good, not great

Rating: 7/10 (1 May 2014)

Spiderman, Spiderman, Does whatever a spider can Spins a web, any size, Catches thieves just like flies Look Out! Here comes the Spiderman.
We all love this theme song from the Spiderman TV series. Apparently, Spidey loves it too, so much that it is his ring-tone in The Amazing Spiderman 2. As like the previous film, Andrew Garfield's Spiderman is straight off the comic books- lissome, smarty pants, witty, and affable, everyday hero. The people's hero. But is it his greatest battle? Not really, even though he had to stop Electro, Green Goblin and the Rhino, all in the same movie.
Like most superheroes, Peter Parker's struggles are within himself, to balance his obligations for his friends and family and his extraordinary responsibilities to New York City as Spiderman. With the back-story kind of done with in the first movie, director Marc Webb does not waste anytime but cuts straight to the chase. And chase it is in a breath- taking sequence as Spiderman saves bystanders, cops, foils a plutonium robbery while talking mushy with Gwen Stacy, at the same time. Things are not all hunky dory though, with Peter consumed with guilt over the possibility of Gwen being exposed to his adversaries, and his continued disturbance over his parents' disappearance. Adding to the volatility is the origin of his perhaps his most popular foe, Electro, and the emergence of Peter's best friend Harry Osborn.
First the good- it is a great thing whenever Spidey is suited up. For when he does, he is either inducing guffaws with his one liners, or taking us on a roller coaster ride with his slow motion acrobatics and creative uses of his web-slinging capabilities. Andrew Garfield is a GREAT Spiderman, full of joi de vivre. Radiating nervous energy and childish enthusiasm, his chemistry with Emma Stone's Stacy is excellent. The visual effects are amazing, and the villains are suitably over the top, with Jamie Foxx's Electro getting maximum screen time, a hilarious Paul Giamatti as Rhino, and Dane DeHaan who turns into the murderous Green Goblin by the time you blinked. New Yorkers seem to love a show clapping and cheering their hero, and like a pro wrester, a show it is that Spidey gives them, every time a maniac pops up. People familiar with Spiderman canons will know the fate that awaits Gwen Stacy and so the rest of the movie plays out like a sappy teen romance drama, and largely a popcorn affair.
The bad- there is too much happening. Two is company, three is a crowd. Three villains is an overkill, though in deference, Rhino just makes a special appearance in this, promising more in the next film. The narrative suffers from being the second movie in a planned trilogy, as a result it asks more questions than it answers. What is up with Richard Parker? What secrets will the hidden laboratory hold? Who is the man in the hat? Why is Oscorp the center of all mayhem?
There is a deluge of superhero films, and I have a feeling The Amazing Spiderman 2 will get lost in the crowd, because it is good, but not great. No worries though, redemption coming right up in 2016, and villain list is set to include the Rhino, Vulture and Doc Ock- 7/10