The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro

"Let's go catch a spider."

Marc Webb's first feature film, 500 Days of Summer, was a successful small indie romantic film with a lot of heart. He went from that to the huge production of the Spider-Man franchise which I thought didn't necessarily need a reboot so soon. However the film did work thanks to Andrew Garfield's portrayal of Peter Parker. His natural charisma and confidence translated really well to the character and his sense of humor makes him the perfect candidate to play Spier-Man. I began my review by mentioning that Webb directed 500 Days of Summer because for me the heart and soul of this film is the love story between Gwen and Peter. I can't think of any other superhero film with such a great love story and believable chemistry than this one. Garfield and Emma Stone are incredible together and I loved their scenes. Webb knows a thing or two about young romance and it is the film's strongest asset. The sequel is entertaining and has some great action scenes, but I could've watched this film for the romance alone. The flaws are actually the villains in this film. They don't crowd the film like the trailers led me to believe, but they really don't seem to menacing until we reach the final third act. For a film that runs at 140 minutes it went by really quick and that is always a good sign. Spider-Man 2 might not be as good as this year's Captain America, but it does have its solid moments and clever one-liners. At times the CGI took me out of the film as it looked more like a video game, but there were some interesting shots as we got to follow Spider-Man swing across the New York City landscape. The film works better as a romantic comedy than an actual superhero movie but that was fine with me because it was a really good one. It makes most other recent rom-coms look ridiculous and unbelievable.

After a short flashback where we see what happened with Peter's parents, the camera follows Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) swinging across NYC as he tries to stop a Russian mob criminal, Aleksei Sytsevich (Paul Giamatti), who has stolen something from OsCorp. In the midst of all the action he receives a call from his girlfriend, Gwen (Emma Stone), who is reminding him that he's going to be late for their graduation. Somehow Spider-Man manages to take care of business and arrives in the nick of time to receive his degree as Peter Parker. His Aunt May (Sally Field) is the only family he has left, but she's there for him like she's always been. Peter however has been having visions of Gwen's father reminding him of the promise he made to not date his daughter in order to keep her out of danger. Apparently it has been a conflict they've dealt with over the last few months and Gwen decides it's time for the two to break up. Gwen continues to work at OsCorp which is now managed by Norman's son, Harry (Dane DeHaan), after his passing. Harry seems to suffer from the same degenerative disease of his father and wants to continue researching for a cure in OsCorp. Peter is glad to see his childhood friend back, but when he realizes what he's up to things get complicated. When an employee from OsCorp suffers a freak accident he becomes Electro (Jamie Foxx), a dangerous foe for Spider-Man and the city.

The Amazing Spider-Man has some flaws but it still entertains thanks to the great chemistry between Stone and Garfield. They are perfect together. DeHaan is also great as Harry and he does look like a believable threat for Spider-Man. I had a problem with Foxx's clumsy performance as Max but once he becomes Electro he does look menacing. I didn't care too much about the villains or the action set pieces despite the fact that they were well crafted. The inner struggles that Peter Parker faces with his family drama and relationship with Gwen is at the heart of this film. The final act is more than just a gigantic action face-off, there is actually a lot of emotional elements at stake and that is what lifted this movie as it finished on a high note. There was a very emotional scene scene near the end of the film that left the entire theater in silence. The best thing about this sequel is that it was much more emotionally involving than the original and it banks its strength from Andrew Garfield's charismatic and spot on performance as Peter Parker.

I don't get the hate for this movie. Was it the ending? the death scene? green goblin? TASM1 I can understand that one was bland.

Fans just love to nitpick and don't know what they want.

Its a sad, fun movie all the way. Like all spiderman movies , shows, comics. Peter is trying to figure stuff out while nothing goes right. He fights crime, gets a big baddy and wins.

Same thing happened in this movie, but for a price.

I'm an unabashed die hard fan boy for Spider-Man. There I said it. You can call me a homer for anything Spider-Man. I wasn't a happy camper when I heard they were rebooting the films that I fell in love with. The first two Raimi films for me were great. The sequel still holding up today as one of the best superhero movies of all time. The first Amazing Spider-Man was a bit jarring for me. I walked out of the film not knowing what I thought about it. I enjoyed Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man but his Peter Parker didn't click with me. I also had some nit picky things about the film as a whole (Gwen instead of Mary Jane, lackluster villain). But watching the film a few more times I realized that I liked it.

