The Amazing Spider-man 2 (2014)

[JohnnyBravo69]

All this hatorade going around had me scared. I Fucking loved this. Perfect blend of Everything. 2nd viewing is a must for me.. A-

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

 

The opening sequence reeled me in right away.  It felt much different than the last film right away.  The first film was sloppy, stupid and really felt rushed and it seemed like they didn't care about anything except getting it out.  But the pace, the direction, music, action and the acting felt different in the opening 10 minutes.  

 

Spider-man's first appearance in the film felt all wrong and at this point I began to wonder if it was going to be like the first film all over again.  But after 10 minutes of cringe-worthy stuff, it got really good again.

 

Jamie Foxx was my favourite performance.  He had a difficult task.  Max/Electro didn't start off to be a good character and his reasons for hating Spidey are really sudden and dumb, but again, once I got over that, he was terrific and his story line was well done.

 

Stone was great.  Garfield much better than last time.  Field was wonderful and DeHaan was good too.  

 

Cooper's story as Norman was bad and rushed.

 

The relationship between Peter and Gwen was really well done.

 

The big spoiler that isn't a spoiler anymore, hit me.  I actually got somber when it happened.  I was shocked at how many moments were (pardon the pun) electric.

 

I think they had the smarts this time to tell their own story, not rehash one from 10 years ago and that made the difference.  

 

I didn't love it, but I liked it a lot and I'll see it again.

 

8/10

 

 

 

Quoted for posterity.

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

I'll just quote myself from the TASM2 thread:

 

It was both silly and serious. Light and dark. Reverent and irreverent. Frustrating and inspiring. Dated and fresh. Brilliant and inane.

 

It was hopelessly uneven and I loved every minute of it. 

 

In a world where what is popular in SH films is both grim(Batman, MOS) and ridiculous(Marvel Studios), it's good to see a film not afraid to fully embrace what Spider-Man is at his core: hopeless and hopeful, wholly uneven. It's what makes Spider-Man appealing and enviable; his ability to get knocked down and (eventually) laugh at tragedy. 

 

Suck on that critics.

 

 

A- until I see it a second time. My only real issue is "Evil Ed" Goblin and the absolute suspension of disbelief in regards to a man being able to transform into living electricity then reassemble himself(much like being able to transform into a sandstorm). But, finally seeing the Death of Gwen done admirably shot this film into the stratosphere for me. 

[BadAtGender]

I enjoyed the film a lot.

 

It's not perfect. There are flaws, some pretty obvious, and they happen to be entirely expected given that Kurtzman and Orci are the writers. (It's long and bloated and has a few too many things going on), but they also have a career of delivering the fun, which really shows here. It's not a smart ride, but it's a good one.

 

Webb embraces that fun, even when it gets kinda cheesy. There are some really great action sequences, and even some that get very clever. (I loved the Itsy Bitsy Spider.) Spidey is in full athletic mode here, which makes the swinging around really impressive. As much as I like Raimi's take, it is starting to look a bit dated, and this film really gives a great sense for how Spidey would actually move through an urban environment. There are plenty of wow shots.

 

Perhaps the best part of the film is the music. Zimmer really got a great handle on the characters and delivers some great background tracks for each of them. The new Spidey theme is fantastic. It's one of the best superhero themes ever, up there with Williams' original Superman theme.

 

I give it a 4 out of 5.

[DeeCee]

I'll just quote myself from the TASM2 thread: A- until I see it a second time. My only real issue is "Evil Ed" Goblin and the absolute suspension of disbelief in regards to a man being able to transform into living electricity then reassemble himself(much like being able to transform into a sandstorm). But, finally seeing the Death of Gwen done admirably shot this film into the stratosphere for me.

I could kind of accept that he could change from electricity to a corporeal form as a result of the accident but I did wonder how the suit changed. And where did the suit come from?

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

I could kind of accept that he could change from electricity to a corporeal form as a result of the accident but I did wonder how the suit changed. And where did the suit come from?

 

 

Unstable molecules? Maybe Reed Richards exists in this universe since apparently another Fox property,

the X-Men

does. When I saw the mid credits sequence I felt like Ralphie from A Christmas Story.

"A crummy commercial? Son of a BITCH!"

[Crusader]

I'm glad us international members managed to lower the expectations for you guys so you ended up liking it in the end

 

looking forward to see how much most of you will lower your grades in the time to come 

[CaptainJackSparrow]

It seems the American users here are liking this more than others.

