Not So Amazing

Rating: 7/10 (2 May 2014)

This film was a bit of a departure from what I was expecting based on the previews. I thought it would be action first, story second. This however, was not the case. The majority of the film is a drama. A character study of Peter Parker, his journey to find out more about the mysterious disappearance of his father years ago, his quest to conquer his love issues and internal conflict with the promise he made with Gwyn's father, his role as a friend to Harry Osborne and a nephew/son to his Aunt May. Although directly related to his identity as Spider-man, he doesn't have many physical dangers as Spider-man. Sure there are a few criminals here or there, but Spidey doesn't ever seem to have an issue resolving the problem. When needing to save 20 people at once, time just slows down and he does it without a problem. Some of the action even seems a bit 90's "Batmani"ish. He also seems intrinsically motivated by mostly his selfish desires and not actually saving people or being there for his city. I don't think it needs to be the predominant theme, just doesn't seem to be present at all. His acute reflexes and strength are more than sufficient for almost every problem he encounters. There typically is not a real sense of danger or mortality for him. While I appreciated Parker's attitude and snarkiness in the first film, it doesn't sit as well for me here, or maybe doesn't feel as genuine.
We first see Spider-man in a scene toward the beginning of the film in a very cheesy scene with graduation taking place the same time as Peter trying stop an out of control plutonium truck hijacked by Victor (Giamatti). This seems a huge departure for Giamatti and just feels awkward, not gritty or realistic like many of the Marvel movies made today. I kind of feel that way with a lot of the action in the film although the beginning is by far the worst. There definitely are not as many action scenes in this follow up as there were in the original, and I'm not sure if the film is better or worse for it. I actually dug the drama aspect of the film for the most part. It did seem like it was a love story predominantly, and this could "kill" (pun intended) the continuity slightly when moving to the third installment, as I just don't think it's going to feel the same. Sequels are rarely better than their predecessors, and this is NOT a bad film, but based on the trailer, I was expecting more in this 2.5 hr escape.