Hanging On By A Thread

Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

I hope you'll forgive me for a short review; I'm in the midst of a rather busy and stressful week of Grad School Finals. But I know summer is when most of you look to my blog on a more consistent basis (look for a 2014 Summer Preview next week!), so I wanted to put out a mini-critique of the film kicking off the summer movie season: The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Picking up where the first film left off, Peter Parker is struggling with his conflicting love for Gwen Stacy and the danger his role as Spider-Man could put her in (not to mention that he promised her father on his deathbed that he would no longer date her). As the couple works through their relationship issues, a new super-villain emerges. Electro started out as a nerdy electrician who just wanted attention, but his need for affection turns to rage when he is seen as a bad guy while Spider-Man gets all the love. Also, Harry Osborn shows up and is dying, so he wants some of Spider-Man's blood. Also, Peter finds some spare time to go on a big search for the reason why his parents disappeared so many years ago.

There's too much going on in the film and director Marc Webb [(500) Days of Summer] doesn't seem to have much idea of how to organize it all, giving the film an uneven pacing with stretches of wasted time and surges of plot feeling rushed and forced. The visuals are actually quite good for the most part, but they're often used for some genuinely silly things. This is all exacerbated by over-the-top performances from Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained) as Electro and Dane DeHaan (Chronicle) as Harry Osborn.

It all makes the film feel as though the script by screenwriting duo Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci (Transformers & Star Trek) was originally written for a cartoon and then haphazardly converted to live action. The film is rated PG-13, suggesting that the film is appropriate for ages 13 and up. Yet if you're much older than 13, let's say 16 and up, you'll likely feel as though the majority of the film was created for a demographic that's younger than you.

If the film has a saving grace, it's the undeniable chemistry between real life couple Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) and Emma Stone (The Help) as Peter and Gwen. Much of the film focuses on their relationship and those scenes are the only part of the movie that feels like serious thought was put into their development. The dynamic between those two characters are the single thread that kept me from wholly disliking this Spider-Man sequel.

Ultimately, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is another reboot that fails to live up to the original works (definitely nowhere close to the first two Sam Raimi directed Spider-Man films), held back by writing, directing, and acting that makes it feel more like a Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever, Batman & Robin) film. The performances from the two leading characters, however, make the film bearable.

The Final Word: 2/4 - Wait to rent it (and that generous rating is really only because it might be worth seeing at some point if the planned Amazing Spider-Man 3, Amazing Spider-Man 4, Venom, & Sinister Six movies end up being any better).