A step in the right direction

Rating: 7/10 (13 May 2014)

This movie has many strong elements that work, despite having uneven pacing and several plot threads that lead nowhere or are barely developed (e.g. Electro's motivations as a villain, Richard Parker's story). Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone share great chemistry together as Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. Their scenes together add up to one of the most funny and touching portrayals of romance seen in recent memory. Marc Webb imbues these relationship scenes with a nice visual flair and energy, as previously seen in '500 Days of Summer.'
The relationship between Peter and Harry (played by Dane Dehaan) was also nicely done with the few scenes they had together, but unfortunately Harry's transformation from Peter's best friend into the Green Goblin felt hasty and patched together (why was Harry so urgently pursuing Spiderman's blood as if he was dying the next day when his father lived a long life?). The same issues plague the film's portrayal of Electro. Jamie Foxx is fine in the role and fills out the character of Max with his own set of quirks but after an impressive introduction and action setpiece in Times Square, he is basically dumped to the sidelines and rarely is given the chance to grow as a character or deepen his relationship with Spiderman. By the third act, Electro is thrust back into the main action, but we don't sympathize or identify with him; he merely functions as an obstacle for Spiderman to overcome. Thus, the final action setpiece between Spiderman and Electro is visually impressive but lacks the stakes of a truly epic battle. However, the clock tower sequence at the end of the film is beautifully staged and filled with heart wrenching emotion. If only the rest of the setpieces were able to balance the tonal overlap between human drama and comic book action, the overall movie would feel more cohesive as a whole.
This sequel is an improvement on several fronts from the first Webb-helmed Spiderman. The action featuring Spiderman's abilities is clearly staged and well-directed (the bullet-time motif is cleverly implemented from Spidey's point of view). The villains, while based on archetypes, are at least given some screen time to develop their relationship to Peter/Spiderman before being consumed by their banal world domination plans. All of the supporting actors do fine work (especially Sally Fields as Aunt May) and help flesh out the normal everyday world that Peter Parker has to navigate when he's not slinging webs. However, I wish that all the time spent on the Richard Parker storyline actually went somewhere, instead of stalling out with Peter finding a magic subway car and being faced with vague implications of a 'conspiracy.'
Garfield and Stone deserve merit for fully inhabiting their characters and providing a jolt of energy to the movie's stop-and-go pacing. Their electric chemistry and natural charm illustrates the spark that was woefully missing from the Peter/Mary Jane romance in the Raimi films. Hopefully, Webb will have a better grasp on the pathos and humanity of not just the teen heartthrobs, but also the villains in the next installment.