The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the first film in Sony Pictures' attempt to create their own Spider-Man-focused cinematic universe, following in the wake of Marvel's highly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe in light of 2012's Avengers. This film is to be followed-up by Sony's upcoming Venom and Sinister Six films still in production. Spider-Man will appear in both of those titles as well.
The United States' release isn't until May 2nd, but I managed to see film after the UK release went live last weekend.
Cast:
Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
Paul Giamatti as Aleksei Sytsevich / The Rhino
Sally Field as May Parker
Chris Cooper portrays Norman Osborn, the president of Oscorp and Harry Osborn's father, while Marton Csokas portrays Dr. Kafka, the head of Ravencroft Institute and B. J. Novak portrays Alistair Smythe, Denis Leary reprises his role as Captain George Stacy from the first film, and Felicity Jones portrays Felicia Hardy. Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee has a cameo appearance.
In the present day, Peter Parker continues to fight crime as Spider-Man. He pursues and apprehends Aleksei Sytsevich, who attempted to steal a truck containing plutonium vials. During the chase, Spider-Man rescues Oscorp Industries employee Max Dillon. While talking to Gwen Stacy on the phone, Peter sees a vision of her late father, Captain George Stacy, reminding him of the promise he made to stay away from Gwen. Afterwards, Peter makes it with Gwen at their high school graduation ceremony. However, he insists that he needs to keep his promise to her father and ends their relationship.
Peter's childhood friend Harry Osborn returns to New York to see his terminally ill father Norman, the CEO of Oscorp Industries. Norman explains his illness is hereditary, and Harry is at the age where it first develops. Before he dies, he gives Harry a small device which he claims contains his life's work. The next day, Norman dies and Harry is appointed the new Oscorp CEO, only to become corrupt among the Oscorp board, causing them to plan on firing him.
Assuming they are now friends, Max develops an obsession with Spider-Man. Whilst tending to some maintenance in an Oscorp laboratory, he loses his balance and falls into a tank of electric eels being used for experiments. The electricity mutates him into a living electric generator. Meanwhile, Peter tries to maintain a friendship with Gwen, but she tells him she is moving to England for school. Before they can discuss it, Max wanders into Times Square and accidentally causes a blackout. Spider-Man attempts to calm him down, but the police try to shoot Max, making him lose his temper and attack. Spider-Man eventually stops him, and he is taken to Ravencroft Institute.
The first symptoms of Harry's illness show, and he uses the device Norman gave him to deduce that Spider-Man's blood could help save him. He asks Peter, who has been sending photos of Spider-Man to The Daily Bugle, for help finding Spider-Man. Peter initially refuses, unsure of what effects the transfusion would have. The Oscorp board members frame Harry for covering up Max's accident, and remove him from his position as CEO. Harry's assistant Felicia Hardy informs him of equipment that could help him, so he makes a deal with Max (now calling himself "Electro") to get him back in to the Oscorp building. Inside, he finds a suit of armor and other equipment made by Norman, as well as venom from the now destroyed spiders, which instead causes him to transform into a hideous goblin-like creature.
Peter uses information left behind by his father to locate the video message he left. In it, Richard explains he had to leave New York because he was unwilling to go along with Norman Osborn's plans to use what they had created for biological weapons. Peter then receives a voicemail message from Gwen, telling him she was offered the job in England and is heading to the airport earlier than expected. He manages to catch her and professes his love for her, and they agree to go to England together. Electro causes another blackout, and Peter heads off to fight him. Gwen follows, and they are able to kill Electro causing an explosion by overloading his electricity supply. Afterward, the transformed Harry arrives equipped with Norman's armor and weaponry; upon seeing Gwen, Harry quickly deduces Spider-Man's true identity and, wanting revenge for being refused the blood transfusion, kidnaps Gwen. He fights Spider-Man at the top of a clock tower, and while Spider-Man manages to subdue Harry, Gwen falls to her death.
Months later, Peter has given up being Spider-Man and spends every day at Gwen's grave. Meanwhile, Harry, healing from his transformations, and his associate (the man in the shadows from the first film) breaks Alexsei Sytsevich out of prison, gives him the code name "Rhino" and equips him with a mechanical suit of armor. Rhino rampages through the streets, and a recording of Gwen's graduation speech inspires Peter to return as Spider-Man and confront him.
