My Review for "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"
WARNING: SPOILERS ABOUND!!!!
I’ll be honest, when I went to see the Amazing Spider-Man 2, I didn’t have high hopes. The first one, was good, but not great. Needless to say, my expectations were not very high. Instead of feeling like a breath of fresh air, much of Marc Webb’s take on the Spidey-verse felt like we had been there and done that, and his version didn’t add anything new or innovative besides a focus on Gwen Stacy. While looking up other reviews of ASM2, my hopes were dashed as the film scored only around 50% on other sites. However, I was pleasantly surprised that once you managed to peel back some of the fluff surrounding the movie, you quickly realize that what once seemed like effluvia is really just distracting window decoration which hides the true genius of this movie. In some cases, this added material distracts from the overall story, but once the movie hits its stride, it never looks back. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a very good Spider-Man movie, perhaps rivaling its processor, 2004’s Spider-Man 2 (with Toby Maguire and Alfred Molina) in terms of good old fashioned fun and a great take on some of the webslinger’s most powerful and interesting villains. In addition, its willingness to do the unexpected helps cement it as one of my top 3 favorite comic book movies- ever.
Before I begin tearing apart the movie for what it did poorly, let’s start with the good stuff: characterization. First and foremost, I can’t think of other comic book movies beyond Avengers and The Dark Knight that get the villains so right. Jamie Fox as Max Dillon/Electro may just be one of the greatest villains ever put to film. There may be some who say his shift from normal everyday person to villain is too sudden, but I found this shift to be both organic and understandable. Max Dillon is just a cog in the machine, that is to say, a nobody; it is not until Spider-man saves him during an early chase scene that Max Dillon shifts from nobody, to obsessed Spider-man fanboy (some of us may be able to relate?). Misunderstanding Spidey’s candor and jokes as a serious statement, Dillon becomes obsessed with the wallcrawler, and begins to idolize him, eventually imagining mock conversations between himself and Spider-man. When Dillon is forced to stay late one day after work to reconnect a broken power supply cable, his life is turned upside down and becomes much… brighter?. Needless to say, Electro is born soon after. Initially terrified that he “died” in the aforementioned accident and came back to life, Electro is soon surrounded by police (because a glowing blue guy in Times Square, or anywhere for that matter, is a bit strange) and eventually, mistakes Spider-man as ordering the police to shoot at him. Here, a villain is born. His perception of Spider-man as a hero is shattered, and now, Spidey is another of his heartless oppressors, just like Dillon’s bosses. Jamie Fox manages to portray Max Dillon as a misunderstood hero, one who asks ‘“why should I trust you?”’ to Harry Osborn. Osborn’s response, ‘“because I need you”’ begins their uneasy, but useful, partnership.
Dane DeHann, who plays Harry Osborn, is much like Webb’s take on Peter Parker, only without Uncle Ben (or anyone) as a moral center. Parker’s history is fraught with the unknown, never knowing what happened to his parents, never having that final closure (spoilers, we find out what happened to them). However, Osborn was shipped away by his father, (though it was to protect him from learning that he has a rare genetic disease from his dying father) Norman. Once Norman dies, Harry takes over the company, finding that OsCorp is a corrupt company headed by shareholders who would want nothing more than to see him run out the company, which eventually comes to pass. The interesting thing about this portrayal of Harry Osborn is that he and Peter both suffer from what I would like to call, “the sins of the father.” Peter cannot move on with a certain part of his life because he doesn’t know what happened to his father (which is explained and eventually brought to a close) while Harry was shipped off to boarding school and therefore resents his father for never being there for him. Both men eventually find out that their fathers left a genetic legacy for them, and both of them now must bear the genetic “sins” left behind by their fathers. The most interesting thing about this fact, is that Gwen’s dad, George Stacy, also factors into the “sins of the father” as Peter is torn between being with Gwen, and protecting her from harm. This plotline is used to the fullest. Peter’s brief, yet haunting visions of a disappointed Stacy truly start to dawn on you after you realize why fathers are so important to these characters.
Predictably, the legacy left to Harry by Norman drives him to his eventual transformation into the Green Goblin. Being frightening, scary, and gross all at once, DeHann manages to portray a Goblin that is both fearsome as well as maniacal. While his introduction in the end is shoved in at the last second of the climactic battle between Spidey and Electro, DeHann makes it interesting enough until you don’t notice how quickly the script is moving. I look forward to seeing Harry Osborn, played by DeHann, develop in future movies. The fault with the quickness of the script lies not with the actors, but with the writers and director. The plot, as it stands, of Spider-Man facing off against Electro and Goblin, is spot on. Kudos to everyone involved in that. The finale between Spidey, Gobby, and Gwen? Fantastic. I’m sure Emma Stone is sad about leaving (maybe… Clone Saga anyone?) but she goes out with a (thud) bang. Excellent plot development.
