The Amazing Spider-Man 2

There's something kind of workmanlike about The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  When we see Spidey flying through the city and swinging himself between towering buildings, it's impressive, but doesn't have the rush that it should have.  The villains (of which there are two main ones, and a cameo one that bookends the film) don't hold that much menace or weight, and the action seems kind of routine.  The moments where the movie does come to life are during the quiet and more intimate moments when the actors are just allowed to play off each other, rather than when they're running around the city performing daring escapades.

I kind of hate to say it, but after the genuine thrills provided by Captain America: The Winter Soldier only a few weeks ago, Spider-Man kind of feels like old hat.  Of course, it doesn't have to be this way.  I think that this just a very assembly line production - The kind of summer movie that is pumped out every year, has one big weekend, and then everyone forgets about it.  Yes, it's competently made, and the actors do the very best they can with the material.  There's even a good laugh or two, due to the fact that Spider-Man comes across more as the comical prankster that he is in the comics, than he has in past films.  And just like in 2012's reboot of the franchise, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone have better on screen romantic chemistry as Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, than Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst did in the earlier movies.  There's just something integral missing from this installment, something that could make it "Amazing" instead of slightly passable.

The screenplay is a bit of a mess, with too many villains, too many secrets being uncovered, and really too much happening in the same story.  When one action sequence ends, another is ready to start moments later at times.  And just when one villain is defeated, another one shows up to take his place.  There even seems to be an extra climax or two tacked on.  It gets to the point where the movie feels like it doesn't know when it's supposed to end.  There's fun to be had with the film, but when it just keeps on going and adding onto itself, you kind of forget about having fun and just want the thing to stop.  Returning director Marc Webb is obviously most comfortable when the screenplay gives him a quiet moment between Parker or Stacy, or even a touching scene between Parker and his Aunt May (Sally Field) that's kind of poignant.  He's better working with actors than he is handling big, engulfing special effects.

And yet, the action sequence that kicks off the film is kind of fun.  It's where Spider-Man does battle with an over the top Russian mobster played by an over the top Paul Giamatti.  The purpose for this sequence is actually to set up the next film, as Giamatti later shows up in a mechanical rhino costume, calls himself The Rhino, and will undoubtedly be one of the main villains next time around.  After this rollicking introduction, we're reintroduced to the young couple of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy.  Things seem right here, too.  Garfield and Stone are wonderful together, and I found myself caring about them.  There are a couple more fun scenes with Spidey (I liked the sequence where he stops some bullies from picking on a kid), and the movie seems to know what it's doing.  Then we meet our two main villains for this installment, and things slowly but steadily go wrong.

Both of the villains hail from Oscorp, the big evil conglomerate that towers over New York City, like all big evil conglomerates must.  First we have Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), a nerdy and needy man who feels unnoticed and unappreciated.  When Spider-Man happens to save his life one day, the guy is just so thrilled that someone actually noticed him enough to save him that he becomes obsessed with the superhero.  The first problem I have with Max is that he comes across as a caricature of a needy man, rather than a genuine one we cam sympathize with.  The movie goes out of its way to tell us how socially awkward Max is, hiding Foxx behind big thick glasses, pocket protectors, a bad comb over haircut, and clothes that don't quite fit right.  Even the soundtrack chimes in with goofy "sad sack" music that sounds like something out of an old Looney Tunes short whenever he's on screen.  It gets to the point that Foxx looks and acts like he thinks he's in a remake of Revenge of the Nerds, rather than a Spider-Man movie.

One day on the job, Max gets in a freak accident involving some genetically altered electric eels, and he becomes Electro, a glowing being of incredible electric force.  The first thing that comes to mind when we see Electro in all his supervillain glory is that he bares an incredible resemblance to Dr. Manhattan from the Watchmen comics and film.  He staggers into Times Square, dazed and confused after his accident, and runs into Spider-Man, who doesn't recognize him as the man he saved earlier.  This somehow is enough to throw Max over the edge, and become mad with his new-found powers.  As far as origins go for a hero and villain to do battle with each other, this one's kind of lame.  It doesn't help that the movie keeps Electro off camera until almost the third act of the movie, so we never truly get a sense of him as a villain, or the extent of his powers.  When Spider-Man finally faces off with Electro at the end, there's no sense of urgency, since they've barely spent time together.  It feels like just another battle for the web-slinger, and I don't think that was the intent.

Next up, we have Harry Osborn, the new head of Oscorp after his father, Norman (Chris Cooper), passes away from a rare genetic disease that Harry learns he's dying from as well.  Harry is played with a certain oily charm by Dane DeHaan that works in his early scenes, but as he slowly loses his sanity and turns into the cackling and glider-riding Green Goblin, his performance kind of loses the potential it could have had, and he turns into just another comic book weirdo.  His motivation is that he thinks Spider-Man's blood will save his life from the disease that's killing him, which once again, never quite builds into the proper rivalry that it should.  There are some early scenes developing Peter and Harry's friendship that could have had a tragic tone as the two are forced to become enemies, but it doesn't ring as strong as it should.  When the two do battle, there's no sense of tragedy.  Once again, it's just another fight scene.

That's what really winds up sinking The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  Nothing seems to have any real consequence, and nothing seems to truly impact the film's hero.  No matter how bad things get, he just keeps on swinging along and dishing out the one-liners.  It's not until the film's final 10 minutes that we finally get what we should have been getting all along - a reaction from Peter Parker.  The thing is, Andrew Garfield is so good and emotional as Parker during his quieter moments with Emma Stone that we want to see that happen once in a while during the action scenes, too.  If the hero never truly feels affected by the villains he fights, then the action sequences come across as a mindless CG video game, and hold no weight.  Speaking of Emma Stone, she delivers the best performance in the film, and I appreciated the way that the film doesn't treat her as a damsel who constantly needs to be rescued.  She even gets to help out Spider-Man in battle once in a while. 

I ultimately found myself enjoying this movie in bits and pieces, rather than as a whole.  There's a lot of stuff that works quite well and stays true to the comics, surrounded by a lot of stuff that really should have just been rethought before the actors went before the cameras.  I'm certain that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will make enough money this weekend to guarantee another movie.  What I'm less certain about is will people still be talking about this movie by the time Memorial Day rolls around in a few weeks?

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