Just got back from watching the Amazing Spider-man 2 and felt like venting some thoughts.

Nothing negative to report really, I'm quite easily pleased and went into it with fairly low expectations. So long as Garfield and Stone remained as magical together as they were in the first one, that alone would make it an enjoyable experience.

Something to know about me is that I tend to avoid trailers. I apply this rule quite strictly to Marvel Studios films, as they have yet to release a movie that I did not enjoy (this rule has been in effect since Incredible Hulk, which I watched too many trailers for and totally ruined for myself). I'd like to recommend that strategy to you guys, while it does require running out of the room whenever a trailer comes on or jamming your fingers in your ears in the cinema, the payoff is worth it, as I go into each film totally unaware of what is going to happen.

I'm less strict with non-Marvel productions, as they haven't quite won my trust, but while I didn't put my head between my legs whenever an ASM2 trailer came on, I didn't pay much attention to it. As such I was totally not expecting that ending, but very pleased.

Yes, the movie has its problems, all movies do. But overall, as a big fan of the character, I have to say this is quite possibly my new favourite Spider-man movie, because it tackled a story I believe is absolutely fundamental to the character and did it excellently. Most superheroes end up being defined by an important death, the death of the Waynes drove Bruce to become Batman, the death of Bucky drove Captain America, Superman has to deal with the death of his whole world, and Peter is haunted by Uncle Ben. Obviously Ben is an incredibly powerful influence on the story of Spider-man, but I believe that Gwen's death is equally intrinsic.

Superhero comics often verge on soap opera, the love stories often occupy the focus of the story. Every superhero has been in the situation where their love interest is in grave peril and they must rescue her. Most of them succeed, but Gwen is perhaps the most famous example of a superhero failing in that regard. Every day Ben's memory pushes Peter to be a hero, but the romance is an equally important part of the story of Spider-man, and Gwen's death continues to shape that aspect of his character. Before her, the idea that something might happen to the people he loved was an unrealised fear. Now it is a reality, and his relationships are shaped by that knowledge.

As I said, the chemistry between Andrew and Emma is what makes these movies as enjoyable as they are. Which is why I was not expecting that ending, not yet. I thought the studio would not want to risk losing that chemistry, so I assumed they would save that ending for the end of the trilogy, if they ever actually followed through at all. But they didn't. They told the story as it originally was, a story that I personally regard as one of Peter's defining moments. I just want to commend the makers of this movie on their bravery for making that choice, for not playing it safe and letting Peter and Gwen captivate us for another couple of films, and for not pulling any punches with that beautifully brutal scene.

One of the friends who saw the movie with me, a girl who knows little about comics, quite loudly exclaimed as Gwen was falling to her doom "she'll be fine!" because it does always work out fine. Especially with Spider-man, as Raimi's trilogy showed Mary Jane in peril every freaking movie, but never with any consequences. The average audience for this movie were unprepared for everything to not be okay, and the reactions of my sobbing friends as that tragic scene unfolded gave me great joy. For as the finale reared its head and Peter realised he could never stop being Spider-man, regardless of what it might cost him; that he would continue to risk his life and his heart for others, I feel that my friends caught a glimpse of why I love this character so much.

Just my thoughts, needed to put them somewhere :) oh, on a final note, I'm so very glad that after all these years Sony finally decided to utilise Spider-man's wonderfully colourful rogues gallery properly. Not every villain has close ties to Peter Parker, many of his most marvellous villains are simply super powered thugs who cannot be the main villain, but nonetheless deserve the chance to shine in a movie. I am very glad that Rhino got that opportunity, to simply provide Spider-man with someone to punch without needing some dramatic backstory for his criminal behaviour. Power and responsibility, that's the message of Spider-man. Characters like Rhino show us what happens to a man who gains power, but has no sense of the responsibility.