While we are speaking of quickly progressing scripts, I should bring up several points of contention with the script/screenplay itself. First, the entire 20 minute plotline (the opening of the movie) dealing with what really happened to Richard and Mary Parker in the plane is unneeded. It doesn’t do anything, it isn’t that interesting, and ultimately, becomes just another hostage situation in a plane. That time could have better been served elsewhere, such as fleshing out Gwen and Peter’s relationship, and trust me, you will wish they had at least one more scene to hammer things out. For example, several scenes with Gwen just seem off. Perhaps Webb wanted to do something different with how she is typically portrayed, but she seems to straddle an uncomfortable line between loving Peter and loving Spider-Man. She is both comfortable and uncomfortable with being left behind by Peter, who knows he is putting her in danger. Regardless, Gwen does choose her own path, but these scenes and dialogue exchanges only served to confuse, rather than interest me. Perhaps that was Webb’s desire, to show that love between two 18 year olds is confusing and scary and fraught with adventure and loss, but an early scene at an Asian restaurant dealing with the unsure feelings between Gwen and Peter had me more perplexed than interested regarding the uninspired dialogue.
While I expended glowing praise of Jaimie Fox and Dane DeHann, I should also mention several other great performances, as well as some lackluster ones. Gwen and Norman Osborne are quite good. When providing Peter a way to fight Electro without the villain’s electrical powers frying his web-shooters, she quips, ‘“That’s why you were 2nd smartest at Midtown.”’ I truly loved how Gwen was smarter and more accomplished than Peter academically, and Emma Stone gives a rousing performance. Chris Cooper as Norman Osborn is as terrible, venomous, snooty, and dastardly, as you could want from Norman Osborn. I think I speak for many when I say: bring on Norman Osborn for Sinister Six! However, while everyone loves Sally Field, the material she is given to work with for Aunt May is simply… lacking. Rather than being portrayed as a sweet and lovable grandmotherly figure, Field’s May is much more modernized as a sort of stepmother for Peter. Therefore, she often chastises him; I expect May to be like Batman’s Alfred, caring and resilient, not lifeless and prone to fits of angry crying. Sadly, I don’t care for this portrayal of May. That is not to say all of her scenes are bad, since much of the comic relief of the movie comes from May and Peter’s jokes with each other. Finally, Andrew Garfield makes a fantastic Spider-Man, but I find his Peter Parker to be rather boring. Perhaps that is the point, to make Peter as boring as possible in order to draw attention to the Spider-Man persona. After all, how could mild mannered Peter Parker ever be someone as fantastic and amazing as Spider-Man (Superman anyone?). His scenes as Spidey, however, are nothing short of ripped straight from the comics. Great work by Garfield when it comes to bringing the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man to life. A small aside to Garfield’s work as Spidey, the final minutes of the movie, dealing with Peter’s depression and return, are clichéd. We’ve seen scenes like this in many movies, as the shifting seasons while Peter mournfully stands over Gwen’s grave just didn’t do anything for me. Also, during the blackout, the film tries to inject extra drama by introducing a thematically useless near-miss with two planes. These scenes are perfectly useless, and feel like the entire wrong genre of movie.
Finally, my last points of praise concerning the movie’s use of music and CGI. The soundtrack for this movie is phenomenal. Hans Zimmer and the Magnificent Six (which makes me laugh, Sinister Six? No one, okay, I’ll leave) have crafted my all-time favorite movie soundtracks, and I loathe movie soundtracks. This one, is Amazing thought (HAHA, I kill me!). Anyway, one of the greatest uses of music in the movie are the small additions of dubstep whenever Electro attacks. It isn’t overly done, and it serves as a sort of leitmotif for his appearances and actions. When you hear it, you know a powerful attack is coming. In addition, the visuals that accompany the music are very near perfection. The webswinging with Spider-man feels very fluid, and Spidey’s movements feel and look natural on the screen. As you might expect, the action is fast paced, but it was never too much for my eyes to keep track of. Unlike many action scenes, the camera doesn’t detract from what the actors are doing on screen.
One sentence review: Assuming you can overlook some slight errors in scripting and pacing, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is a movie you should see if you want to see what a good Spider-man movie is.
