Rating of
2.5/4
The Mostly Adequate Spider-Man 2
Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/15/14
Rebooting Spider-Man was a risky venture on its own - and I though The Amazing Spider-Man did an OK job of re-introducing the web slinging hero. However, after the origin story was (once again) out of the way, I was hoping things would pick up. Unfortunately, while Amazing Spider-Man 2 certainly throws a lot at you all at once - all the effort seems wasted as the movie moves a bit listlessly despite all the additional villains and it's missing a lot of the humor the original threw out at you opting for a more dramatic tone that mostly misses the mark.
We catch up with Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) just as he's about to graduate with classmate (and love interest) Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone). However, while she's giving her valedictorian speech, Spider-Man is after some Russian thugs (including Paul Giamatti in complete over-the-top Russian mobster mode) who have taken some very volitile and radioactive chemicals. Along the way he stops to save one Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) and invisible nobody working for Oscorp who will soon become very important to our story. Following a graduation, Peter comes to the decision that despite his love for Gwen, he will honor her father's dying wish and keep her out of his life - for fear that his Spider-Man identity will put her in danger. Gwen reluctantly accepts the news - as she is potentially going to Oxford to study.
Another old face returns as Harry Osborne (Dane DeHaan) comes back from an extended vacation - as his father is dying and he is the heir to Oscorp - but he also finds he is also heir to the deadly disease that has taken his father - and it is already fast taking him down. Meanwhile - Peter is also trying to figure out what happened to his parents - though is Aunt May (Sally Field) seems intent on letting things go as she tries to hold down the household following the death of her husband, Ben. Following an accident as Oscorp, meek Max Dillon, who has become obsessed with Spider-Man, transforms into Electro - a living embodiment of electricity - and his personality is radically altered as well.
Now - there are a lot of threads to follow in this film - Peter and Gwen's relationship, the search for his information on his parents, Oscorp shenanigans and Electro - and a lot comes at you really fast. But despite all the rush, the feeling the best describes my experience is underwhelming. Where the first film I liked the pairing of Stone and Garfield - here, aside from one or two instances, I didn't get that connection. Likewise, though we are offered quite a few villains - none of them particularly stand out (most are on screen for only a brief time). Plus, Electro just looks kind of silly - I couldn't take him seriously at all. And the stuff with his parents, though interesting - also bogs down the film, I admit I found myself nodding off.
However, what the film does is set up things nicely for the next step. Rumors of a "Sinister Six" spinoff are all but confirmed as we get glimpses of Doctor Octopus and The Vulture (Rhino also makes a film-ending entrance) - as well as setting up Spider-Man with a new nemesis. And even though this isn't likely to set any box office records, you know that we're going to be getting more Spider-Man in the future. But that's the future - the here and now - while good to watch - didn't wow me. Too many characters spread out too thin - I wish the relationship had been fleshed out more, the villains had been more thought-out and the plot a bit more condensed. As it is, all the action can't save this from being a pretty mediocre super hero endeavor - one that is better suited to home viewing than the theater.
