THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
When you reboot a franchise and have a good start, the pressure is on to keep it going. The Amazing Spider-Man was a solid retelling of the iconic superhero. But when their plans became scrapped, due to Sony's decision to collaborate with Walt Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, the potential through The Amazing Spider-Man 2 became a bit of a mess in the process.
PLOT
The sequel starts with a flashback revealing that Richard (Campbell Scott) and Mary Parker (Embeth Davidtz) being assassinated before their plane crash. It would continue into the present, whereas their son Peter has grown up graduating high school and continues his work as the vigilante Spider-Man, selling photos of himself to the Daily Bugle. He tries again with separating himself from the love of his life Gwen Stacy, fearing that he'll fail to save him like her father George. When his childhood friend Harry Osborn returns to Manhattan, his father Norman (Chris Cooper) dies from a genetic terminal illness, resulting in him becoming the new CEO of Oscorp Industries. When Peter hears of his fathers death on the news, the two end up reconnecting. At Oscorp, electrical engineer Maxwell Dillon gets electrocuted when repairing a bio electric power grid, falling into a tank of eels. He survives the accident, but his body is now glowing blue and must consume electricity to survive. When Peter and Gwen try to rekindle their relationship, he goes to Time Square to gain the most power. Spider-Man does recognize him from saving him during a prior car chase. For a moment, Max enjoys that everyone is noticing him, but become enraged when the attention is taken away by Spider-Man. The web slinger does get his web shooters damaged, but is able to stop him by hosing him down with water. He is then sent to Ravencroft Institute to be experimented on. After this event, Peter tries to make web shooters that could resist the electricity, while also deciding to theorize why his parents left in the first place. As Harry’s illness continues to worsen, he looks through files of Norman’s research with Richard that merging with spider DNA could cure him. He asks Peter to ask Spider-Man to offer his blood to him. He avoids agreeing by saying he doesn’t know him. But one day, he addresses him as Spider-Man and makes clear that he won’t give him a sample because he worries it could worsen him. This disappoints his friend because he is not living up to his expectations as a hero. However, he does discover that his Oscorp exec Donald Menken (Colm Feore) has been working on illegal human experimentation called ‘Special Projects’ which includes Max. So he goes to Ravencroft and frees Max himself, allowing him to destroy the electrical power grid he designed as long as Spider-Man is killed. When they return to Oscorp, Max goes after the grid while Harry has Donald take him to a Special Projects room that has the genetic spider DNA. When he gets a dose, only for his disease to be accelerated rather than cured. Just as Donald flees, expecting him to die, Harry saves himself by putting on a prototype exoskeleton suit, which surprisingly heals the damage done to his system. When Aunt May (Sally Field) discovers Pete’s theory wall, she shares her answer of what happened to her parents: She met people from Oscorp who labeled Richard as a traitor, which confused her because she always remembered him taking a D train to work every morning. Peter grows irritated that he doesn’t have a straight answer, he destroys his wall and tosses his dad’s calculator. But when it breaks, he finds tokens to the D train. He goes to the subway, only to find it abandoned, containing a hidden lair left behind by Richard. Pete sees a confession video filmed by his father that confirms the real truth: Norman wanted his research to be used for biological weapons and Parker refused to be involved. This inspired him to work in secret and merged his DNA with the spiders during his experimentation. This means that without a Parker like Peter, Oscorp cannot replicate the formula. After finding comfort that his father was not a villain, he gets a voicemail from Gwen that she got accepted to go to Oxford University in England. He goes to confess he still loves her and is willing to go to England with her. Before they can start a new chapter in their lives, Peter has to stop Max from blacking out New York permanently. Against his wishes, Gwen helps him by magnetizing his web shooters and restore the power by overloading Max with electricity, causing him to explode. The celebration is further delayed when Harry appears via glider. When he quickly deduces that Peter is Spider-Man, he tries to exact vengeance for not helping him by killing Gwen. He captures her and takes her into the sky. When he drops her, Peter catches her and both fall into a clock tower. Harry continues to try to kill the superhero but as the two fight, Gwen is hanging on for dear life to Peter’s web. But when a gear cuts it just as Peter concusses his friend, he tries to catch and just when he does, her body hits the floor and she breaks her neck. Unable to cope with losing the love of his life, Peter stops being Spider-Man for five months. He finds inspiration again by watching Gwen’s valedictorian speech. The film ends with him returning to the scene fighting Alexei Sytsevich (Paul Giamatti), a Russian criminal that broke out of prison with an advanced suit given to him by Harry’s shadowed associate Gustav Fiers (Michael Mansee), who are planning to form a group of villains that’ll cause chaos in NY together.
