Another fantastic instalment - major spoilers

Rating: 10/10 (30 April 2014)

While the Sam Raimi trilogy was... fun, it was by no means the series of films Spider-Man deserved. Although people are determined to hate them for some reason, both the first Amazing Spider-Man and this one were excellent in my view. Not perfect but definitely worthy Spider-Man films. With the wisecracking Spider-Man we know and love (except for in the Raimi films, where he cracks about 4 jokes over the trilogy, half of which suck), a love interest who makes her own decisions and isn't a bitch for no reason and relatable villains, this film has everything I came to expect from its predecessor.
The relationship between Peter and Gwen is further explored, carrying on from the dilemma the first film gave, which was that Gwen's father's dying wish was for Peter to stay away from Gwen so that she could be safe. The two still deeply want to be together but Peter suffers guilt from the dying wish of Captain Stacey. In addition, Gwen's path in life seems to be diverging from Peter's. Peter ultimately sees that Gwen is going to make her own decisions in life, regardless of his own indecision.
While the relationship between the two certainly has many different interesting aspects and a satisfying conclusion, I felt it could have handled the issue of Captain Stacey's dying wish better. We're thrown right into Peter and Gwen trying to go against his wish and because we never see their initial justification for it, I personally felt like I didn't really 'get' them at times. Fortunately, satisfactory justification and possible solutions are provided later in the film. So while there were certain weaknesses in the relationship earlier on, overall it is very interesting.
The villain of the piece is Electro. A choice I was initially wary of, as Electro never stood out to me very much. I was hoping for somebody more interesting like Mysterio. However, this was a unique take on Electro and one I really got behind. They took the initial idea of Max Dillon being a nobody who becomes a villain and decided to actually do something interesting with it. He hates being a nobody, he wants to be recognised. But of course, when the world is forced to notice him when he becomes Electro, he is perceived as a freak. Take this crushing blow with the fact that Spider-Man, his idol, is tasked with keeping Electro from harming anyone intentionally or otherwise and there's a villain with a lot of potential.
Unfortunately, Electro's story ends up being the lowest point of the film. The flaws start with the heavy-handed rushing of Electro's motivation. Somebody shoots at him while Spider-Man's talking with him and Electro takes this as confirmation that Spider-Man was setting him up and is determined to kill him and destroy the city. Spider-Man, meanwhile, makes no attempt to reason with or sympathise with Electro from this point on. The result is a character who reached the final point of his arc too quickly and a hero who comes across as apathetic and really not heroic at all.
In the end, Electro abruptly is blown up as a result of Spider-Man and Gwen's teamwork. This is a perfect opportunity for Gwen to realise what a monstrous thing she's had to do as a result of choosing to stay by Spider-Man's side, killing a man in order to do what is right. Spider- Man meanwhile could have lamented on how it had to come to killing Max rather than helping him and what he's now burdened Gwen with. Faced with the dark sides of Spider-Man's quests, they could then have progressed into what comes next... instead, it's not even talked about, Harry comes in and Electro is a mere footnote.
Harry, while certainly a departure from the more lighthearted and warm character we're used to, was done rather well. From the beginning, there is a sense of menace and potential for power lurking within him, it's obvious that it's coming, due to his unfortunate association with Oscorp. Harry is both entertaining and threatening at the same time. And that's before he puts the Goblin suit on. From that point on, he's pure threatening, as long as you make sure to overlook his silly hair. In all seriousness, the sense of impending doom from the moment he swoops in on his glider and his unrelenting viciousness comes into play very well. Anyone familiar with the comics knows that Gwen is well and truly marked for death from the moment he grabs her. The poetic imagery in the clock tower and the menacing close-ups of Green Goblin hammer in the gravity of the situation. When Gwen finally falls, a shiver went up my spine, as I knew that was the decisive moment.
On the whole, this was an excellent film that continued the story of the previous very well. The problems in Peter and Gwen's relationship are explored and the potential dark side of taking on the role of Spider-Man certainly comes into play. With Peter having had a bitter taste of the repercussions of his life mission and the Goblin still alive, there's certainly potential for us to now see a dark side of Peter himself. Here's hoping for him to give Harry a beatdown mirroring the one he gave Norman!Goblin in the comics. With other potential threads set up for the future such as Harry's assistant Felicia, who will hopefully become Black Cat, serving as an ally to Spider-Man who is somewhat familiar with what he does and the Sinister Six – which will hopefully mean Mysterio – there's plenty to look forward to, in addition to the greatness of this film to reflect on.