Spidey Swings into Action

Rating: 4/10 (22 April 2014)

Spider-Man's film franchise has always been a bumpy road with Sony Pictures. The Sam Raimi trilogy for the most part revitalised the Superhero genre that was stuck in the mud with the abysmal Batman and Robin. The first Spidey outing changed the genre around and managed to get fans interested in the characters and the storyline once again. The sequel improved with a more complex villain and better character development. However, fans lost faith with the threequel and Spidey's future was stuck to one huge tangle of a web.
Then along came Marc Webb, with The Amazing Spider-Man which was shrugged off by the critics and called a cash grab. However, whatever criticisms there have been of the previous four films this one seems devoid of all of them and gives fans what they have longed for; an exciting, mesmerising and pulse- pounding adventure one that stays true to the comics.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a jam packed film and every shot has been thoroughly examined and expertly directed by Marc Webb. The effects are the best that they have ever looked, the characters are fully developed and we care more than we ever have done about them all and the action and story threads are not all over the place. The beauty of TASM 2 lies in the fact that the origins of Spidey have been set up and he is free to roam this spectacularly created world.
It is fair to say that there has not been much hype surrounding this superhero sequel and going in with high but not extreme expectations it blew them out of the park so effortlessly I was left gob-smacked. This leaves us with undoubtedly a Superhero for the ages and the best outing for any standalone character since The Dark Knight Rises.
The score composed by Hans Zimmer shows off his mastery of the Superhero genre of music and his themes for Spidey, Electro and Goblin are always enthralling and only add to the burst of colour and energy that we receive on screen. Here's to hoping he can stay on as he proves himself a worthy heir to Danny Elfman's Spidey scores.
Furthermore, the story threads are balanced with ease and that is not a small task to be had. There are three villains; Electro, the Green Goblin and the Rhino. The rhino played with a maniac twist by Paul Giamatti relishes the short screen time he gets and leaves us longing for more (which will come with TASM 3). The goblin (Dane DeHaan) gives a better performance than the campy version we got with Willem Dafoe in 2002. He brings menace and I was shaken up when we hear his manic cackle from afar off screen. His relationship with Peter is explored and his origin story is told well and most importantly of all his character motivations makes sense. Electro (Jamie Foxx) gives a career changing performance and matches if not exceeding Doc Ock in 2004. He is similar to this character as he is more of a tragic villain, striving to be noticed and changing by a terrible accident into the deformed and terrifying Electro. He changes so drastically throughout the film's runtime it leaves us with a Spidey villain for the ages.
Gwen and Peter's relationship is given plenty of depth and is not (thankfully) lost in the plethora of set pieces and action scenes that frequently take place. The struggle of Peter's double life gives us many twists and turns. Andrew Garfield (who is by far the greatest Spidey and Peter Parker) and Emma Stone light up the screen with their meaningful and charismatic chemistry ensuring that sometimes two people talking can be just as exciting as watching the action unfold.
The final end scene is heartfelt, surely bringing a tear to even the most cold-hearted of people and will definitely leave viewers overwhelmed by the direction this sequel takes, yet it is never clichÃ©d, boring or predictable.
This is a smart film and should be the template for Superhero sequels to follow in many years to come; it is a game changer one that breaks the mould and sets the bar as high as Spidey's web can reach. Webb will need to be on top form to exceed this rare thing; a Superhero Masterpiece.