THOUGHTS
The best way to discuss this film is through Pros and Cons.
CONS: What holds me back from actually loving this movie is that it's not as contained as it's supposed to be. This was where Sony wanted to ensure Spider-Man was as relevant as The Avengers by setting up big things we never got to see. And I'm talking about the Sinister Six. It sounds cool of a build up, but not worth it in the long run because we never got to see it, which makes Spider-Man fighting Rhino at the end pointless. This movie shot so much material that it irritated me of how it never lived up to potential. I'm happy Peter has closure when finding his dad's lair, but I'm conflicted on how to approach the deleted scene of him revealing to survive and remain in hiding. I don't know if it was worth filming because I keep debating on whether or not it should've made the final cut. If it did, it would've been misplaced but because it didn't, I wonder if they were even trying to make it fit. There even multiple characters that got introduced in this story, played by respectable actors and they never get the chance to live up to their potential. Felicity Jones plays Harry's assistant Felicia Harding, but we never get to see this character become the anti hero Black Cat. BJ Novak plays Alistair Smythe, but we never get to see him be a formidable foe for Spider-Man. They even shot scenes for Shailene Woodley to portray Mary Jane Watson, but those never saw the light of day. And all these issues bother me more than I got out of the actual story. To start, how exactly did the assassin kill the pilot in the opening to have so much blood in his hands? I mean we don't even see the guy's head when the plane crashes, so I kinda felt lost and I don't want to feel that way in the very opening. It doesn't even make sense in general when he chose to allow the plane the crash rather than autopilot. If he wanted to make the job look cleaner than his hands, it'd be an easier escape if he left autopilot on after killing the Parkers. This assassin's plan is more illogical than Oscorp hiring this guy in the first place because if they were ahead of the couple, they could've killed them before they ever got in the plane. And where was Peter hiding his cellphone during the first chase? It doesn't look like his suit has pockets and I know he wouldn't shove it up his rectum, so somebody please be clear about this stuff. I know Aunt May is supposed to gullible of what his nephew outside the house, but I don't like how they made her appear a little dumb. Because she should've figured out he was Spider-Man from the moment the laundry went all red and blue. And how come the eel tanks had no lids? Considering how advanced Oscorp is, I'm sure they can afford automatically sealed lids to avoid having someone like Max fall in. Harry is smart to theorize that Peter were to know Spider-Man off of the photography but in reality, it wouldn't make sense because it's not like a vigilante would actually bother making time for his photo to be taken professionally, which is why Peter points out a realistic answer that his pictures are taken from a distance. I know Harry is desperate, but that was too quick of him to figure out. I even respect Spider-Man for turning down donating his blood, but why didn't he encourage Harry to do more research with Oscorp? I get that Harry is clear that time is short for him, but I feel like if he took it in consideration, he likely would've not found and aligned with Max. And why didn't Donald try to arrest him once he found out about the experiments? I'm only rooting for Spider-Man here but if this guy wanted to ensure his secret was safe, getting Harry arrested would've made things easier. The one line that confuses me so much was Max tells him 'Remember me?' when it doesn't even look like they met before. If they did back in Ravencroft, then I would've not minded seeing that too. I even thought it was dumb seeing Donald give the injection to Harry on the gun arm. Do you want to die? Because that is asking for it. I even wonder how come Peter's spider sense didn't work when Donald was spying on him and Harry hanging out? It worked fine when Max was making his first attack, but since Donald was almost as much of a threat, he should've sensed something was wrong. I don't mind Gwen seeing Spider-Man fight Electro for the first time in order for her to know who the threat is, but how the hell did she get there at the same time as the protagonist did? She doesn't have powers and Time Square is indeed packed of a location, so that's insane how she got there so fast. Also, how come no cop noticed Spider-Man with the firefighters? I know that's supposed to be a surprise for Electro, but its worth sacrificing the visual joke of him wearing a fireman's hat, no matter how funny it'd turn out. I can admit that Richard had a cool hideout, but did he really build it alone? If anything, I'd like to believe Connors paid some people to help him out because it's obvious Norman wasn't involved in it. I even wonder if Gwen really heard Spider-Man give the signal because he looked pretty far from her when he was doing so. Lastly, who the hell recorded Gwen's speech? I keep wondering about that since the closeup on her is insane and I haven't spotted a school camera during the graduation scene, which makes it harder for me to believe someone had done so. I do wish the best of luck for others to ignore these flaws when (re)watching because it was hard for me.
