The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) **

Rating: 5/10 (24 May 2014)

SPOILERS- I didn't really need or want to see this, but I had a few hours to kill one afternoon and this was the most accessible movie at the theater. It's not that I don't appreciate Spidey; I grew up a fan of Marvel and Spider-Man, and I had seen the first three Tobey Maguire Spider-Man films already. When Andrew Garfield played the part again in yet another needless reboot called THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN two years ago, I refused to bother, so soon after Sam Raimi had already done a new series. I found that as much as I don't think much of Tobey, I thought he still had made a better Peter Parker than Garfield.
Let's get down to business. So this Part 2 of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN was about what I expected, no less -- but also, unfortunately, nothing more. Typically overdone special effects... a movie that feels way too long, with too many climaxes... and also trying to cram in too many bad villains for one movie (so what else is new in Superhero Cinema?). To begin, Jamie Foxx is ridiculous as a sniveling Max Dillon, who turns into "Electro". I couldn't believe we had to sit through yet ANOTHER take on "The Green Goblin" (Dane DeHaan)... come on, with all the classic Spidey villains over the decades, must you rely on a character we've already seen in the last recent series? And the final joke of all was a completely out-of-place tacked-on climax with Paul Giamatti as a thug in an over-sized mechanical robot contraption, who is allegedly supposed to be "The Rhino" (I remember The Rhino from the comics -- and this metallic monstrosity looked more like J. Jonah Jameson's "Spidey Slayer", or the one that Thunderbolt Ross manipulated to thwart The Incredible Hulk!). And speaking of J. Jonah Jameson... where the hell was he in this picture, anyway? He was a vital part of Spider-Man. Was he in the first movie? Not that I'm going to see it.
Sally Field is a terrific actress, and she tries hard in this movie as Peter's old Aunt May. The only problem is, she doesn't really look or feel anything like the real Aunt May from the comics, and -- I hope Sally will appreciate this -- she's not old-looking enough. Or maybe I'm just still used to seeing that sweet and chubby little face as GIDGET or THE FLYING NUN.
Emma Stone was okay, I guess. Nothing that stood out, certainly, in her performance as Gwen Stacy. The one kudo I'll give to the film (can we still call these things "films" nowadays, or are they now "digitals"?) is that I was crossing my fingers that Gwen would meet her death like she did from the comics, and I'm glad the movie did not waffle there; however, her death scene was so over-staged and sensationalized: falling, falling, falling, falling...still falling! ... amidst slow-motion, in mid-air drama...with cartoon debris effects littered and flying all about the air... Enough. ** out of ****