I'd like to think Spider-Man gives people hope...

Rating: 7/10 (29 April 2014)

I made it no secret that I adore Marvel Comic Books and Spider-Man is no exception so I was really excited to see this movie. Was it good? Yes. Could it have been better? Of course. If you don't understand what I am getting at, then allow me to explain. This leads of course to the flaws first. Gwen Stacy's death was foreshadowed through the entire movie taking great inspiration from Amazing Spider-Man #121 and #122, 'The Night Gwen Stacy Died!' with Gwen wearing similar clothing and Spider-Man and Green Goblin fighting at George Washington Bridge. The reason why the death of Gwen Stacy worked in the source material was the fact that it demonstrated that Spider-Man abilities can't always be effective in many cases and it was Peter Parker's responsibility for Gwen Stacy's death so we can sympathize with him. In the film, The death doesn't have that, in fact it's not a theme within the movie and it's not even hinted at. Gwen Stacy's death is just a death and is not a lesson for Peter to learn going forward. The beginning of the movie focuses on Peter feeling guilt meeting Gwen because of her father dying in the first movie so they part ways because of that. When it comes to her death, Peter learns absolutely nothing and the death of Gwen Stacy already solidifies what Peter Parker already knows and was specifically proved by the break-up at the beginning of the movie. So I was kind of disappointed on how Gwen Stacy's death was handled on the big screen.
Certain techniques of the editing sort of unsatisfied me; sometimes it felt like various shots were just put together one after another, without much of a consistency. This however changed half-way through the movie so I'll consider this a minor flaw. Despite the fact that it's referred to as 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2: The Rise of Electro' in some countries, I think it was a bit unnecessary to specify it as that particular title as Harry Osborn seems to maintain a bit more screen time than Max Dillon. Paul Giamatti as Rhino is considered a minor villain in this case and will expect him to be in The Amazing Spider-Man 3. I'm not judging the Rhino regarding of how much screen time he got, for me the Russian accent seems to be a goofy throwback and is way to over the top.
I will progress onto the good points. The performances I won't go into too much detail considering that the cast were magnificent at their roles. Andrew Garfield for instance, in my opinion portrays Peter Parker almost identically from the comic books. He is smart, witty and responsible in most cases. If you didn't like Peter Parker's personality in the first movie, then you are bound you like him in this case the fact that he expresses his jokes hilariously in many circumstances as it was precisely done in the comic books and he maintains concern and respect towards his close relatives. Also, the way Andrew Garfield in the Spider-Man costume swings throughout New York City is really magnificent as I can recognize the swinging techniques from the comic books.
Also, the cinematography is beautiful to observe and various sequences including Times Square, the final encounter at Power Plant and the death of Gwen was really effective, due to the slow-motion before it and the look in Gwen's eyes before she dies are just good examples of the specified element. The GCI is admirable as towards the end of the movie for instance, Spider-Man and Rhino are running towards each other was a proficient technique, Spider-Man's swinging techniques was amusing and the rest of the action sequences are provided identical treatments. I don't even need to mention the action sequences due to the fact that it's pretty obvious that they are improvements over the first movie in the franchise and that the battle sequences between Electro and Spider- Man are one of the best action scenes in this particular movie; this specifically proves that Marc Webb is enhancing in terms of action/adventure movies.
The soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer was more memorable than the first movie; a good example of this 'I'm Spider-Man' and it is amusing as the film had me humming the theme whenever it was on-screen, and it is a very powerful tune that makes you root for the hero. This film also had good character arcs; want me to give examples? How about the fact that Peter Parker is questioning his decision to go out with Gwen Stacy after breaking Captain Stacy's promise from the first film, Electro being obsessive over the superhero Spider-Man then has deliberate hatred towards him after he accidentally steals the spotlight, or Harry despising Spider-Man and growing more desperate to save himself. Granted, they were a bit rushed but at least the film actually attempted to provide reasonable character arcs.
Overall, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a good film and is sure to please the general audience. Despite its mentioned flaws and comic book accuracy errors, it contains great action sequences, brilliant performances with the exception of Paul Giamatti, good character story arcs, spectacular cinematography, adequate visual effects, a memorable soundtrack and is faithful to the comic book character in some cases. See it if you wish. I give this movie a 6.5/10.
Considering that IMDb only allows me to insert limited amount of characters, I'd recommend that you view my full review on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBJ7B-SGC1g