What
an awful film. I had such high hopes for this second outing in this new
Spider-man incarnation. The first Amazing Spider-Man was great and I really
believed Marc Webb was going to give us a much improved film. I predicted the
kind of sequel that The Dark Night was compared to Batman Begins. All the
pieces were there: great chemistry with an awesome girlfriend, Gwen Stacey; a
new villain being introduced in Harry Osborn AKA the Green Goblin and a cool
reveal with Peter Parker’s parents. All of it wasted. This film is so uneven.
It’s trying to appeal to kids and also trying to appeal to grownups with mature
expectations. Please, can you just tell a good story. Is it a comedy or a
drama? Webb and company don’t know so they’re going to blend it all up and
force us to take whatever is left over. Jamie Foxx is Electro, the most lame
super villain ever. We’re supposed to sympathize for the guy while laughing at
his nerdy appearance. We’re supposed to see him rise and then cheer as Peter
Parker kicks his ass. Character development is tossed out the window and
replaced with future franchise development. Instead of watching the current
film, I felt I was seeing a commercial for Sinister Six. Bad acting (Paul
Giamatti) mixed with good acting (Sally Field). Awful music, average special
effects (or at least below my expectations) mixed with solid moments of
character exploration in Andrew Garfield. I don’t know what I hated more about
this film: that it so disappointed me or that it could have been so much
better. I don’t think there’s been such a classic comic story line wasted like
this since X-Men The Last Stand’s mistreatment of the Dark Phoenix. This film
was supposed to build off the first film and get me even more excited about
this franchise. Well guess what Sony. This film is a franchise killer because I
have no interest in seeing this Spider-man Universe anymore. Grade: C
Spoilers
One of the big mistakes with this franchise is the producers hurry to kill off
Gwen Stacey. Why do you have to follow the comics, people? You didn’t have to
kill one of the best aspects of your franchise. You could have at least
developed the Green Goblin first and then killed her in the third film. Now you
have to start from scratch and hope the actress you cast for Mary Jane is
equally as likeable and compatible with Garfield as Emma Stone was. That’s what
annoys me the most. The only character of this franchise that I really loved
was her and they killed her. Which leads me to ask the question: does
Spider-man need a love interest? Could they just have him fighting crime and
that’s it? I don’t know the answer but I sure wish they would have waited
another film before discarding her. It’s going to take some prodigious changes
for me to get excited about this current version of the Web-Slinger.
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