PROS: Even though I call out these flaws, I won’t deny that I had a good time during my first viewing in theaters. Although the Sinister Six foreshadow backfires, Marc Webb is able to make every other storyline deliver and the visual effects are still impressive enough to keep the fight scenes interesting. I even dug this film's score better than what James Horner did in the first film. I feel like the composing team of Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Junkie XL, Johnny Marr, Mike Einziger, Steve Mazzarro & Andrew Kawcynski were able to succeed in creating music that would make this feel as exi\citing as the film is supposed to be. Even when hearing 'It's On Again' by Alicia Keys & Kendrick Lamar, I got so pumped that I couldn't help but want to see more of what was given, which is the best thing about movies. I think the reason that this film can find a remain effective is because we learn so much more from our protagonist than expected. Andrew Garfield goes through a ringer in this entry and is able to teach the audience that the past does not define you and not giving up is the only way to overcome the odds. Because of that, he is able to give people the hope he knows he gives. Seeing a dressed as him confront Rhino is an emotional moment before Spider-Man's return because it proves how this guy can bring out the best of ourselves. I say this character goes through a ringer because he is living in a roller coaster of emotions: He is desperate to know about his parents, disappointed that he can't help his friend the way he wants to and is unsure if pursuing love is worth it. The fact that he was able to regain confidence after all the stress and pain he went through makes him all the more inspiring of a character. Emma Stone is still as good as she was the first time around because she is just as smart and independent as we remember. Her death remains a heartbreaking moment because you know it's coming, since the ghost of George appeared throughout the film and her death was an infamous moment in comic book history. What you can oddly take away from it was how it was never Peter's fault in the end because she chose to help, knowing he needed it. It proves that despite the sacrifice, true love can win the day. She may be physically gone, but she'll always be with Peter in spirit, which is part of what motivated his return. What is essential to having a superhero franchise watchable is having villains that are as memorable as the hero himself/herself. While I can't say this was the case for Rhino, it's obvious that it applies for Harry Osborn and Electro. You definitely have big shoes to fill when playing a role previously portrayed by James Franco, but Dane DeHaan is able to make Harry his own, the way Garfield did for Parker. Because of the neglect from his father, he doesn't have the motivation to be on the right path. This results in him becoming an aggressive figure, determined to keep himself alive. Sadly, he went too far and became the Green Goblin in the process. When he did, he became just as terrifying as you'd expect, but I wouldn't say on par to what Willem Dafoe did. However, it was enough for me to be impressed and it is disappointed we couldn't get to see his Sinister Six plot fully go into motion. While DeHaan was good, I think Jamie Foxx was the better villain in the role of Electro. At first, he is a lonely guy that deserved to be noticed for his work as an engineer. He loved Spider-Man more than anyone else in NY because he was the only one to genuinely notice him and not ignore like everyone else would. But when he gets his powers, the rage inside him comes out and becomes more hungry for power than Harry ever could be and refused to be ignored this time around. A guy with that motivation will always be intimidating.
In conclusion, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has its moments to be a passing sequel. And if you can ignore the fact that this was supposed to build bigger things, there is a better chance of enjoying this superhero film.
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