[DeeCee]

I have a confession. I was never taken by the Raimi Spider-Man films. I generally prefer the direction and tone these two films have taken. However, that's not to say they haven't had big problems. I kind of wish these were the first Spider-Man films but that a lot more thought had been put into a coherent story arc across three films. Still, I'm just not heavily invested in the character so I can at least have fun picking them apart.

[Eastwood47]

I saw this last night at a 8 PM showing. First let me say this - I went to get tickets at 6:30. Bought two. I asked if there was a line I needed to get in and the girl said, " Well actually your tickets only makes 23 sold for this show. We need over 300 more to fill it up. I think your safe to come back." So I ended up walking into the theater literally with two minutes to go and had my pick of seats. If there were thirty-five people in the whole theater, I would be surprised. Now the movie - I have to say I was completely surprised. I was so totally sold on this being a suck-fest, I was completely taken back to find a movie that was enjoyable on levels I had not experienced in a Spider-man film. Halfway through the movie, I was thinking, "Where is this terrible movie everyone cringed over?" I fully expected a Batman & Robin experience. I got nothing of the kind. Without giving away any specific spoilers let me say what I believe Marc Webb was attempting here. What is buried in Spider-man 2 is a love story about Peter and Gwen coupled with a cautionary tale about the dangers that comes from living this fantastic life as Spider-man. This is truly the first film where I really, truly see Spider-man. I felt like I was really looking at him. With only a few exceptions in the beginning, I felt like I was truly looking at my childhood hero. His personality was spot on. His costume, mask ( and especially his eyes) - perfect. His swinging through town was just incredible. Marc Webb essentially puts you on his shoulder and gives you one heck of a ride as you see exactly what Spider-man sees. And when the camera pulls back, you see Spider-man in all his comic-book glory making the poses you always wanted to see. It's absolutely the comic book come to life - in a very good way. But I also understood where the disconnect with critics and some of the audience may lie.It's a story about the fantastic life of Spider-man. It's not about pitting one fantastic villain against our hero. Thematically it's a story about how Parker tries to find meaning in being this fantastic hero (who brings miracles and hope to the public in daily doses) in contrast to this insecure kid who doesn't understand why his parents abandoned him, which feeds his conflict with walking away from Gwen. Gwen is the love of his life and you absolutely believe it and feel it. Their chemistry is truly the movie on every level. The villains are really intended to represent the uncertainty that faces Spider-man every day (like the crime element and inherent dangers a police officer might face). It also serves as a reminder that no matter how incredibly strong and swift Spider-man is, he can't be that hero to everyone. Spider-man's intentions can be misunderstood as well. It's a far more intriguing story than what I expected. What ultimately may be the artistic pitfall of this film, is that Marc Webb doesn't just want you to feel what its like to swing as Spider-man, he wants you to truly feel the conflict and heartache of being Spider-man. And he does that to great effect. And that right there may be what leaves you feeling conflicted as you leave the theater. You feel the excitement and exhilaration of being Spider-man. But you also feel the heavy emotional price in that role as well. It's not a garbage film at all. It's a good movie, done very well. And it's VERY coherent in it's purpose. But not everyone may see that. If you let the film come to you on it's own terms, it plays out beautifully. If you're looking for a color-by-the-numbers good vs bad installment, you may get lost. Go see it. I highly recommend it. Just go in with no expectations to an a-typical superhero structure and let the story unfold. I think you'll like it. 8/10

Edited May 2, 2014 by Eastwood47

[lilmac]

Maybe I should see it again.  I gave it a D rating a couple of weeks ago on first viewing.  

[lab276]

I thought it was obnoxious. Especially everything to do with the villains and the action scenes. Just a mess of colour and effects for the sake of effects. Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Sally Field were good though but otherwise just bleh.C-

[rukaio101]

It seems the American users here are liking this more than others.

Speak for yourself. I gave it an A. And I rarely give out A's.

[CJohn]

YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE BAUMER. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!?!   

 

I am glad you enjoyed it.   

[dashrendar44]

Speak for yourself. I gave it an A. And I rarely give out A's.

 

Were you wasted on sake?

[rukaio101]

Were you wasted on sake?

A little. But I'm usually wasted, so it didn't make much difference.

[JohnnyGossamer]

Maybe I should see it again.  I gave it a D rating a couple of weeks ago on first viewing.  

