Before I begin my review for the most controversial comic book film of the year, and up there with Man of Steel - the Batman and Robin of the Spider-Man Franchise and The Dark Knight of Spider-Man Films, thanks for clicking - it's appreciated and I hope you enjoy my film review - comments, follows and, well, views in general are appreciated, but in all honesty - if you cant respect my opinion on this film, for better or worst, be it a positive or a negative - please leave and don't read. I don't like my opinion being insulted and nor do you, so if you cant respect my viewpoint on this film, I suggest you exit and don't read, or read and don't leave a comment at all. Disagree - that's cool, that's awesome, but respectfully. I'd appreciate if no flaming, trolling or disrespect of mine, or others, opinions, don't make it to the comments section or they'll be ignored and/or flagged, seriously. My opinion may not be written in stone, but neither is yours. Thank you - I appreciate all your comments, views, favourites etc. Hope you'll enjoy - heavy spoilers lie ahead... if you haven't watched the film, don't read... do not read at all, I'll be discuss basically the entirely of the film. Everything. Well...

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Overall - I enjoyed Amazing 1 - Webb nailed what matters to nail, although, in all honesty, I didn't read many comics outside of Ultimate and AU two years ago, so nonetheless, authentic or not, I enjoyed the first film, and post-release, I got into reading comic books - namely The Amazing Spider-Man: Big Time and The Amazing Spider-Man: Revenge of The Spider-Slayers, so when production rolled in on Amazing 2, I monitored the film's production and reveals, so when the trailers rolled it - it looked awesome. Sure - it looked awesome - like, a cool CBM... and, well, I honestly thought it looked enjoyable, but seriously... I didn't expect the amount of heart that'd be put into this film, nor did I expect it'd be fantastically written - it's brilliant.

Amazing 2 isn't cluttered - there's several plot elements and an overabundance of characters, but overall - they're generally handled well and the script is crisp, well written and faithful to the source material - the trio of high voltage antagonists are spread nicely and smoothly throughout the narrative, so unlike Spidey 3, the narrative isn't clunky. Every single character, save for minor characters placed in Dr. Kafka and The Board of Directors, are dynamic and fit well into the overall narrative - the primary arcs are The Rise of Electro, The Untold Story, PP/SM and Gwen Stacy Relationship, and lastly, the primary arc of the film - Green Goblin's Origins.

The Amazing Spidey 2 is basically a comic book come to life, seriously, heck - I'd say this is more comic book-y then the Avengers - in tone, structure, flow and the unfolding of the overall narrative. Yes - there's a bulk of comic book films that have been able to capture the tone and essence of their source material -- but the structure of the narrative, the method in which it unfolds... ASM2 is basically a comic book come to life. Everyone goes on about how ASM2 didn't present a self contained narrative and devoted a great amount of time on setting up, but as @daltonmunnal explained - from my perspective, it doesn't get anymore comic book then that. That's what I friggin love about ASM2... it's basically a comic book come to life - basically everything.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Green Goblin Origins would've been a much more fitting name - the entire film tells the arc of The Green Goblin's Origins and adapts Gwen's Death - these arcs are handled well throughout the narrative - honestly, I like the concept of telling the antagonist's origins throughout the whole film, unlike SM2's Doc Ock and ASM1's Lizard - there's a handful of scenes with Harry Osborn before he transforms into the Green Goblin. Everyone goes on about how Harry Osborn was rushed... but seriously? Doc Ock in SM2 wasn't rushed? Green Goblin from SM1 wasn't rushed? Are you guys kidding me? Yeah... he's PP/SM's best pal originating from the lore, but seriously, that simply wouldn't work for the narrative. Yes - Electro was marketed as the primary antagonist, but without a doubt, it's The Goblin. Dehaan owned the role, he's truly a show stealer - stealing every scene he's in.

Regarding Harry's motivation... his narrative is tragic and I can easily believe this guy's motivation - he's 20 year old who witnessed his father die and he's shattered, he's been resented by his own dad, thrust into position of CEO of a multi-billion dollar company at a young age, dying from a degenerative disease, he's a spoilt brat who's been denied his sole key of living, then he's thrown away by OsCorp like he's nothing... his motivation was well written and was original. That being said - his transition into villainy wasn't smooth, but overall, his motivation was nice.

Damn... The Goblin... The Goblin was perfect - the armour was brilliantly done, Dehaan nailed the laugh, the voice was perfect... and Gwen's death... the most emotional scene in any Comic Book film. Ever. Ever. Honestly - I don't think they could've handled Goblin's Origins and Gwen's death any better - it was brilliant. The entire film with Harry as a major player, following his epic reveal, the battle in the Clocktower... The Death of Gwen. It was a blow to the gut for Gwen Stacy to die - 2 films were we got attached the character, we pretty much all did, then The Goblin took her life...

