The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Review

     The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released in 2014. It is directed, once again, by Marc Webb stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Dane DeHaan. In it Spider-Man must face a new super-villain called Electro (Foxx) while also trying to figure out his relationship with Gwen Stacy (Stone) and his old friend, Harry Osborn (DeHaan). Meanwhile, he also continues to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his parents.

     In my review for Spider-Man 2 I said that it's one of the few sequels that increases the stature of its predecessor. The Amazing Spider-Man 2, by contrast, actually makes the first film worse in retrospect. The mystery of Peter's parents death becomes even more confusing in this film. What's worse is that this film, rather than trying to put more emphasis on Uncle Ben's death and its impact on Peter, instead focuses more on the promise Peter made to Gwen's father before he died. Captain Stacy's death actually seems to have a bigger impact on Peter than his uncle's does.

     Even disregarding these issues, this film is really just a mess. There is no discernible plot or theme holding the film together, rather it feels like a series of disconnected events that cause consternation for Peter. It's also tonally inconsistent both in relation to the first film and on its own merits. Sometimes its more gritty and grounded like the first movie and other times its really over-the-top and campy. Just look at the films two main villains. Jamie Foxx's Electro starts out as an exaggerated nerd and then becomes this really crazy, unhinged villain while Dane DeHaan's Goblin is a maladjusted rich young man who slowly descends into madness. One feels like they belong in a Saturday morning cartoon and the other like they walked out of a poorly done horror movie.

     There are a few things I like in this movie. Andrew Garfield is still good as Spider-Man/Peter Parker as is Emma Stone as Gwen. Sally Field's Aunt May feels like the only really grounded character in the movie, which I appreciate. There are also some genuinely affective and even inspiring moments. The scene where Aunt May tells Peter the truth about his parents is actually pretty heart-wrenching and there is a sort of subplot involving a young boy that Peter defends from some bullies that hearkens back to the bridge rescue from the first film. There are also some pretty entertaining action scenes and I do really like the new costume.

    The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a pretty bad sequel. It makes many of the same mistakes as its predecessor and actually compounds some of that film's problems all while failing to capitalize on its strong cast or to satisfactorily expand on the mythos. In my opinion this is the worst Spider-Man film.

Score: 5/10