. I hope you enjoy 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' as much as I did.

Rating: 7/10 (17 August 2015)

I was half nervous and half excited for this sequel to one of my favorite superheroes to be released onto the world. I am a huge fan of the first film that came out a couple of years ago and thought that it was a solid reboot, even better than the original one from Sam Raimi. And I felt that it needed a reboot since the third Spidey film was one of the worst movies ever made. Needless to say, director Marc Webb and actor Andrew Garfield did a phenomenal job with their version of the web- slinger. The story was spot on, the script was solid, and the acting by everyone involved was terrific.
Garfield brought multiple layers and likability to the Peter Parker/Spider-Man character that Tobey Maguire never did. And while I will always love Raimi's first two Spider-Man films, possibly because they have Bruce Campbell in them, I will always resort to these new ones, because they're just that much more fun and better made. But what got me nervous about this sequel is that when the trailers started airing, we saw bit by bit that there was going to be not one, not two, but three villains in this film. It seems like a lot of story line and character development to fit in the span of a couple of hours. Several directors have tried this before and have failed miserably. Luckily for all of us, Webb has done an outstanding job, concocting the story lines to produce a forward moving and fluid pace and story arc. The results are highly entertaining and and almost perfectly done.
This sequel starts off with a flashback that shows us what actually happened to Peter Parker's parents and why they left him with his aunt and uncle, which is very similar to the opening of 'The Dark Knight Rises'. Then we are off swinging through the city with Spider-Man as he is trying to stop a mad man (Paul Giamatti) who is in a large truck full of some chemical, plowing through cars and people, evading the cops. Webb uses his camera so gracefully and perfectly that I could literally spend hours on end swinging with Spidey through the city. It's definitely a rush.
It's graduation day as well and Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) is number one in her class as Parker is trying to get to his own graduation to see her speech and walk across the stage an accept his diploma. Gwen and Peter still have a great relationship, but Peter still struggles with seeing visions of Gwen's dad (Denis Leary) throughout the day who reminds him to stay away from Gwen for her safety. This was really a low point of the movie and felt very cheesy, but was trying to foreshadow for later circumstances. After a chance encounter with Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), a nerdy employee at Oscorp who just wants a friend and to be noticed and Spider-Man, Dillon becomes a huge obsessive fan of the web-slinger. But when a freak accident transforms him into an electrical charged mutant who seems to resemble and have the same powers as Dr. Manhattan from 'The Watchmen', his temper gets the best of him and he wants to destroy the city and Spider-Man.
Meanwhile, we see Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan, excellent) set by his father's (Chris Cooper) deathbed where Norman tells his son to carry on his legacy. Here is where we see Peter and Harry's friendship that has been strained over the years, but the two pick up right where they left off and seem to have a great time together, despite everything that has happened. Webb decided to make the whole Green Goblin aspect an organic virus that attacks the body and changes your skin and eyes rather than a suite. There is a whole lot of X-Men type stuff going on here in Spider-Man with people turning into mutants and what not.
This Green Goblin virus kills you, but Norman tells Harry before he dies that there might be a certain type of spider venom to prolong his life or actually cure him, since this virus is hereditary. So Harry asks Parker is he can get in touch with Spider-Man for a chance at getting some of his blood for survival. It doesn't pan out so well for Harry so now it is Spider-Man vs. Electro and Green Goblin. The fight scenes are epic and a lot of fun to watch. Webb had Spider-Man use his web slinging abilities and surroundings to the fullest. I just can't wait to get back and watch these action scenes again.
There are some flaws though with the film. Electro didn't seem to get the amount of time he deserved and should have been given a full movie to run with his character, instead of having to share with Green Goblin. And yes, Rhino is in the film, but not for more than a minute or two. I expect he will back in future sequels. But, Webb has big plans for the Goblin in future films as this one sets up perfectly as we get to see several other future villains for a split second. Other than that, the film was a solid sequel, and far better than what I though it was going to be. The Spider-Man one liners were excellent and funny and each relationship hit its mark. And of course, Stan Lee's cameo was brilliant as always. I hope you enjoy 'The Amazing Spider- Man 2' as much as I did.