Overall - a well written, well executed primary arc.

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Max Dillon/Electro is a mixed bag... he's the secondary antagonist in the slew of villains, and his origin is tragic - a guy who has been ignored his entire life, in the shadow, no one bothers to remember his name, and above all - he's schizophrenic, as stated in the Behind The Scenes. He's a well constructed character - the notion that one guy remembering his name boosts his self esteem and he believes they're best friends... are you kidding me!? Of course this guy is insane - heck, he's locked up in "Ravencroft Asylum"... Ravencroft Asylum - and above all, he's been tortured and tested on like a lab rat. So, yeah, I liked Max Dillon/Electro, although, honestly - it bothers me that the antagonist was underused, and he was pretty much in there for the set pieces to exist.

Eventually, Electro and Harry team up - Electro breaks out of Ravencroft and attempts to reclaim the Power Grid he built - so, yeah, this guy's ideas have been ripped off with little to no credit. It's cool that, akin to just going out there and attacking Spidey, plain and simple, he had his own arc like reclaiming the Power Grid. The costume... I kinda like the costume - not much to discuss here. Above all - I loved the Times Square sequence, it was seriously great.

The 360 panoramic view of Times Square as the camera pans to his face... it's awesome.. gives me so much feels. Well... moving on from Electro - let's get onto our third antagonist.

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Well... Rhino - there isn't much to talk about Rhino. A camp of people pin gripes against Rhino, his lack of motivation and progression... but seriously? Rhino is capable of supporting his own film - he isn't The Green Goblin, he isn't Electro, he isn't Lizard... the Rhino doesn't tie into the narrative. Heck - this is the first Spidey film to capture that. He's just a thug - plain and simple, a mafia guy who wants to earn a lot of money. Also - I've heard many are pissed at Sony for marketing that Rhino would appear for a good amount of time through the film, but nope. Webb didn't trick you guys at all - Webb himself said Rhino would only appear for 4 minutes... does that sound like tricking you? I don't think so...

Rhino was hammy, I liked it, Paul Giammati was great in the role, also.

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The Amazing Spidey 2 nailed Peter Parker and Spider-Man 100% PP/SM talked, acted and moved like the PP/SM of the comic book pages - Peter Parker was confident, charismatic, intelligent, caring, reassuring, quick witted... I've read hundreds of Spidey comic books and I can define how PP/SM of the comic books should rightfully be portrayed and depicted on the big screen - thing is, in the comics, PP/SM grew a spine... developed a quick wit - in suit and out of suit. I'm honestly glad this film captured the perfect Peter Parker. Don't believe me? You still don't believe me that the Peter Parker of this film is perfect? Fine - pick up the first issue of Spider-Island, past the prologue, read the scene with Carlie Cooper revealing her abilities to Peter, compare that to Harry revealing his degenerative disease to PP/SM in this film - and BAM! It's a mirror - he's basically a replica.

Spider-Man basically jumped off of the comic book pages... damn... this film nailed the Spidey aspect and Andrew Garfield is up there with Robert Downey Jr. and Hugh Jackman for depicting a hero perfectly. You can argue for Peter Parker, but Spider-Man... is perfect. He's humorous, he used the perfect body language, he cracked the joke - there's the skinny yet powerful look and I simply loved how the Spidey segment were spread nicely throughout the narrative. The one thing that bothers me on Spidey is his quipping around with Rhino running the other cars down. I think that's stupid... I'll admit... I love this film to death, but honestly, Spidey wouldn't quip to a criminal who's running cars down...

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Concerning arcs...

The Green Goblin's Origins: I believe this arc was well handled - I liked how this film, akin to introducing The Goblin only 30 minutes into the film... the film actually devoted a good amount of time towards The Goblin's Origins - building up the character, his motivations and the epic climax. This titular arc drives the entire narrative - also tying into other arcs - more concerning Norman Osborn and the Untold Story was expanded on this time around. The memorable, single scene depicting the infamous father/son dynamic between Norman and Harry... I liked that.

Chris Cooper was great in his appearances as Norman Osborn - not much was done with the character, there's clips before his death and then there's the memorable death scene, but it's a great casting, although I find Dafoe irreplaceable - as another user on this site explained, it's nice to witness a modernised Norman Osborn - not a mad man on a glider. Nods towards the Spider lore were nice - including mentioning the Spider was injected with a Radioactive Isotope.

