The far too soon reboot already starts to show flaws

Rating: 7/10 (22 May 2014)

Despite the fact that The Amazing Spiderman was an unnecessary and far too soon reboot, the first one was pretty darn entertaining. I was very sceptical they could continue this success given this was simply too soon! I was right and wrong. The Amazing Spiderman 2 is still reasonably entertaining. However, they dug themselves the exact same grave that Raimi's Spiderman did. Why do film makers not understand that crowded a movie with two or three movies worth of material make it more "epic?" One villain, one hero, one story...maybe a sub story is all that is required. Amazing Spiderman 2 has multiple villains, multiple stories and enough content to be spread over another movie. The special effects are very good, even the CGI was decent enough. The acting is decent but for two (more like three) would be excellent villains they get half of the screen time and character development that they should have. It just feels messy at times. Now all that negativity out of the way the film does feel epic in stature at times, just the way a superhero film should. They absolutely bring Spidey to life (even if some of his more well known quirks feel a little forced.)
I wasn't sure how Andrew Garfield would fare as Spiderman originally. He is a terrific actor but was he right for this? He did a very solid job in the first but this time around I started to see some things about his portrayal that didn't strike me in the right way. His Peter Parker is too awkward, almost eccentric and he physical quirks are almost irritating. He is much better as Spiderman but plays it over the top. I just think Tobey Maquire was more believable and better suited. Garfield is either too serious in the role or overplaying it. Emma Stone is very good as Gwen. Her and Garfield have good chemistry and she is such an incredibly versatile actress/comedian and this is a good turn for her. Her character has always been the most developed and gets a lot of the best story. Jamie Foxx is our villain Electro. Foxx is also very talented obviously and he is great as the villain. The problem is the lack of development for his character and how incredibly predictable and typical his character is. The geeky, nerdy and misunderstood before and the powerful mutated villain after. Its excruciatingly cookie cutter. There is just too many superhero flicks out there to replay the same old story. Dane DeHaan takes over the helm of Harry Osborn and Green Goblin. I can understand introducing Osborn but to add in Goblin was too much. DeHaan is decent and could be campy but actually pulls off the insane role quite well. Main supporting cast includes Sally Field, Colm Feore and Felicity Jones, all of whom are good.
When I see a film like this I can practically sense how over-eager and excited the director gets. Marc Webb managed to successfully reboot a series that most people thought was too soon and then he excitedly jammed everything into a sequel (which made a ton of money so what do I know?) I did enjoy it, but I was far from floored by it. As usual, the 3D did nothing for me and was unimpressive. That isn't the fault of the film but I still have yet to see 3D really blow me away in any way. The story moves along at a good pace but as I said is very crowded. The humour feels significantly forced at certain times especially Spidey's one-liners (humming the old cartoon Spiderman theme was not amusing and not even cheeky but rather forced and annoying.) The best part of the story is the relationship between Gwen and Peter and their romance. I can understand and appreciate they chose not to introduce Mary Jane because you really do become invested in their young romance even though she is not his "soul mate" so to speak. Most fans of Spiderman will rejoice in this sequel and there are some good points to it but for me it was a gradual step down from the first film and a significant step down from Raimi's trilogy. I think a change in director might be their best move at this point before this series gets buried like the last. 7/10