Amazing Spiderman 2 review

by michaeljamesseddon

 

After the dismal yet fun Spider-Man 3, one would think Sony Pictures may have learnt the lesson of packing their superhero franchise with too many villains. Alas, with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 director Marc Webb and star Andrew Garfield fail to learn from past failings and deliver a poorly executed attempt to catch up with Disney and Marvel Studios, forcing a rapidly expanding universe on an audience who simply want to see their favourite wall crawler deal with life as a superhero.

 

Amongst the chief problems with this bloated sequel is the decision from director Webb and writers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner to focus on the expanded universe of Spidey’s New York, which was no doubt influenced highly by the studio’s newfound plan for a franchise to compete with the world of The Avengers. Superfluous characters such as Felicia Hardy, Alastair Smythe and Rhino all appear, each feeling even more tiresome than the last, dragging down the plot and decreasing the screen time of the lead character in order to offer a wink and nudge to comic fanboys. This fascination with giving pointless characters more screen time than needed, coupled with a downright idiotic sub-plot involving the mystery of Peter Parker’s parents all culminate in a muddled and weak story that detracts from the film’s many strong aspects.

 

As with The Amazing Spider-Man Webb is at his strongest when dealing in character interaction, his central love story is well handled and beautifully played by Stone and Garfield. Both leads do a superb job conveying the desperate longing of our doomed lovers, creating easily the best on screen couple in the superhero genre; eat your heart out Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. Garfield is the star however, his Spider-Man perfectly captures Peter Parker’s joy and heartbreak; his body contorting to create live action representations of Spider-Man’s iconic imagery. In Garfield, Sony have a superstar, and the purest on-screen representation of a comic book character since Tony Stark.

 

Webb has grown into his shoes as the head of a blockbuster franchise, and here offers the best Spidey action since Sam Raimi’s dazzling traintop battle over ten years ago. From a breathtakingly realised Times Square showdown, to a climactic battle sequence involving Dane DeHaan’s disgruntled Harry Osborne, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 brings the visuals and action expected of a million dollar franchise; oftentimes exceeding expectations to craft some of the most perfectly calibrated comic-book imagery since Joss Whedon gave us Ruffa-Hulk.

 

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 frequently astounds with its visuals and action, with Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone excelling in their roles. However, too much ambition and a weak script threaten to derail all of director Marc Webb’s good work. Shy of being amazing, this sequel settles for being merely very good.