A discussion on The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Needless to say there will be spoilers, you have been warned.
I enjoyed this movie better than I did the previous Amazing Spider-Man. However, I can see why people would not like it as the story was all over the place at times. But it does have its moments. Here’s what I thought worked and didn’t work for the movie.
What worked for the movie:
-Excellent chemistry between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy which pushed the film. The love interest isn’t a damsel in distress and actually helps the hero as well is very likable.
-Good fight sequences and visual effects
-Phenomenal portrayal of Harry Osborn, who was a much more reliable villain than Electro.
-Something I did like for the usage of Electro was how the movie combined music (mostly techno or pop) with Electro whenever he shot out lightning bolts, some will find this annoying but I rather enjoyed it especially when Electro used the ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ song in the final battle against Spidey.
-Some funny scenes.
-Easter eggs: Someone who could be Felicia Hardy (aka. The Black Cat) is Harry’s assistant, Alistair Smyth cameo, Sinister Six build-up.
What didn’t work in the movie:
-The way that Rhino was portrayed turned me off a little for the Sinister Six movie, I mean really, did they need to give Rhino Gatling guns?
-J. Jonah Jameson turned half the city against Spider-Man, yet in every scene when New Yorkers see Spider-Man, they love him. It’s only through radio viewers, that they say the webhead is a menace
.
-Speaking of J.J.J., the only interaction between him and Peter was through email.
-Hated the whole Captain Stacy appearances that caused the friction between Peter and Gwen and derailed the momentum of the movie.
-The introduction of Max Dillon was creepy as it showed that he was obsessed with Spider-Man and the movie didn’t thoroughly establish him as a tragic character as it just builds up his frustrations for not being needed by anyone. Wasted talent and not utilizing Jamie Foxx properly.
-The whole movie was very cheesy and acted out like a soap opera at times (ex. Little kid dressed like Spider-Man stands up to Rhino, then Spider-Man coming to fight Rhino).
-The narrative of the story was all over the place and hurt the movie a lot as it tried to focus on too many different storylines (Should I help Harry or not, should I be with Gwen or not, Electro’s storyline, the mystery of Peter’s dad, company takeovers, etc.).
Final thoughts:
No way is Norman Osborn dead after we see him for like 3 minutes. I was surprised they killed Gwen in this movie, thought she would have made it to the 3rd movie and at least they kept her death true to the comics. I just don’t want this new version of Mary Jane to just be screaming every scene she is in and for her to be intelligent and not a damsel in distress. To me, it was a good movie and helpfully they don’t screw up the spinoff movies. However, if your not going with a group of friends or a Spider-Man fan, you may want to wait for the movie to come out on DVD or streaming online.
What is everyone else’s thoughts? Was the movie amazing or not-so amazing?
