“What makes life so precious is that it comes to an end.” Marc Webb returns to the directing chair in this sequel to 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man. Starring Andrew Garfield as the spandex wearing Spider-Man, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn and Jamie Foxx as the sparkling Electro. Now I am a fan of The Amazing Spider-Man, I thought the film was good, not great, but it had a lot of potential with the sequel. Today, I am very pleased to say that director Marc Webb has returned to fantastic form with this second instalment returning to his glory days of (500) Days Of Summer. This review may contain spoilers, but I will write a complete paragraph at the bottom of the page, discussing spoilers so I will give warning on when the paragraph starts.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is simply dazzling. The 2-hour and 25 minute runtime is simply forgotten as you sit and watch this remarkable film. This is mostly because of the amazing performances throughout the entire film. Garfield returns as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and gives a really fantastic performance. Garfield is given a script that may not be the best, but he does a really good job at making some of the average scenes truly great. Stone also returns as Gwen Stacy. Gwen has a much bugger role in this film, and she does an amazing job. Stacy’s graduation speech was one of the best parts of the film. Oscar winner Jamie Foxx features in the film as Max Dillon/Electro. While his character arc is definitely the weakest part of the film, the comparisons to Batman Foreveris definitely not deserved. Like Garfield, Foxx does a great job at making average scenes/lines of dialogue great. One poor line that Foxx manages to make great is “I’m gonna destroy the light, so you can live in the darkness.” Dane DeHaan. Wow. Just let me begin by saying, throughout the entire film I was swinging on Harry Osborn’s side. DeHaan was simply fantastic, not only did he manage to completely knock James Franco’s Harry Osborn out of memory, but he also manages to become the best Green Goblin to ever appear on the big screen. To simply put it, the performances in this film make it a must watch alone.
The story for this film is what you expect from the trailers: Max Dillon is a loser, he becomes Electro, he hates Spider-Man, and he teams with Goblin to fight Spider-Man. But that’s not all. In this film we finally get the big mystery surrounding Peter’s parents from the first Amazing film. One of the major complaints that people had surrounding the ending to the previous film was that Peter ended up with Gwen despite promising her father he wouldn’t. However, within the opening 25 minutes director Marc Webb delivers a very (500) Days Of Summer type scene in which Gwen breaks up with Peter after saying she “Can’t do this forever.” I have heard complaints saying Peter Parker is immature in this film, but I simply cannot agree with this statement. I would say Peter is very conflicted, which is the exact same as the comic books. Peter is a kid. He does stupid things, but that’s where Spider-Man comes into the picture. The difference between Peter and Spider-Man is that Peter is conflicted and can’t make responsible or right decisions, while Spider-Man always makes the right decisions.
As I saw the film in IMAX 3D, I guess I should comment on the film’s 3D. To simply put it, it was breathtaking. The whole film looked like a comic book thrown onto the big screen. The bright colours, loud noises, I loved it all. One sequence that makes the film a must see in IMAX 3D is the first confrontation between Electro and Spider-Man in Times Square. Spider-Man’s swinging was also fantastic to watch. All and all, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a fantastic film. If you know the Spider-Man character, then you’ll have a soft spot for this film. Even if you ‘hate it’ there’ll always be a small part of you that really does love this film. From the performances to the stunning visual effects, Marc Webb delivers a film that will go down as one of the best superhero movies ever made.
***Spoilers Below***
Now for the spoilers, I’m giving you one more chance to turn back, Americans, you have one more chance, that’s all I’m giving you. I’ll do it, I’ll post the end all in caps, I’m gonna do it. I’m giving you just one more chance. Okay, I’m assuming you’re all gone. Good. Marc Webb does a terrific job at using foreshadowing to allude to the ending of the film. For instance, the opening shot of the film are the gears inside Richard Parker’s watch, while the location of Gwen’s death is at a clock tower, which, ironically, also has gears. On the topic of Gwen’s death, I thought it was done really well. That shot of her motionless body as it hit the ground sent a shiver down my spine and watching Peter’s reaction was truly tear jerking. I also loved the way the film explained how Spider-Man had been gone for 5 months following Gwen’s death, bringing a sense of realism to the Spider-Man character.