In terms of narrative, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is essentially is Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen Stacy's (Emma Stone) continued romance, picking up immediately following the events of the original film. This is their love story, told in the way of Smallville or Dawson's Creek before it. Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield's natural chemistry is so genuine that you cannot help but be compelled and drawn into their romance. As a result, everything else in the film is insignificant in comparison. It's a damn shame too, as I felt that both Jamie Foxx's Electro/Max Dillon and Paul Giamatti's Aleksei Sytsevich/Rhino were wasted in this film. I thought Sony and director Marc Webb would have learned from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3, where dumping in multiple villains caused both the plot and character development to suffer to catastrophic results, which is almost recreated in this film to a similar result. Peter and Gwen's spectacular romance dominates the bulk of this film, but at the sacrifice of fleshing out any amount of character development from the two main antagonists, Harry Osborn/Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan) and Electro. I cannot fault those characters' shortcomings on their acting as both Jamie Foxx and Dane DeHaan brought great performances to the table from what they were given, but no amount of superb acting can save this film from it's abysmal writing for its plot.
If there is any issue I have with 2012's The Avengers, it's the first act, that does next to nothing for setting up the rest of the film if it wasn't for the events that were set up like dominos in Thor. For this soon-to-be Spider-Man cinematic universe, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is this universe's Thor, whereas there is a lot of convenient name dropping (Dr. Ashley Kafka, Felica Hardy, Alistair Smythe, etc.) and themes, but none of it contributes to THIS film, but to the inevitable sequel, or rather sequels, down the road. For example, the first 45 minutes of this film are wasted thanks to the revelation that Spider-Man is nothing unique nor special at all. Richard Parker's bloodline, combined with his experiments for OsCorp, made it possible for his son, Peter Parker, to have these powers, so it wasn't so much of a blessing at all. Peter was predestined to have these powers from start, it was just a matter of time. Say what you will, but that moment killed a bit of the luck of the draw of getting these powers in the first place. So much for "With great power comes great responsibility" when your parents left you superpowers as part of the inheritance in the will. Sheesh.
I don't know who to feel sorry for the most in terms of this film's plot. Jamie Foxx deserves better than the handful of scenes he was given in this film, especially to say that the film is titled "Rise of Electro", and even double goes for Dane DeHaan's Harry Osborn. For what it's worth, Jamie Foxx did a noteworthy job with Electro, but I wish they did more with him than just an overworked average Joe who sought out attention, only to snap when his one so-called "friend" forgot his name. I hate to be nit-picky but he sided with Osborn a bit too easily for my taste. Oh yeah, let's try to forget about some of his extra cheesy lines, such as "It's my birthday and I'm going to light my candles!" While we're on the topic of Harry Osborn, I will admit that Dane DeHaan portrayed him better than James Franco did in the original Spider-Man trilogy, but good grief, Dane DeHaan's face just screams super-villain though. From the second he's introduced in the film, you just KNEW he was going to be a supervillain or up to no good. You don't even need to be a comic book fan to see that. The only fault I saw in DeHaan's Osborn is that fathom nor believe that he is that stupid to take the spider venom without at least testing that it would work. Desperation is one thing, but sheer stupidity at the cost of creating another supervillain to move the narrative along is another.
Sally Field as May Parker
Chris Cooper portrays Norman Osborn, the president of Oscorp and Harry Osborn's father, while Marton Csokas portrays Dr. Kafka, the head of Ravencroft Institute and B. J. Novak portrays Alistair Smythe, Denis Leary reprises his role as Captain George Stacy from the first film, and Felicity Jones portrays Felicia Hardy. Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee has a cameo appearance.
Plot (FULL Spoilers)
In a flashback, Richard Parker records a video message to explain his disappearance. He and his wife Mary board a plane, but the flight is hijacked by a man sent to assassinate Richard, with the pilot dead, the plane crashes.