A well written arc, I would've liked to have spent some more time with Harry Osborn - it was still great but more time with Harry Osborn would've been nice...

The Rise of Electro: Electro's character arc is tragic - it's difficult not to sympathise with Max Dillon, who has been ignored, and has been secondary tier, seemingly, his entire life. Electro was somewhat underused, and his motivation was convulted, though - I would've liked it to be more refined. We're introduced to Max Dillon early on in the film - I liked that, there's a couple of scenes with Max Dillon before the transformation. They could've, however, done more with the storyline, but with all other sorts of stuff going around, I understand why they didn't, but they could've worked their way around that under-usage - but like I explained, it's a comic book come to life and comic books are... cluttered?

Although there's only two encounters between Electro and Spidey - the character of Max, and his arc in general, is too spread through the story, similar to Harry. They managed to tie him into the chase scene, then there's this scene at home were we're able to grasp his obsession with Spidey, then there's two scenes at OsCorp where the writers demonstrate Max's inner anger and his transformation, then his escaping the morgue, then the Times Square encounter, then the scene where he's in prison and tortured, then teaming up with Harry and taking back the grid... then the final encounter with Spidey - so, it flows smoothly enough to look past the underusing.

Gwen Stacy's Arc

I do not like SM Trilogy's Mary Jane Watson - I find that depiction sexist and, well, yeah... I guess I don't like it at all (despite my love for the Original SM2). Emma Stone is brilliant as Gwen Stacy - she too is a show stealer, this is seriously great writing for a role that deserves being written well. Unlike several female characters in other CBM's, Gwen Stacy had her own arc where she's moving to England... and that conflicts Gwen and Peter's relationship... I like this film because it's complex and it's a web that tires into Peter's decisions. I like how they choose to adapt the England arc originating from the classic Spidey comics and it fit well into the context of the narrative.

The Bridge Kiss is... beautiful - seriously the greatest kiss in any CBM film. Ever. Puts a smile to my face - the chemistry between the two leads is authentic and the bridge kiss is also a nice nod to the comic books. Regarding Gwen's Death, one of the most emotional scenes in comic book history... I cannot bear to watch that scene. It's 100 punches to the gut - two films where we loved Gwen... the music that plays... the intensity... the Oscar Worthy performances... my gosh. Props to Marc Webb, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Hans Zimmer and The Magnificent Six for constructing this wonderful, heart wrenching scene. It's perfect.

The Untold Story: I don't... hate this specific arc? Although I simply think it's the weakest, most uninteresting of all 4 arcs and I find the opening scene of this film boring and bloated. I'm not interested in Peter's father - I'm interested in Peter Parker. Also - I honestly found it stupid that this arc, which they'd been building for these two films, was concluded with this insane plot device of PP/SM smashing a calculator against a wall... simple as that. I liked the reveal - it was surprising and it's nice for the writers to justify why the Venom cooperates with Peter's blood and PP/SM's blood only. Not much to say about this arc, though...

Verdict

Overall - in conclusion, The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro is my 4th all time favourite comic book, behind CA: The Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spidey 1 and The Avengers - this film is up there with MARVEL's greatest efforts placed in 2004's Spider-Man 2 - the foremost complex, entertaining Spider-Man film, well written, the first comic book film to truly capture the essence of a living, breathing comic book - with spectacular action and a memorable score, cast -- and brilliant characterisation.

Yes - I've referred to this film as a "Prequel to The Sinister Six" and others have referred to the film as a trailer for "Sinister Six", but in all honestly... the setting up... that's truly as comic book as it gets. The film's got it's flaws - if the deleted stuff were added to the film and if the film could've been longer and Electro's motivation wasn't convulted... this film could've surpassed CA: The Winter Soldier. Heck - I'd say I prefer the characterisation and emotion in ASM2 much more then The Winter Soldier - but The Winter Soldier is much more self contained. Although, well... to each has their own and this is a comic book come to life so it's gonna set up.

Goblin's Birth, The Clocktower Sequence and Gwen's Death will become one of the most memorable scenes in a comic book film, personally. Simply put - Marc Webb nailed what matters to nail with a well written narrative and a cliff-hanger that sets up spin-offs perfectly. PP/SM was depicted 100% perfectly. I'm conflicted... ASM1 or ASM2? Not entirely sure yet. So, my final rating for ASM2 is...

9.5/10

Well - thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave a comment below. Again - it's cool if you disagree, but any insults will immediately be flagged - whether directed to me or to others. I'll be reviewing other films - don't forget to follow the user account for more reviews. Thanks,

- TAS