The Biggest Problem with The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Far from the only problem.... The script, actually the writing in general, Webb doesn't understand Spider-Man, his villains, or his universe, the marketing execs also seem to have way too much input.

I also still don't see this franchise as a full reboot either because a lot of the same people that worked on the original trilogy are still working on this....

They also rebooted this because if they didn't they would have lost the rights. That's not a good reason to reboot a franchise.... Batman was rebooted but they gave it time, they took their time, found a fitting director and a it had a totally different take, that is what Spider-Man needs, a different and fresh take from a director and writers that understand the character.

I could list more problems, but they have been stated over and over....

I blame the disjointed script on editing. I'd like to see a directors cut. However, I agree with this article and never understood why nobody complained about how they turned Kofka into a cartoon character like all the other villains.

Nobody cares. . .

@VIRILEMAN

You honestly have no idea who Peter Parker is then if you think Garfield is a good Peter Parker. That statement alone is an insult to Peter Parker himself.

I'm a fan of both TASM movies, but I think the main problem (for me) with TASM 2 was that it lost that more intimate, personal quality that really helped the story with the first one, at the expense of overfilling the film. There was a bit too much going on in TASM 2, with regards to setting up a wider universe - not to the level of, for example, Iron Man 2 or X-Men Origins: Wolverine - and the emotional content that was there still worked really well, but there was a bit too much "filler" for my liking as well, including Dr. Kafka (a completely unnecessary additional character). That's a reoccurring problem with Kurtzman and Orci's writing - they have good ideas, and they're pretty good writers, but they always seem to go overboard and try to cram way too much into their scripts.

Also, the hammy acting from the likes of Paul Giammatti as Rhino, and Marton Csokas as Kafka really annoyed me, and I'm surprised Marc Webb let them go on like that. I think Webb's a good director (or at least, has the potential to be one, given his lack of experience), but I have to agree with what some others have said on this site before - that he seems like he might be a bit of a pushover, too afraid to stand up for his vision and give criticism to people he's working with out of fear of offending them (actors AND producers).

As for the specific matter of Dr. Kafka - do they explicitly call him "Ashley Kafka" in the movie? Is there any way they could get away with introducing a more faithful, female Ashley Kafka into the series later on? Perhaps as this Dr Kafka's wife or something?

@huckfinnisher

Lol.. likable? I don't even find him anywhere likable at all.

@ManCalledSting

Still better than whet Raimi gave us. Garfield is a damn good Ultimae Peter Parker(which this move takes huge inspiration from), and I couldn't stand Tobey as Parker.

For someone who can't even spell "ultimate" correctly, I don't think anyone is going to take you seriously.

@mancalledsting, being a nerd and somewhat unlikeable is part of what made him stand out so much. Not read much Ultimate but why would you take your cues from the substantially less popular version of the character... seems like a bad choice. I know mcu took quite a few things from ultimate universe but the characters themselves are more like thier classic counterparts.
Toby was an excellent peter, maybe you just like ultimate Spider-Man better, but that doesn't make Garfield the better Peter. If what you say is true they play diff. Spidermen entirely, both did well but my spidey is nerdy and hard to like, you can have boy band one direction spidey if you want.

AC1 This is probably just a matter of opinion but i believe you are referring to ahipster. Hipsters follow trends, nerds don't. Maybe if in the movie they had shown he had no friends so he picked up a skateboard to try to fit in, but generally people referred to as nerds are not physically inclined (so no skateboarding) and di not follow trends which is why they are socially outcast. To you a nerd is somebody who does all that can to fit in but when they are alone get all angsty? Sounds like a normal high schooler to me.

@AC1

he's extremely introverted/anxious, and has poor social skills

I hardly buy into that especially from someone who is just using Peter Parker to his own caricature with those hipster glasses on.

@ManCalledSting

Might wanna get all your shit straight, before you worry about others.

Who get what straight? You come on CBM all day and brag about how Andrew is the best PP/SM ever like Jollem and don't even offer viable and lengthy enough of reasons to support your statements. And what you usually spit out sometimes has already been proven wrong for countless times by other people. It seems like you're just making your own claims based on what other people do and say and don't follow your own mentality and judgement.

@huckfinnisher hipsters (supposedly) don't follow trends, they're notorious for trying to be "original" in whatever way they can - listening to obscure movies, wearing slightly more eccentric clothing (with a nerdy edge, granted), as an intentional attempt at steering away from trends. Nerds, on the other hand, nowadays have a tendency to TRY to follow trends, and while some manage to do so more than others, it usually doesn't help, because again, personality counts for a lot when it comes to popularity. They aren't very good at following trends, so they don't fit in, but they try because they want to. And being angsty is something that happens to pretty much all teens at some point in their lives, you know? It's a very confusing time in their lives, so they're bound to get irritated (and doubly so if they've discovered a conspiracy around their parents' death, and have also started mutating into something other than a normal human).

As for the skateboarding thing (not exactly a good thing to include in the movie, but it does help the point I'm making) - we never see Peter really skateboarding before he gets superpowers. All he does is ride it through the halls at school - something anyone can do if they're able to stand, walk and keep their balance. So again, he thinks it's cool, but he fails to gain acceptance (skateboarding is a pretty cool activity, but skateboarding through school seems like a stupid attempt at seeking attention and trying to 'look' cool, so again, he fails at being cool). He only starts doing tricks and stuff after he gains his powers, which can be seen as him experimenting with his new abilities.

@SauronsBANE maybe I should've been clearer, but I meant that he started off as a socially awkward, anxious, introvert (i.e. at the beginning of TASM), obviously over time, especially with his successful superhero career and promising love life and future by the beginning of TASM 2, he has developed more confidence. But I agree, that was another fairly stupid moment in the movie. Again, I'm not claiming the movie is perfect, just that Andrew Garfield is great as Peter (although he is obliged to follow the script, and I'd be surprised if that was something he improvised - and even then, Marc Webb shouldn't have used that take in the final edit if it was improvised).

@3DOldskool I'm not sure what you mean by "especially from someone who is just using Peter Parker to his own caricature", who are you referring to? As for the "hipster glasses", Peter wore glasses in the comics prior to gaining his superpowers. In this (modern) version, he had contacts before finding his father's old glasses, and wore them because they reminded him of his dead parents (the better thing to nitpick would be his father having the exact same reading prescription as he does). But it's hardly "hipster" to wear glasses if you need them (which he clearly did because no one wears contacts for fun, unless changing eye-colour, which he wasn't). And, like the comics, he no longer needed them when he gained superpowers. In fact, Tobey Maguire's Peter also wore glasses pre-superpowers: does that make him a hipster too, in your opinion? Or by hipster are you referring to the style of glasses Garfield wore - which again, were hand-me-downs from the character's father, not a fashion statement.

@huckfinnisher just noticed a typo there, must've deleted part of a sentence by mistake. Should read: "listening to unknown music, watching obscure movies"...