The Amazing Spiderman 2 (2014)

 

Genre: Action/ Adventure

Time: 2h 22mins

Director: Marc Webb

Quick Summary: When New York is put under siege by Oscorp, it is up to Spider-Man to save the city he swore to protect as well as his loved ones.

Hearing a small child go “Yeah she's dead” very casually made this one of my favourite cinema experiences

Wow, they really stepped It up from the first one. I actually enjoyed this, a lot of my complaints previously aren't in this one. We get a backstory about his parents, the action and villains have improved, and Andrew is more fun as Spidey. 

I don't think I'm a fan of Andrew Garfield being Spiderman. He Is a very fun and upbeat Spiderman, he has a lot of humour that was missing from Toby Maguire's. Watching him fool around and mess with the villains throughout the battles with some funny commentary was cool, the issue is he's not a good Peter Parker. There's still no nerdy side to this guy, he still comes across as preppy and cool. There's nothing to differentiate the two sides of him. 

Gwen I'm still not sold on. I do like her, but there relationship between her and Peter ruins her for me. It doesn't feel like a relationship and honestly what doesn't help is that we barely have seen any of their time together and that there is minimal chemistry between them aside from making jokes. It feels so cringe and over-dramatic too when they break up, they can't keep away from each other, then break up again. I just can't take that seriously when all we see of them two is that. Not to mention how selfish is it to assume that just because you're Spiderman, your girlfriend isn't going to want her own life. 

As for the action, it was so much better Jesus. Lots more action-focused shots that follow Spiderman around, panning with a punch thrown, dramatic slow-motion scenes in the height of tension, and lots of shots of Andrew Garfield's ass. The battles with the villains, though one is much shorter than the other were really hectic and fun to watch. The whole electricity grid with Electro was brilliant as Spiderman bounces between each pole unwillingly as Electro himself surges through the electricity. The green goblin fight was super intense as it frantically followed the close combat struggle between the pair. 

Now, I have two very different opinions on the two villains. I'll talk about the better one first, which is electro. The whole electricity thing was super cool, I loved how we got to see how he saw electricity pulsing through the city and that his whole body was made up from it. His voice has this sort of effect that actually sounded a little like when you speak through a fan and it worked. It sounded crackly almost like he was speaking through a speaker. This is a bit of a personal taste, but I thought it was fun that dubstep would play a little bit during every interaction with the guy that would build up throughout. 

As for Green Goblin, well, I think he could have done better with time. They sort of crammed him In right at the end. I personally liked the design, even if it was a bit gross and nothing compared to Willam De Foe, it was genuinely scary. It did remind me of an actual goblin. The other issue with this is that the character felt like such a cringe trying to be a cool and edgy 14-year-old kid. He even had a haircut. It was a bit much for me. I think it could have gone into more about the whole genetic disease that makes him Green Goblin too, that was pretty much brushed over completely. 

This has its flaws but it has its strengths too. I am sad to know there is no 3rd film for Andrew Garfield as it could have been even better than this if they continued improving on things. 

7/10

"Harry Osborn: It's been 10 years. What have you been up to?

Peter Parker: I do some web designs."

"Aunt May: Everyone has a part of themselves they hide. Even from the people they love most."

"Spider-Man: You okay? You all right?

Max Dillon: You're Spider-Man.

Spider-Man: Costume gives it away, huh? "