Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2
By Christine Petralia





Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures
May 5, 2014
Major Spoiler Alerts
In this second installment of The Amazing Spider-Man series, Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield), finds himself trying to keep Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) safe while fighting off not one, but three bad guys. The very plot-driven film brings out the fun side of Spidey, but also the deep sadness he feels as he searches for answers about his parents.
I’m going to try and simplify this as best as I can, as there is a lot of plot and introducing of great characters, not to mention amazing (no pun intended) stunts and high-flying action. The film begins with Parker’s parents fleeing from Oscorp. They question leaving Peter behind, but his father Richard insists it’s the best thing to keep him safe. Soon, he’s fighting off a bad guy trying to steal his files. Before the plane crashes, Richard manages to upload all of his files to save them. Years later, Parker is doing his thing as Spidey, out saving New York City from criminals, including on his graduation day where he misses Stacy’s valedictorian speech. He arrives in time to get his diploma and kiss Stacy on stage. She badgers him later about what he was doing, worried for his safety. Meanwhile, he keeps seeing visions of her father (who died in the first film), as he promised he’d stay away from Stacy to keep her safe. They break up later that night, but Parker keeps watch over her for a while.
To keep himself occupied, Parker tries to focus on what happened to his parents and why they were fleeing. During one of his rescues, he saves Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), a ‘nobody’ employee at Oscorp. Dillon idolizes Spider-Man and is over the moon when he’s saved. However, during his birthday, he’s forced to fix a malfunction and an accident in an electric eel tank seems to kill him. However, he comes back to life as Electro, a villain who needs electricity to become more powerful. He wrecks havoc on Times Square and Spidey comes to the rescue. (Editor’s note – this scene was my favorite as Electro’s thoughts are incorporated into the music.) Electro is captured and taken to Oscorp for testing.
Meanwhile, the owner of Oscorp, Norman Osborn, is dying. His son Harry (Dane DeHaan), who is a childhood friend of Parker, comes to his bedside and learns he’s inflicted with a terrible disease that basically turns them into green goblins. Norman dies and Harry takes over. After looking through his father’s research, he becomes obsessed with getting Spider-Man’s blood, convinced that it will help save him. Parker comes to pay his respects, and soon Harry is begging Parker to introduce him to Spider-Man.
After he tells Harry he can’t give him his blood, Parker finds a secret train tunnel where his father kept his work. He finds out about the secret research and why Oscorp was after him. He then tries to mend things with Stacy. However, he learns that she’s going to Oxford in England. And just when he realizes he needs to be with her, Electro teams up with Harry, who has injected himself with a secret formula hidden at Oscorp, which turns him fully into the Green Goblin. Both villains go after Spider-Man. Stacy insists on helping Spider-man get the city’s grid back up after Electro brings it down. And after he defeats Electro, the Green Goblin comes and kidnaps Stacy. In the rescue attempt, however, Spider-man accidently lets Stacy fall to her death.
Five months after the funeral, Parker is still mourning Stacy and has hung up his Spider-man tights. After listening to Stacy’s graduation speech, though, he decides to suit up again, in time to battle Rhino (Paul Giamatti), a Russian convict released by Harry and the ‘man in the shadows.’
This movie ran pretty long, and as you can see, has a lot of plot and storylines mixed in. I’m really glad they pulled the Mary Jane scenes from the film, to tie up the Gwen Stacy storyline. It kept the focus on how deep their love really was. I did feel the Green Goblin storyline wasn’t too developed, but I’m assuming it will be in the third film.
I loved all the action scenes, with Spidey flying around, commenting on the bad guys and rescuing people. It showed just how great Spider-Man really is. The chemistry between Garfield and Stone was fantastic. It probably helps that they are dating in real life. And Foxx was great as the loner Dillon/Electro.
I almost feel like the film could have ended after Stacy’s funeral, and then the ‘extra’ scene could have been Rhino and Spidey, but for at least $12 a ticket or more, it’s good to have all that stuff jam packed into it. I saw this in 2D, but I recommend it in IMAX or 3D because you can just tell that it’s been filmed in 3D.
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