At the Theater - "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" (2014) - Although it's superior in nearly every facet to 2012's first installment of this rebooted franchise, with Director Marc Webb ((500) Days Of Summer) more confident and comfortable with the material and Andrew Garfield hitting his stride as the wise-cracking web-slinger, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is strangely bloated with too many shoe-horned, world-building events while also woefully thin in regards to the development of secondary characters. It's entertaining and nice enough to look at, though tonally uneven- most will only remember it for one late film tragedy...
Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) has settled into the titular role and is a helluva lot more likable this time around- though appropriately cocky as the wall-crawler, he's a less arrogant and spoiled "Peter Parker" than the guy audiences were introduced to in the 2012 film. One might say he's making the role his own.
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Emma Stone (Easy A) is once again excellent as Parker's love interest, "Gwen Stacy"- Stone's one of the more talented and charismatic young actresses working today and seems incapable of a poor performance.
The film's at its absolute best when Garfield and Stone (currently a real life couple) share the screen- a late film event (comic book fans knew it was inevitable) has created something of a conundrum here as it will be damned-near impossible to recapture the genuine chemistry between them for future installments. Sony better hit a home-run in the casting for "Mary Jane Watson"- Shailene Woodley (Divergent) was briefly hired to make an appearance as Parker's red-headed love interest, though her part was cut from the film... interesting to see if she returns to the role.
Jamie Foxx's (Django Unchained) "Electro" is a much stronger, more imposing main villain than Rhys Ifans' "Lizard" from the first film, though Foxx isn't given nearly enough depth or material to cement the role into all-time greatest territory. The character design is pretty groovy.
Dane DeHaan's (The Place Beyond The Pines) "Harry Osborn" is superior to James Franco's listless, vacant turn as the character in the Raimi films in every imaginable way- the biggest difference between the two: dramatic acting talent. The problem here is the filmmakers rush to propel the character into full-blown "Green Goblin 2" territory... hey, wait a minute- what happened to the first Green Goblin?
Fans may be disappointed to find that the film is book-ended by an atrociously miscast and campy Paul Giamatti (Sideways) as the Russian gangster turned mech-suited "Rhino". I've taken a shine to the suit design, though it makes nothing more than a quick, cliffhanger-style cameo here.
Sally Field is growing on me as "Aunt Mae", though she's still just Sally Field playing Aunt Mae- Rosemary Harris embodied the character to a tee in Sam Raimi's first three Spider-Man films, and will more than likely be remembered by the masses for that particular role.
The film's visual effects are sharp with the usages of color often quite striking- a mid-film, Times Square showdown between Spidey and Electro is rather impressive. The sparks between Garfield and Stone carry matters for the remainder of the film, with a healthy element of humor mixed into the narrative. A certain sequence where Peter Parker slowly crosses a busy street to be with Gwen, set to Phosphorescent's "Song For Zula" hints at Director Marc Webb's inherent talent- it's a shame Sony doesn't seem interested in giving the helmer a chance to flex his creative muscle and really put his stamp on the franchise.
Comic book fans will enjoy a handful of cameos from future Spider-Man villains and a multitude of Easter eggs sprinkled throughout- keep a sharp eye and be sure to stay through the end credits.
Although The Amazing Spider-Man 2 indicates that the character is back on the right track, Sony seems hellbent on rushing Spider-Man towards an eventual showdown with The Sinister Six, forgetting to allow the precursor films to stand triumphantly on their own.
7.5 out of 10
Director: Marc Webb
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Embeth Davitz, Campbell Scott, Marton Csokas, B.J. Novak, Sarah Gadon, Michael Massee and Chris Cooper
Run-Time: 142 minutes
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action/violence
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