I do research on films that I'm excited for. This film came out weeks earlier in the UK and Europe. And the reviews were mixed which was sinking my high hopes. I didn't like the fact that there were three villains (More on that later). But it seemed like they were choosing the right actors for parts and surrounding the film in talent. After much heart and headache reading people thoughts and reviews for me, I'm okay with saying I liked much of this second Spider-Man film.

Andrew Garfield is Spider-Man and it seems he's embraced the part much more this time than in the first film. His Spider-Man is having fun being the savior of the city. He's making the quips, the jokes and the all around energy of his Spider-Man feels directly out of the comic book. I am finally sold on his Peter Parker. Director Marc Webb finally lets the smart but dorky Parker shine in a few scenes that are hilarious and engaging.

I'm still not an Emma Stone fan but she is a good counter to Garfield's Parker. They have excellent chemistry. You can tell that these may be Webb's favorite scenes to shoot. When they are on screen this huge summer tent pole film because a small drama about two people with a unique love story.

The villains, there are three of them but not really. Let me explain. Rhino played basically as a cameo by Paul Giamatti is really only on screen to show Spider-Man in action at the beginning and end of the film. His main adversaries are Jamie Foxx's Electro who starts off as a man who is saved by Spider-Man. He then becomes a obsessed fan only to in perfect comic book fashion have a horrible accident that grants him superpowers. Foxx is okay, I wouldn't say he is awful. He has some good moments and contrary to what has been written I think he only has one cringe worthy line.

Dane DeHaan is one of if not my favorite actor working this moment. His method style works so well in many of the films he's in and here it's perfect. His Harry Osborn is less cartoon-y than James Franco's from previous films. He's creepy, spoiled, arrogant but dealt with a lot of adversity. His chemistry with Garfield feels genuine. It doesn't feel forced like it could have been. They are long time friends who have been distant but because of new circumstances are forced back together.

The action is fun, fast and so Spider-Man if that means anything. The way they use his spider sense was very cool. I want to see more of that. The small nods to the comic book are fantastic. There are nods here and there to the upcoming sinister six film which doesn't cloud the film. It's just there in the story that this is apart of a large story in the future. I was trying to count the nods to the comic books. The only issues I had with the film was Peter's search for what happen to his father was kind of just there to fill time. Also the great Sally Field as Aunt May got only a few scenes. She was great on screen but mostly wasted.

Because this film is dividing fans I think I've pinpointed the problem. I'm a fan of the comic books and this film feel like a few issues of the comic books aka a mini-series. There are multiple stories, with multiple villains and a lot going on. I'm okay with the finally product and eager to see the film again. For Garfield's performance, the chemistry with Stone and the action scenes this film is a fun ride for any fan of the neighborhood web shooter.

As the story unfolds, and all conspiracies behind Oscorp unwind, the life of our lovable web-swinger gets more adrenaline full and also more complicated. There is a bit of a sense of DeJa Vu, specially when Peter Parker is trying to balance his personal life and his super hero life. But the aspect in which this movie really shines (like his ancestor) is in the characters, however this time the emotional weight is much more present,and the scale of both the drama and action is much bigger. Andrew and Emma were just as great as in the previous movie, and the chemistry between them is fantastic. Jaime Fox also nailed it as Electro, even thou the character itself was not the best written character, but his performance was so great that i was able to overcome the writing. Dane DeHann was equally great as the Green Goblin, at first i didn't like the idea of Harry being the Green Goblin instead of Norman Osborn, but it was a good choice and it matched perfectly with the plot and tone of the movie.(Also Dane has a knack for playing psychopaths) As to be expected there are plenty CGI scenes but it really didn't bother me because the action sequences were done in a very creative way. The Score, composed by Hans Zimmer,is amazing and somewhat contemporary, so it fits the themes of each character and moment. Overall the movie was much more intense and heavier than the first installment, as our main character deals not only with supernatural challenges but also emotional dilemmas.

The original trilogy seemed incomplete but now, that incompleteness is completed by this new one. I love the background story of Spiderman shown in this movie, at least it has got one unlike the original. The story of how Peter Parker ended up with his Uncle and Aunt, the story of why "Peter Parker" is the only one who could be Spiderman and no-one else. It all feels complete now. A satisfactory plot for a superhero movie.

Talking about the performances, I like the new Peter Parker, humorous and entertainer. I've started to feel the original 'Peter Parker' was actually boring. Really good job by the actors here. And with that SuperVillian : 'Electro', the movie becomes one of the best SuperHero movies. Visual effects are quite good and the movie is perfectly entertaining. For me, this is the best version of Spiderman movie till now. I don't care what the critics have to say, this movie is a good one.