The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is available on Blu-ray today and whether you loved it, thought it's okay or even loathed it, there's just no denying the script had some noticeable problems. We love the web-slinger and want nothing but the best for his cinematic future, so we're going to share some reasonable ideas on what they can do to get Spider-Man's new movie mythos back on track! Once you're done reading our suggestions, please be sure to chime in with what you want to see in Spidey's future on the big screen.
Don't let buildup and backstory overshadow the present
A common complaint about The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is it spent so much time worldbuilding and promoting its future movies (most notably Sinister Six) that it was unable to tell a compelling story of its own and abruptly brought in one of the character's most emotional moments. By the time The Amazing Spider-Man 3 comes out, Sinister Six and Venom/Carnage will have most likely been released. If Guardians of the Galaxy can do a thoroughly satisfying job making the world fall in love with five characters they've likely never heard of before, there's no good reason why those two films can't at least do a serviceable job develop the characters within their own movies and give them an organic role in the third Peter Parker movie. Once they find a way to make everyone matter or at least have a fair role and depth, the third film will hopefully tell its own engrossing story while also giving us little bits and pieces to tease what's next. A movie shouldn't feel like totally separate story arcs are randomly brought together in the end and unfortunately, that's how many people felt about this sequel.
We get it's important to establish the fact this is an evergrowing cinematic universe and we love a good Easter Egg, but it shouldn't overshadow the standalone story. That's exactly what happened here, unfortunately. Max Dillon's shift in personality was swift and Harry Osborn's villainous role felt very rushed. His big scene came off like "you beat the first boss, Spider-Man, and now here's the second one!" A character shouldn't feel like they're placed on the fast track just to make them ready for the next movie because that means we can't establish a proper connection to them.
As for the backstory, it's safe to say they've established the fact that Peter's dad is good and Oscorp is bad, right? Parker now has his base and his dad's research, Harry has a reason to hate Peter (and vice versa), and Parker has, for the most part, moved on from ASM 2's tragedy. Well, he'll never get over that, of course, but they made it clear that he's able to move forward. Part of what worked so well is Andrew Garfield's dynamic with Emma Stone, so now it's time to see if they can capture that magic with a potential new Mary Jane Watson.
Oh, and we can't hold this against the movie itself, but if you're going to have a villain in the story for less than 10 minutes, please don't slap the character on posters and tease them in trailers. Even though Marc Webb stated in interviews that Rhino has a minimal role, all of the promotions gave a totally different message.
More Aunt May
A big part of Peter Paker's story is the importance of family, so let's see more of that with the very talented Sally Field! They've spent plenty of time looking back, so now it's time to focus on the family Peter Parker has right now. The dynamic between the two has so much potential for laughs and a whole lot of heart. They've had fun with comedic beats between the two and we've seen May's financial struggle (which will hopefully lead to Parker having more scenes involving J. Jonah Jameson since he needs cash), but it would be great to see the focus shift back to Peter trying to hide who he is and doing his best to protect her. The "will she find out" element is one that'll have us wondering when -- if at all -- she discovers the truth and where it'll go from there. If so, they should strongly consider taking notes from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #479. But before they do that, it would enhance the interaction if they have Peter catch uncle Ben's murderer and finally put that plot point to rest. Field's an Oscar-winning actress and her role has unlimited possibilities when it comes to bringing us more laughter and emotional moments, so they should really give her more time to shine.
Better interactions between Peter and Harry Osborn
Harry's transformation felt rushed and we get where they were going with that conflict, but the lack of elaboration between Norman Osborn's son and Peter really hurt the dynamic. When the two finally came face to face, it felt like the big moment wasn't really earned. Awesomely presented, yes, but the key scene seemed like it could have been held off a little longer. Still, it's understandable why it happened. The conflict between Spider-Man and Green Goblin wasn't all that interesting, but what happened with Gwen Stacy brings the conflict to a whole new level. We may have not seen it yet, but Peter has every reason in the world to loathe Harry and we understand why Harry wants to see him suffer. Now that a legitimate reason has been provided for these two to clash, their relationship should be loaded with intensity. They've clearly wanted to turn him into the big bad and now it's time to prove he's worthy of that title. We all know we'll see more of Harry in Sinister Six -- he is organizing the team, after all -- but assuming the character is still in action when ASM 3 comes around, they should be more than able to fill their rivalry with a ton of heated exchanges and give us the big Green Goblin and Spider-Man fight we've been waiting for.
More fun with Spider-Man
The movie's tone jumps around a wee bit, but overall, it seems like the new movie was aiming for more popcorn entertainment and something that feels like a classic Spider-Man comic brought to the big screen. Stuff like Paul Giamatti embracing the ridiculousness of his character was hysterical, but the scientist at Ravencroft was too over the top and jarring. However, one thing that lovers and haters of this movie seem to like the most (aside from the charming interactions between Peter and Gwen) is Spider-Man simply being Spider-Man. The early scene of him web-slinging throughout the city is a joy and using slow motion to show how he solves dilemmas (thanks to his trusty spider-sense) is good fun. Garfield does a great job bringing Spider-Man's personality to life and the action scenes -- be it Spidey stopping bullies, goons or big villains -- are a blast. So, it's safe to say we'd all love to see more of that, right?
What do you want to see in Spider-Man's cinematic future? Don't be shy, tell the world in the comments below!