The not very amazing spider-man

Rating: 5/10 (25 July 2014)

In general I like superhero films. I have little patience for boring love stories and cartoony villains, but usually these films have some good story and fun spectacle. The first 2 Spiderman movies were excellent and the third isn't even as bad as you remember. So why reboot? What could possibly be the point? Why do these movies even exist? They're about as necessary as the upcoming Paul Blart Mall Cop 2. However, these movies are here and there's nothing we can do about it. The first was a poor reboot that didn't follow the original as closely as people say it does, but is bad because it's not a good comic book movie in general. This sequel is a slight improvement. For some reason, they decided to do the Spiderman 3 formula and have Peter Parker juggle battling a multitude of underdeveloped villains while sorting out his personal life. The truth is, TASM 2 isn't really a movie. It's a compilation of advertisements for upcoming cash grabs which just sets up sequels and spin offs.
The story is overlong and lacks emotional depth, the script is underdone and the film feels totally unfocused and overstuffed. Andrew Garfield is a bad Spiderman who cowers in Tobey Maguire's shadow; Jamie Foxx is weak as Electro but Emma Stone plays the definitive comic book movie girlfriend and Dane DeHaan is excellent as well. Few can argue that Peter and Gwen's relationship was spot on. As well as that, Marc Webb (Probably hired just because of his name) is a pretty strong director and the action scenes are visually stunning and often fairly exhilarating. You also feel like you're swinging through the air with Spiderman. Therefore, despite the weak narrative there's always fun to be had with the set pieces, which thankfully don't disappoint. Gwen Stacy's death, though spoiled by the internet and trailers, was still a powerful moment and far better handled than most of the film. TASM 2 is a weak albeit watchable comic book sequel that boasts some neat touches but it's totally overloaded. Maybe it's time to leave Spiderman alone for a while.
5/10