Peter's childhood friend Harry Osborn returns to New York to see his terminally ill father Norman, the CEO of Oscorp Industries. Norman explains his illness is hereditary, and Harry is at the age where it first develops. Before he dies, he gives Harry a small device which he claims contains his life's work. The next day, Norman dies and Harry is appointed the new Oscorp CEO, only to become corrupt among the Oscorp board, causing them to plan on firing him.
Assuming they are now friends, Max develops an obsession with Spider-Man. Whilst tending to some maintenance in an Oscorp laboratory, he loses his balance and falls into a tank of electric eels being used for experiments. The electricity mutates him into a living electric generator. Meanwhile, Peter tries to maintain a friendship with Gwen, but she tells him she is moving to England for school. Before they can discuss it, Max wanders into Times Square and accidentally causes a blackout. Spider-Man attempts to calm him down, but the police try to shoot Max, making him lose his temper and attack. Spider-Man eventually stops him, and he is taken to Ravencroft Institute.
Months later, Peter has given up being Spider-Man and spends every day at Gwen's grave. Meanwhile, Harry, healing from his transformations, and his associate (the man in the shadows from the first film) breaks Alexsei Sytsevich out of prison, gives him the code name "Rhino" and equips him with a mechanical suit of armor. Rhino rampages through the streets, and a recording of Gwen's graduation speech inspires Peter to return as Spider-Man and confront him.
The Verdict:
In a world after the awesomeness that was Captain America: The Winter Soldier earlier this month, this film feels very underwhelming in comparison.
First things first, if you're watching the international version of the film and notice that mid-credits teaser for X-Men: Days of Future Past, don't be fooled like I was. I was about to get excited that Fox and Sony Pictures were going to do a potential X-Men/Spider-Man-themed crossover, but Marc Webb agreed to free publicity for Fox at the end of this film with no strings attached to repay some crazy favor.
First things first, if you're watching the international version of the film and notice that mid-credits teaser for X-Men: Days of Future Past, don't be fooled like I was. I was about to get excited that Fox and Sony Pictures were going to do a potential X-Men/Spider-Man-themed crossover, but Marc Webb agreed to free publicity for Fox at the end of this film with no strings attached to repay some crazy favor.
Earlier this week, I revisited my review on the original Amazing Spider-Man and re-watched that film to see if my opinions have changed prior to watching this film. Sadly, they haven't and most of my opinions carry over into this film.
If there is any issue I have with 2012's The Avengers, it's the first act, that does next to nothing for setting up the rest of the film if it wasn't for the events that were set up like dominos in Thor. For this soon-to-be Spider-Man cinematic universe, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is this universe's Thor, whereas there is a lot of convenient name dropping (Dr. Ashley Kafka, Felica Hardy, Alistair Smythe, etc.) and themes, but none of it contributes to THIS film, but to the inevitable sequel, or rather sequels, down the road. For example, the first 45 minutes of this film are wasted thanks to the revelation that Spider-Man is nothing unique nor special at all. Richard Parker's bloodline, combined with his experiments for OsCorp, made it possible for his son, Peter Parker, to have these powers, so it wasn't so much of a blessing at all. Peter was predestined to have these powers from start, it was just a matter of time. Say what you will, but that moment killed a bit of the luck of the draw of getting these powers in the first place. So much for "With great power comes great responsibility" when your parents left you superpowers as part of the inheritance in the will. Sheesh.
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| C'mon... you might as well screamed in the background that she was going to die by the end of the film at this moment... |
Also note that in the film and even in the film's credits that Harry's assistant is NEVER referred to as Felicia Hardy officially, but merely as Felicia. I'm guessing that's some clever swerve for a potential Black Cat spin-off solo film or someone just doesn't want to admit that they fucked up a potentially goldmine of a storyline here already...
I have to say that after all of the hype from the promotional trailers and posters, you would think that Rhino was a major player for this film along with Electro and the Green Goblin, but nope. Instead, he's merely chicken fodder in both of his brief appearances in this film. Has anyone stopped and asked why was he stealing plutonium in the first place?
Let's talk about Gwen's death scene... (Hands you guys box of tissues) I'll give you all a moment.
