The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro

This film is getting too much hate by some people and too much love by others (including me), and it seems to be only based on the mental image each group has of spider-man and movie scripts in general.

Those who love the soup opera aspects of Peter Park, hated, they missed the character grow, the motives of the villains (arguable) and complained for having too many story lines. On the other hand those who love comic spidey, loved, for all the stupid puns, the charisma and the of course the action. But the main complain is about the script, but understanding as a comic adaptation, it makes sense, the several sub-plots going on between each fight,the preface and Peter Parker/Spider-Man parallels objectives, it makes just like a regular comic (weekly or monthly) and less like a regular movie.

But What can I say, I was expecting to see the real (mental image, again) Spider-Man on screen, the costume is really (a lot of emphasis here) beautiful, Andrew Garfield really is in the character, Emma Stone makes an active love interest, Dane DeHaan makes a 'realistic' Green Goblin and Paul Giamatti goes a over-the-top, more related to an usual Spider-Man Villain. The only big flaw is Jamie Foxx getting the spotlight just because Django, the character is lost in the movie, half-way between fun villain and real threat, shame because he is the main villain.

Marc Webb got me, I'm gonna be the first in line for: The Amazing Spider-Man 3, Venom-Carnage, Sinister Six, maybe Spider-Woman (not confirmed yet), or any other release of a fun comic adaptation.

"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'm not a big fan of super hero's movies. but i quite like this one. when it comes to the technical part, the images, sounds, filming and directing stuff it was great.

but when it comes to the story, it was a bit twilighty. it was a love story more than a superhero's one. i found my self emotionally involved with the characters and their relationship more that the action part which is the whole movie based on. I mean, I like the new version of spider man i find it more realistic, I liked peter and how he added a great sense of humour to the character. even Gwen and Harry they were great.

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.

I can't say I went in to the theater with high hopes. I did enjoy the first installment of this unnecessary reboot, almost anything seemed like a step up from "Spiderman 3", and Garfield felt way more natural than Maguire, and Emma Stone is always welcome. But after seeing the first trailer I thought it seemed like a total mess, and I wasn't convinced by Electro one bit. Unfortunately I was spot on, I hoped to at least get an enjoyable time at the cinema with my friends, but ended up feeling quite uncomfortable and laughing throughout most of the film.

Garfield and Stone has their chemistry and does their best with the incredibly thin script and cheesy one-liners, but their potential quite beautiful scenes together gets lost in the over-full and messy plot. I can't buy an emotional scene that is interrupted by heavy dub-step and a blue electric guy.

Oh Jamie Foxx, how did you go from Django to this? Before he goes all CGI-Electro he tries to play the nerdy unseen scientist (with a worse comb-over than Christian Bale's 'Hustle'-look). As Electro it's hard to say how much is his fault, and what can be blamed on the rest, I'd go with the rest. You don't sympathize with him nor do you believe how fast he becomes this super-villain.

Everything that Dane DeHaan did so well in "Chronicle" just feels unnatural and (maybe not misplaced, but wrong) here. And his character development is way too rushed and quite unnecessary for this film, it just becomes another sub-plot standing in the way of what really matters.

Sally Field does good work as Aunt May, but leaves no lasting mark. Paul Giamatti's Russian criminal is just in the way and only gives a couple of dreadful and laughable scenes. And then there's the mad German scientist named Kafka and I rest my case.

The action and visuals isn't bad, but still doesn't make up for the low "trying to be Marvel"-comedy and horrific soundtrack, a soundtrack that almost itself destroys the film throughout the exhausting 142 minutes. And sometimes it feels like the movie is taking us as an audience to be stupid, with pointers to what is going to happen. I would like to say that you might enjoy it if you just try and see it for what it is, but it's hard, but hopefully possible! It had an interesting start, with a glimpse inside the past and Peter's parents, but it's left underdeveloped, as is almost everything else, to make room for all its action and villains.

It's amazing how the difference between two big-budget superhero-movies can be so huge, if you put this against "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", a great and, opposed to this one, original film.

Oh how I wish that Marc Webb could have continued with a "(500) Days of Summer"-esque movie instead, he could keep the sub-plots starring Garfield, Stone and DeHaan, and it could very well be a great film, and probably not such a waste of talent.