The Amazing Spider-Man 2

(WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS)

OK, so as a self-confessed Marvel comic/comic book film fan, my hit rate for films seen has been a bit of a mixed bag of late. I missed Thor: The Dark World (had to see that one on a later DVD release; for the review see the blog's archive) I may possibly miss Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier, and I REALLY hope I do not miss X-MEN: Days of Future Past when its released later this month (if I don't - be sure there will definitely be a review of that one). I am glad to report however, that today I got to see The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the sequel to 2012's all-new, all -shiny revamp of the Spider-Man saga. Now of course, any sequel is going to get compared to its predecessor, but this film also is under added pressure as this re-vamped franchise often gets compared to Sam Raimi's thee-film Spider-Man run of the early 2000s, starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. Fully fledged comparisons with other film series aside (perhaps that might be another potential blog piece) and remaining with this one; all in all I really did like this film. OK yes, there were a couple of things that did not sit right with me but there were enough plus points to carry Spidey home here in quite spectacular style.

Of course, let us address the stars of the show. After two films, I do believe Andrew Garfield to be a great incarnation of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. From the off, it seemed like he had an intrinsic idea of what the character was expected and was meant to be, by the fans, by the director, by the cast, and by himself. He resonates brilliantly as Peter Parker, and often delivers just as well as Spider-Man, and everything in between. Not that this was never true of Tobey Maguire, but it was so in different ways definitely. For example, Garfield has injected a good dose of humour and cheekiness (though on the odd occasion straying into arrogance which I don't like) that I don't feel Maguire ever really mastered. Yet at the same time, Maguire's Spider-Man always resonated gravitas and firm resilience, even in his darkest hour, whereas Garfield seems a lot more free-flowing and malleable in his portrayal of the web-head. OK, I'm going to stop the comparisons now, as we're here to focus on this one film primarily; they are both great actors and both great Spideys, yet this is now well and truly the time of Andrew Garfield to shine, which he does indeed.

Another core aspect of this Spider-Man of course, is the leading lady Gwen Stacey, played by the beautiful, beguiling and brilliantly talented Emma Stone. Many who have worked on these films have commented that the chemistry between the two is always incredibly tangible, and that does definitely come out in spades when watching. The Gwen/Peter relationship has been ever-evolving from the very start, and Emma Stone encapsulates Gwen Stacey to the core, as Andrew Garfield has with Peter/Spidey. Individually they are great to watch, but together they are superb, and as an audience member you never want their screen time to end. And yet... From the moment it was first announced that Emma Stone would be bringing Gwen Stacey to this incarnation of Spider-Man, any Marvel comic fan worth their salt had an inkling of what was coming. Yet the brilliance of this twosome's chemistry and how their relationship has played out did keep me guessing, at least until the last twenty minutes or so of this sequel. Following that however, and with a sense of impending and tragic inevitability, the classic sequence was brought before my eyes in a very powerful, slightly different, but still quite resolute way. Nevertheless, despite firm fans possibly knowing what was coming in this Gwen and Peter story, every moment of it, throughout both films, is done perfectly and wonderfully to behold, and that I think is thanks in no small part, to the two talented young actors behind this great on-screen pair.  

The other major cast member to return for this sequel is Sally Field as Aunt May. I do feel Sally Field has well and truly established herself as the Aunt May of this film series, no question about that, and most of the time her scenes, almost exclusively shared with Garfield, make for touching and/or humerous viewing. And yet, with the first film and this one, I just don't beleive in her performance as much as I wanted to. I think there might possibly be a similar issue to Field's performance in Lincoln (again for my review - see the archive) in that she was perhaps thinking too hard and trying to force a bit too much into her character as Aunt May, leaving the result a tad flat. If you take it as red that Aunt May is on screen before you and accept her in this Spider-Man universe as so many have then that is fine and you will enjoy her scenes as much as any others. Yet I think if you search for any depth to Sally Field's Aunt May, which you'd be forgiven for as she is given quite a few powerful scenes, you might be a little dissapointed.

A new addition this time around, is Dane DeHann, who is the Harry Osborn of this re-vamped saga. Whilst he convincingly comes off as the young, manipulative "anti-archetype" of a villain behind the scenes, the moments where DeHann is required to either resonate personally with Garfield's Peter, or later descend into manic and murderous insanity as the Green Goblin, whilst good, are nowhere near as good as they could have been I think; perhaps even ranging into the clichéd. The Peter/Harry relationship is just believable enough I think, and whilst the Green Goblin side of the character was done in a bit of a blur (and at times wasn't aided by DeHann's performance) it was action-packed and dramatic enough too, and from how it was left I'd wager it ain't over yet.

Other new villains of this film include Paul Giamatti as a self-confessed "hammy" Russian gangster who eventually becomes the Rhino. Say whatever you want about this, I have no doubt Giamatti enjoyed doing this one and for what it is, it certainly shows. Also we have Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon who becomes the super-villain Electro. As I'm sure fans will know, Foxx is billed as the main antagonist of this film, and he deserves to be. I really do think that Jamie Foxx has evolved into a superb actor in his prime, and that is the case again in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. He is just the right amount of vulnerable, sweet-natured and just on the right side of pitiable as "nobody" Max Dillon, and upon becoming Electro he is just the right mix of troubled, power-hungry and quite kick-ass.

Yes, this sequel in a young yet thus far great franchise does have a few plot holes and the tad demure performance here and there, all summed up to create a blot on the film, but quite a small one. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is all kinds of action-packed, emotional roller coaster-esque, and a film that epitomizes the whole idea of a Marvel Comics movie, more so than many I have seen in a while, Spider-Man or otherwise. Regardless, if you are a fan of Marvel and Spidey then I am pretty darn sure you'll love this film. If you aren't, but have the slightest of inklings that this genre might be for you, then this film and its predecessor are certainly not bad places to start.