This Rebooted Franchise Just Gets Hammier As It Goes

Rating: 3/10 (3 May 2014)

Frankly, watching the new Spider-Man movies made me miss Sam Raimi's original trilogy that much more—yes, even Spider-Man 3 (actually not even a hater of that movie like most people on the "cool" or comic-book train). This rebooted series has plenty of flaws and is markedly lacking in so many aspects that it often gets awkward and groan- inducing, including Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker. I preferred Tobey Maguire's Parker simply because he was much more relatable, sympathetic, likable—you know? This one is a cocky lady-charmer with a slew of cheesy jokes. Nope, as far as I know about the original Peter Parker from the comics, he was always a geek who eventually donned the bright outfit and took on the role as a "friendly neighborhood" and hero. We are far removed from that image with Marc Webb's rendition. Personally, though, it's definitely more fun to write a negative review than a positive one (I feel like there's so much more things to say) so the film did give me that pleasure. Ouch!
Anyway, the mystery behind the sudden disappearance/deaths of Parker's parents continues from the first installment, and we're actually presented with much more depth into the arc this time around. In addition, Peter Parker is still attempting to somehow address Gwen Stacy's and his relationship after the death of her father and the promise he made Parker keep. Lots of drama already, and then—boom—a plethora of villains because we obviously didn't have enough story to cover. First, we get Electro (played by Jamie Foxx) who actually benefits from an intriguing set-up/origin story as a nerdy, awkward Spider-Man fanatic; that was fun. However, once we witness his transition into his villainous role as Electro, things start to get hammy and ridiculous with never the slightest hint of believability or proper development. There's never a scene that explains how he suddenly turned from a shy, humble Oscorp employee into a menacing, destructive baddie. "I AM ELECTRO!" Yes, he actually said that in the movieIn a significantly smaller part, Paul Giamatti horribly portrays the rhino, and yes, he too laughably exclaims "I am the Rhino!" at one point in the film, as well as carries a terrible Russian accent (I guess that's apparently what that babble/gibberish was supposed to be). Cringe- worthy, I know! Just like the rest of the flick's dialogue.
And finally, we have Peter's dear friend, Harry Osborn, who of course turns into the Green Goblin, and actually, in comparison to the rest of the "super-evil" characters, he was fine. Now, Dane DeHaan, for some reason, thought that putting on a forced, deep and maniacal-like voice was going to sound convincing or make him sound more like a typical teenagerit didn't work. Usually, I'm a huge fan of DeHaan's work (from Chronicle to Kill Your Darlings), but this performance really disappointed, and like the rest of the film, was quite over-the-top. Most importantly and what I briefly mentioned above, the dialogue just can't be taken seriously.
The conversations frequently make you cringe as far down as you can get into your seat, and the actors clearly think that stumbling with your lines and repeating the same word makes for fine acting. In essence, almost everything in this film feels forced and unnatural, and I don't know if Webb was going for a truly comic-booky superhero movie. If so, it really worked but not in a good way. The film is so confident that it abandons any sense of being grounded and just goes all out. Screw logic and have this guy burst with electricity, and yup, he gets even more powerful with the more electricity he consumes. If you're a comic- book fanboy, you might be biased into not minding these sorts of elements, but as a pure fan of films, it honestly was difficult to stomach.
Shall we get to the movie's soundtrack too? You know it's a 2014 Spider-Man movie when you hear dubstep and hip electronic music playing in the background. Did we see any of that in the original trilogy? No because it wasn't necessary, and it also wasn't popular back then. Moreover, there's a scene that unnecessarily begins playing a pop/country song that makes it feel more like a music video than an authentically-edited search for information on his dad's death. Last but not least, in comparison to the original films, The Amazing Spider- Man 2 is undoubtedly geared towards younger audiences with its inclusion of extremely kiddy humor that only saw laughter from—who else?—the little kids in the movie theater. I thought Spider-Man was excessive with his use of jokes but, at least, witty ones.
So, I practically drove everything this movie offered into the ground with this review, but don't get mad at me yet, Spider-Man fans, because— at least—the movie gained from the chemistry Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone share on-screen as the couple. On another note, the filmmakers actually pulled off a considerable risk towards the end by—*gasp*— killing off a character (like they did with its predecessor), which is certainly more than Marvel Studios could ever do with their properties in their magical worlds of miraculous revivals and recoveries. Furthermore, we do get some exciting action sequences and thankfully, Spider-Man faces off against his threatening foes a few times throughout the narrative instead of just an immediate final showdown that an abundance of similar movies mistakenly feature.
In the end, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 isn't the worst of superhero movies. Actually, it's a little better than its forerunner and even more enjoyable than some of Marvel's recent films, but when compared to the classic superhero movies that Sam Raimi graced onto screens, the X- Men franchise, and—duh—Nolan's Batman films, this new Spider-Man story hardly warrants the franchise's quick resurrection.