batman. This film does the opposite. It invests it's time in Peter and Gwen making it somewhat different from the normal.
It did something a little different and because of that it left me pleasantly suprised. This film offers a great time and it definitely left me curious as to how this will all play out in The Amazing Spider-Man 3.
3.5/5
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