Review: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 - Action-Packed Love Story
My hopes and expectations were incredibly high for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. I was actually a little nervous going into this one. Lots of sequels have disappointed me over the years, but this was not one of them. Director Marc Webb's follow up was way better than the first Amazing Spider-Man film, and it might just be better than any of the Spider-Man films that Sam Raimi made. I'm going to have to rewatch them just to make sure, but as of right now I believe that it is.
The opening shot of Spider-Man swinging through New York City was awe-inspiring, it hooked me. It gave me a sense of what it actually might be like to swing around with Spidey through the city — seeing the movie on an IMAX screen definitely has its advantages. They experimented with this type of stuff in the first movie, and they did a fantastic job, but it was perfected in this sequel. It was a smooth and fun ride, and I loved every scene that featured the web-slinger using the city as his playground.
The action in the movie was insane and extremely fun to watch. One of my favorite aspects of the action was how the hero of the story kept a sense of humor and cracked jokes throughout some of the fight sequences. Some of those scenes were very heavy, and it was just nice to have Spidey crack a joke every now and then to lighten the mood a bit. Of course, there are some events that take place that Spider-Man has to take seriously. If you were hoping to see some great action in the movie, then you'll be happy to know that it's there.
Even though the movie was loaded with action it didn't distract or take away from the heart of the story. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is first and foremost a love story. It's an action-packed love story, but the romance between Peter and Gwen is the core of the film. There is such a beautiful relationship between those two characters, and out of everything this movie has to offer, that story and relationship is the best part. Webb has a knack for portraying relationships in the stories he tells. You'd know this if you saw his first feature film (500) Of Summer. Well, he brought that to this movie and he gave us something very human, and something we could all relate too. This is a movie I'll watch again, and one of the things I'm looking forward to seeing again most is this aspect of the story.
For those of you who are worried about three villains being packed into one movie… don't be. Webb pulled it off brilliantly and things played out very smoothly in that aspect. It didn't feel like there was any overcrowding. Electro was the main baddie, and he was absolutely stunning. The character set up was perfect, the intensity he brought to the story was exciting, and he was a truly terrifying threat. Electro even got his own menacing theme song, which was extremely powerful. Rhino was barely in the movie. In fact, almost every scene he was in you've already seen in the trailers.
My least favorite part of the movie was Harry Osborn when he turned into the Green Goblin. I was disappointed when he made the full transformation into the villain. It felt forced. It was like all of a sudden he became a crazy over-exaggerated run-of-the-mill bad guy. From the way he talked in his evil raspy voice, wildly licking his lips, to his cackle laugh, it didn't work for me, and I don't think it worked for the character. It's like he went from being this really intense guy to someone that is hard to take seriously. I think they just needed to keep him a little more level, and not as crazy over-the-top. That's my one gripe about the movie.
The acting in it was all top-notch though. Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Dane DeHaan all gave stellar performances. I just have to say that Stone is a wonderful actress. I just came to really care for her character throughout the course of the movie. The director did a wonderful job building her character up. There are certain things that I would love to share with you about the story, but I don't want to spoil it for you. I will say that it's an emotional ride.
In the end, I enjoyed The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and I'm excited to see it again. I really hope that the rest of you Spidey fans out there enjoy it. All the talent involved with creating this film delivered something spectacular that everyone can enjoy. So go see the movie!
Thank you Marc Webb for making such an incredible Spider-Man sequel!