Fun, well done and well acted, but with script problems, Spectacular Spider-Man 2 has great chances of repeating the success of the previous film

Rating: 7/10 (10 April 2020)

Despite some criticisms, the previous film received several positive reviews, in addition to a good result at the box office worldwide, thus guaranteeing a sequel. Again directed by Marc Webb and scripted by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner and James Vanderbilt based on the characters created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, we see the return of Andrew Garfield as our hero, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, as well as Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Paul Giamatti in the roles of the main antagonists.
In this sequence, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) loves to be Spider-Man, even though being the arachnid hero puts him in very complicated situations, especially with his girlfriend Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and aunt May (Sally Field). Despite this, he balances his various facets as well as he can. At the moment, Peter is more concerned with the ghost of the promise made to Gwen's father, that he would walk away from her to protect her. At the same time he has to deal with the return of an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), and the emergence of a powerful villain: Electro (Jamie Foxx).
"Spectacular Spider-Man 2" continues several plots presented in the previous film, showing Peter who remains Spider-Man and helping to save New York City and who also works as a photographer for the Daily Bugle. In love, he continued the relationship with Gwen Stacy, but he lives tormented by the promise made to the father of his love, which ends up wanting to cause a series of conflicts in the relationship and distancing him from Gwen even with the two loving each other. This plot is interesting and makes the relationship evolve, bringing new questions, such as the proposal for Gwen - who continues to work at Oscorp Industries - to study in Oxford, England amid the separation of the couple, which leads them to question whether they should or not to follow different paths in life. Would the couple's love be enough to forget past promises and move on, respecting each other's choice? Once again the chemistry of the couple Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone - who at the time were also a couple in real life - is genuine and engaging. The pair of great actors manage to pass all the complicity and love to overcome the barriers in their relationship. They understand each other in looks, in conversations, in small teasing with each other. By the way, Gwen has a much greater importance than it already had in the previous feature.
The character Mary Jane Watson would have a small appearance in this film and would certainly assume the role of Peter's love interest in an eventual conclusion of this second trilogy of the character, especially after the events of the last act of this second part. Mary Jane would be played by Shailene Woodley, who even filmed some scenes like the character in the film, however, months before the premiere, it was announced that Mary Jane was cut from the film. Director Marc Webb later said the cut was "a creative decision to simplify the story and focus only on Peter and Gwen and their relationship".
Another plot that has new developments is the past of Peter's parents and how he continues to influence the hero in his decisions. The script shows us more of what happened to the parents just before the plane crash that killed them, the connection between Peter's father, Richard Parker, with Norman Osborne and why he had to abandon his son in the care of his uncles Ben and May, as much as they didn't want to. Finally, Peter - and the audience, of course - has many of the answers to the mysteries he has always sought to unravel since he was a child. Her relationship with Aunt May (Sally Field) is also more interesting, with her aunt wanting to protect the boy from the events of the past concerning Peter's parents, whom she believes to be the truth about what had happened. This unbridled desire for Peter to know the truth about his parents' past also causes jealousy in May, who does not want to see his boy suffer.
However, the way of approaching the villains was once again the major narrative problem. Even though he has been on the production team since the first trilogy led by Sam Raimi, it seems that Avi Arad and Kevin Feige did not learn much from the initial trilogy. Again, the producers and director Marc Webb try to put several villains and interconnect them in a single story, but just as in "Spider-Man 3" - which brought together Areia Sand, the new Green Goblin and Venom - the script does not convince and tries to get just an excuse to join the greatest number of threats possible in a single film, without developing any of the characters.
Theoretically being the main villain of the film - which even gives the film its name - Max Dillon (Electro does not pass the image of a great threat until near the end. Played by Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, the character is presented as a brilliant scientist, who developed a plant alone for Oscorp, but who is a rejected person, without friends and who has always been invisible to everyone and who puts on a pedestal anyone who gives him a little more attention or who makes him feel special. Living like that alone made him an extremely unstable person. The point is that Electro's motivations are not credible. The fact that Spider-Man paying attention to him has already made him venerate the hero, even when the Spider doesn't recognize him anymore transformed after the genetic alteration he had suffered after the accident at Oscorp, it is enough for him to become his enemy. Not to mention that he is easily defeated in the fight in the middle of Times S quare and only reappears in the final act when allying with another character.
Harry Osborne appears after studying at a boarding school at the age of 11. Rejected by his father and destined to suffer from the same genetic inheritance as his family, the heir of Oscorp Industries returns to see his father Norman (Chris Cooper) practically on his deathbed and starts trying to get the blood of Spider-Man, who could use to search for a cure for your degenerative disease and save your own life. Harry is presented as arrogant, ambitious and doubtful. His father's abandonment and rejection shaped that boy into what he became. Peter's old childhood friend and having helped him when the boy had lost his parents in the past, the two meet again and resume the friendship relationship. The two support each other, as they consider themselves as two rejected, abandoned by their parents. This relationship could have been much better developed, but Harry's vindictive attitudes occur extremely quickly, as well as his transformation into the Green Goblin - with a much better look than that presented in the first trilogy. The villain appears out of nowhere, attacks the hero out of nowhere, loses easily and then disappears, to resurface in the end allied to the mysterious Mr. Fear, in another moment of pure confusion. Despite the good performance of Dane DeHaan, the abrupt form of changes that occurred with the character, are negative points. DeHaan's Green Goblin would deserve an entire film as the main character, so that it could be fully explored.
To make matters worse, they still managed to fit in a third villain, Rino (Paul Giamatti), who appears in the first and last scene of the film. The great visual surprise of the film has mere seconds to show its best shape. The character only served to show the audience fans of the comics, what the villain's look would be like in real life. Giamatti, who is an excellent actor, does not have any space to develop the villain.
The director Marc Webb bets again on the direction of actors and proved to be competent again both in the action scenes with his camera always very well positioned to bring the best angle to the audience, especially when she passes for the heroes of the arachnid. Despite very well constructed scenes, the feeling we have is that more impactful scenes were lacking. Highlight for the fight sequence between Electro and Spider-Man in Times Square - the electrocuted handrail with the highlight - and the entire final sequence at the Oscorp plant between Spider-Man and the two villains. As in the previous film, the visual effects are incredible. We can also notice a greater number of comedy scenes. In addition to the chemistry with Emma Stone, Garfield is even more comfortable with the character. The Spider looks like he's out of the comics. The attitudes of the Friend of the Neighborhood are perfect. In the fight against villains we have the playful Spider, practically dancing with the enemies.
The soundtrack was composed this time by Hans Zimmer, replacing James Horner, the composer of the first film. Marc Webb and Zimmer formed a supergroup with Williams, Johnny Marr, Mike Einziger and Eurythmics, David A. Stewart, to create the music for the sequel. Eventually, Stewart did not participate in the film's music, and the supergroup, credited as The Magnificent Six (in reference to the Sinister Sextet) helped Zimmer in the compositions.
However, Spectacular Spider-Man 2 is again a lesser adventure than it could be. It lacked the old lesson of "less is more" to guarantee a feature film in its total efficiency and with fewer questions that invalidate its potential. In the face of this gigantism and the poor choice in the subplots to be addressed, The Spectacular Spider-Man 2 is stuck for much of its narrative. The film only thrills once and for all in the beginning and also in the final stretch, when it gains apotheotic airs. It's time for the special effects show, the exciting battles and a good dose of courage, to the delight of those who know the story of the arachnid hero in the comics. Fun, well done and well acted, but with script problems, Spectacular Spider-Man 2 has great chances of repeating the success of the previous film.