An improved version of "Spider-Man 3".

Rating: Null/10 (18 October 2015)

I'd never thought I'd be faced with a film that I enjoy a lot and at the same time be so conflicted on it. Critically speaking, it's far from the best Spider-man movie and I can see why some would dislike this flick while simultaneously there many things I love about it and others do too. TASM 2 has become something of a anomaly in the world of superhero adaptations and saying that makes me feel strange. Why is that? Let's take a look.
To get the bad out of the way and over with, the movie makes some of the same mistakes as "Spider-Man 3", mainly having a story with tons of plot lines going on at the same time. We have Peter struggling with his relationship with his love interest, three villains showing up, the mystery regarding his parents, a conspiracy in Oscorp, etc. A few things get somewhat contrived and there's not only lots of product placement (a minor issue on my part) but also world building that feels thrown in, largely due to Sony trying to establish a cinematic universe to rival Marvel. It was clear that they wanted to do sequels to keep making money and keep the film license to Spidey. It's also something of a way to prevent copying aspects of the original trilogy like how the Daily Bugle is utilized. Also, if you're simply an action junkie, there's a large gap between two major fight scenes, so you'll have to wait quite a bit.
Having said all that, why is it that I still like this movie compared to "Spider-Man 3"? For one thing, I enjoy Peter's character and his relationships. Andrew Garfield really gets the hero, a smart wisecracker that does what he can to help others but at the same time he's conflicted about his chaotic life and how it affects everyone. I also like how he doesn't need to take his mask off a lot to express himself. His personality really shines through simply through his voice and body language, something Maguire never really achieved since much of the time he's mask-less, not that I blame him. Don't get me wrong, I like Tobey, but Garfield just nails his role. It's like Spider-man just leaped off the page. Peter and Gwen are a fantastic together, probably helped by the actors' real-life relationship. Their chemistry is irresistible and the drama between them is engaging. Heck, this is arguably the strongest part of the film and is worth seeing in that action gap I mentioned.
The action scenes and SFX are great. The stakes are as high as ever given the scope of the threat the wall-crawler is faced with. The fights are well-choreographed with Spider-man and foes really beating the crap out of each other and flying everywhere. The use of slow-motion is excellent, with the viewer able to see the necessary details occurring in the environment, especially when Peter's spider sense comes into play, allowing him to see what's at stake and what needs to be done. Character designs are, for the most part, good with Spider-man's costume being by far the best I've seen on film yet. Electro is interesting, nice veiny make-up mixed with beautiful CGI currents flowing in his body and his electric powers are a visual delight. Rhino's mech suit is well-designed, looking both functional and powerful. Only Goblin's suit looks weird to me, though it's implied to be a prototype so it's passable, but his glider has a sleek and edgy look.
Hans Zimmer outdid himself as the music is some of the best I've heard. There's several standout bits of OST, like Electro's techno suite with paranoid lyrics showing his insanity, Peter and Gwen's love music which is soothing and heartwarming, and Goblin's unsettling tone that raises to a thrilling battle music. Then there's Spidey's theme, which feels very grand and heroic, just what the web-slinger needs. Seriously, I could listen to this music all day.
Despite there being 3 villains like last time, the film makes a wise choice of focusing on two. Jamie Foxx does a good job with his role, a geeky engineer treated like crap most of his life becoming a dangerous villain after going through a tragic accident and grave misunderstanding with his idol Spidey. Some say his turn to the dark side was rushed, but I didn't see it that way. I felt that he had enough establishment and being treated badly constantly is enough to make anyone mentally unstable. Harry Osborn/Green Goblin is also portrayed well. Dane Dehaan manages to make him sympathetic and his friendship with Peter feels genuine. When he is stricken with a strange illness, it's sad seeing him slowly turning into a monster and he is pretty creepy when he does so. As for Rhino, he doesn't get much focus as he's simply a part of Spider-man's everyday life. Fans may get disappointed by this, but hey the villain was like this in the Ultimate comics. Still, Paul Giamatti makes this relatively simple baddie enjoyable hammy.
By all means, I shouldn't like TASM 2 but I do. It makes some the same mistakes as "S-M 3" but also improves on the rest. It's hard for me to give a definitive rating because people look for different things in a movie and this has so many elements that anyone can like/dislike. While I'm happy that Spider-Man will be in the Marvel Cinematic Universe now, I'll also miss this series seeing as how it's now canceled and it's a shame because it has lots of good things like the overall story and actors. I guess the best way to sum it up is that this is a love-it-or-hate-it movie, but for me, I love it and I recommend this one over "Spider-Man 3" to any fan or moviegoer. In the words of Stan Lee: EXCELSIOR!