Marc Webb portrayed this scene perfectly with the masterful talents of Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield. This is as good as you're going to get with a film adaptation of Gwen Stacy's demise on the silver screen. My only gripe was how conveniently the Green Goblin had the exact timing to show up after Spider-Man beat Electro. If he was there about ten minutes earlier, Electro and Goblin would have beaten the piss out of Spider-Man. Could they have made Gwen's death more obvious? When she showed up wearing the EXACT same outfit she died in the comics, I was going "well, now we know Gwen won't live through the end of this movie..." The aftermath was rather weak for my taste as well, where audiences were forced to skip directly to Gwen's funeral without Spider-Man venting his emotional torment on an already defeated Harry Osborn/Green Goblin. How does this clown wind up in jail with little to no signs of his Goblin powers or that disease flaring up? That random Peter Parker's forced exile was a nice touch and made up for those shortcomings with Gwen's last vote of confidence in the man - or rather, the hero - he is destined to become in her recorded speech from their graduation.
I have to say, I pity on the next actress who is going to attempt to replace Emma Stone in the sequels as the next potential love interest for Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Garfield and Stone's romantic chemistry is simply magical. I don't see anyone else being able to come close to capturing that natural magnetism between them.
If you don't feel something during this sequence or the one between Aunt May (Sally Field) and Peter about the truth of his parents - "You're MY boy. And I won't hurt you." - then you must have a heart made of stone.
(Laughs) I swear this film had so much foreshadowing on Gwen's death that you could have seen it coming back in Sam Raimi's original Spider-Man film back in 2002.
I feel like that I have been bashing this film from the start, but I want to express that there is some good to be found here in Webb's work. Well, other than the revised costume that is much closer to Spidey's comic book iteration than any previous costume that he has worn in any Spider-Man film to date... The action sequences are appropriately described as amazing to the eyes and ears. For example, during Spider-Man's final encounter with Electro, many viewers will be too caught up in the action to notice that Electro's attacks have a dubstep-like musical effect to them. I am not kidding on that. Watch that sequence for yourself and listen. I thought I was going nuts when I noticed that. My favorite sequence was during Spider-Man's initial run-in with Electro, where he was reduced to one functioning web-shooter to utilize in saving a retreating crowd of civilians from Electro's assault while making sure they didn't touch the conductible metal on the steps and railing. That was simply beautiful to watch. Too bad Hollywood weren't doing action sequences this good in the original Spider-Man trilogy...
My biggest issue with the action sequences was that there weren't enough of them. If you have seen all of the trailers for this film, especially the infamous Super Bowl trailer, then you have already seen the bulk of what this film has to offer and that's just sad. Marc Webb spoiled almost everything in the trailers, leaving no real surprises - other than Gwen's death, but you can deduce that within the first 20 minutes of the film.
Back in 2012, I said that this series has potential to surpass the original Spider-Man trilogy if it managed to remedy its shortcomings that were discussed in that film. Unfortunately, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 manages to be more of the same - audiences are treated to a back seat ride along the emotional rollercoaster that is the continuing romance between Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) but continues the trend of allowing this aspect of the narrative to dilute the character development of the antagonists, Max Dillon/Electro (Jamie Foxx), Alexsei Sytsevich/Rhino (Paul Giamatti), and Harry Osborn/Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan). In turn, these antagonists are reduced to minor inconveniences instead of the monumental roadblocks to Spider-Man's ongoing heroics as they are portrayed in their original comic book iterations. If you enjoyed the original Amazing Spider-Man, then you should go see this sequel. For everyone else, save your money. This will be on DVD/Blu-Ray in no time.
I'm giving this a slightly better score that I gave the original film - 7.25 out of 10 - mainly due to how perfectly executed Gwen Stacy's death (even though it was so obvious to see coming that even Stevie Wonder seen it coming...) - a monumental event in the decades worth of Spider-Man's history that affects the character even today - was done in this film. If Sony Pictures and Marc Webb want to impress me with the future sequels, I want to see them invest more time on character development for more than just two people and focus on selling the current film to their audience - not the one that is about 1-2 more sequels down the pipeline. Hollywood needs to comprehend that Marvel Studios' method to their madness is not going to lead to an instant blockbuster success for every comic book to film property.
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