The "Almost there" Spiderman

Rating: 7/10 (7 May 2014)

While watching "The Amazing Spiderman 2" it is very clear why Marc Webb was given the reigns as director. When it comes to the emotional core of the story and getting performances to match those many emotions in the film he does a hell of a job. The romance between Gwen and Peter is much more believable and real than Peter and Mary Jane's in Sam Raimi's trilogy. If only the rest of the film had the precision that the love story does this film would have been a home run.
The film falls somewhere in the middle of something amazing and a missed opportunity. It never does get to the lows of some of the most terrible comic book movies like "Batman and Robin". What is most frustrating about it is that there is greatness hidden in such a bloated film where the misses outshine the hits. The first part of the movie where we are shown how comfortable Peter has fit into his role as the hero of the city while trying juggle his feelings and guilt about Gwen and the broken promise he failed to keep with her dad is where the film shines. This goes beyond Garfield and Stone being a real couple. There have been plenty of films where the two leads were a real life item but the chemistry failed to translate to the screen. Garfield and Stone are perfect for each other in this movie. They bounce off each other perfectly with all the romance and flirtatious dialogue they are given. While the romance is the strongest aspect of the film it does crutch on a bit too much at times, which in results in it being a bit too cutsey. That said, all the rest of the relationships are quite well done. Aunt May, played by Sally Field, is still a great emotional center for Peter. She provides Peter with what Uncle Ben did before he was killed. The characters growth is sold through Field's acting ability and some interesting plot points. In this film we meet the famed comic book villain Harry Osborn, who eventually becomes The Green Goblin. Even though Harry and Peter's relationship origin has been changed and is a bit underwritten; Dane DeHaan and Garfield do give off the vibe they were friends separated by life's obstacles. DeHann is sinister, cold, and a bit frightening with the limited screen time he has. It is going to be interesting what he brings us next time with more screen time.
That screen time is given to Max Dillion and is one of the mistakes the movie commits. Where Harry's story is full intrigue, important to Peter's life, and had the potential to be something really great, we are given an extremely clichéd and underwritten backstory to why Dillion turns evil when he becomes Electro. Where Harry feels like he could have been a great fleshed out character, Electro feels like a secondary villain. Foxx does his best, and he is good, but the character is very underwritten and seems to have no other purpose than to showcase the effects in the movie.
Andrew Garfield's confidence in this film has grown. He captures both the awkwardness and heroism that Spiderman/Peter Parker possesses. When he has that mask on he is a man that so many place their hope in for a better city. This point is nicely done at first but kind of gets overly dramatic towards the end. One thing that Garfield is great at is the legendary Spiderman wise cracks. His sarcasm and wit are so sharp when it needs to be. This is mainly because you can see Garfield loves playing the role. The bar has been set by Andrew for future actors of the role.
One thing I will give Webb is that it seems he embraces the fun of Spiderman this time around. Where the 2012 film was a tad serious, this one embraces the spirit of Spiderman and the fun it is to be him. Even the suit has lost the out of place dark eyes and replaced them with the iconic large white eyes. The colors of the film are more vibrant, especially when it comes to Electro's screen time. When combined with Garfield's spirit it creates a light hearted superhero film that has seemed to be lost and looked down upon ever since Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" franchise. Several points in this film will bring a slight smile to the most jaded comic book movie fans. There are times though the choice of making it lighter does backfire. Some scenes or lines come off way too corny or feel like they belong in a bad 90's comic book film.
For the most part though, Webb understands the balance between fun and serious. His ambitious nature does hurt the film a bit. Where some parts of the are extremely well done and you want to see them expanded, the amount of material stuffed into this film prevents that from happening. The first time Webb had to search for his own identity and found it in this film. Maybe next time he will learn to trim the fat because underneath this good film is something truly amazing. Hopefully next time we will get to see that.