No. You're right on. If you've seen enough movies, usually your gut instinct's true. Sometimes, even often, it may take a second viewing to define why you had that initial feeling though.

[JohnnyGossamer]

I really can't wait to see what Matt Goddard (Cabin in the Woods co-writer/director) does with Sinister Six. Parade the villains. All six of 'em. At least that'll be fresh. Revamp the tone. Be consistent. Don't deliver two hours and twenty minutes of, not half, but quarter measures. Let Garfield have fun and not mope, sob, outright bawl and, in the most pivotal moments, act far dumber than we're led to believe he is throughout the entire first two films... Straight up sabotaging what they want you to think he is, what's supposed to make him charming/clever more than a handful of times. Bring some damn style. Some interesting style. Some palatable style. Nix TASM3 until after Sinister Six. Please, please.

 

Man oh man, people are hard on Bay, at least the dude's consistent. At least you know when you're watching a Michael Bay film. Not some bizarro diarrhea splurge of Dawson's Creek, the worst moments of Fletch Lives, the duller moments in Batman Forever, the most cheesed up moments of Spidey 3, the more mundane, manufactured moments of Rise of the Silver Surfer, the cringe-worthy, unearned uber-melodrama of Attack of the Clones and dopey office mystery scenes of Whoopi Goldberg's Jumpin' Jack Flash, etc. This damn flick had so many detours, I half expected Jonathan Pryce and Whoopi to have a cameo working with OsCorp waiting outside the Maintenance Closet to do Gwen and Pete dirty.

 

Some awesome comic booked out ideas at play with Electro's hopelessly obsessive, tragically invisible schizoid mega-nerd and, in some regards, Harry Osborn's fractured childhood. And, too, even Spidey being spent from exhausting his web shooters so often to keep the NYC public safe. Well, must've been an accident because they're abruptly aborted early on for the sake of bullshit with Aunt May trying to be a nurse and hiding it from Peter, MTV Real Word relationship "drama" with Pete and Gwen (Puck could've provided some levity here), nonsense with Peter's demons as Denny Leary apparitions hilariously pop up like Smoke in Mortal Kombat (Toasty!), boring, nonsense with his parents' secretive, heroic past that anyone with half a brain pretty much figure out after the first fuckin' scene in TASM1. All of which, mind you, is not even half baked. Just plain tossed in the oven before it's preheated and, then, taken out, before it's preheated still. Just a real slap in the face. Incredibly frustrating. Slapdash, unfocused dreck.And, honestly, kind of insulting.

 

It refuses to pick a thread and allow it to bake. Hell, it refuses to even pick a handful of threads and allow them to heat up and half bake. In just about every case they didn't even begin the mix the damn cookie dough. It just tosses two dozen threads at ya' and either bandaid's 'em in there or, worse yet, leaves them unresolved...again. And, none of 'em, aside from Electro's early moments, have any potential to be memorable, inventive...to be novel...to embrace something strange/different. To take us somewhere we haven't been. Now, if the film had any charm or swagger that'd be somewhat disarming/forgivable. But, we have an impotent puppet in Webb and Sony yanking his strings in every which way.

 

I thought the scenes with Emma Stone were arguably the worst in the film. Not because she can't act. Just because they're all egregiously heavy-handed, cutesy, awkward, poorly realized and drawn out. It's One Tree Hill. All while desperately intending to convey something incredibly simple. Something communicated in a simple moment once that doesn't require regurgitation. This movie takes a long, long, long time communicate some painfully simple themes. Hammers you over the head with 'em. And, then, revisits the same shit again and again. Bogging it down. Plodding along like an obese, three legged dog. And, again, worse yet, it doesn't communicate 'em effectively. What could've been done sufficiently in two minutes if executed properly is tread over again and again, a la Dawson's Creek or, as I as said earlier, One Tree Hill. Garfield worked best sans her. Honestly, it will likely help quicken the proceedings to a healthy pace with Sinister Six and/or TASM3 now that she dead. This Spidey works best when he's worn out from saving the day.

 

The nonsense with her position at OsCorp's so damn tedious and dull, so perfunctory. Of course this grunt high school grad with a shit desk job has access and knows the entire city's power grid. Of course, everyone works at OsCorp. Of course she still works there after what went down with Curt Conners. Or course, the villainous suits that run the company trust her enough to employ her even though she was Connor's top assistant/intern. Fantastic Four wouldn't even shovel this low level horse shit into my gullet. Or, at least wouldn't do it sans a wink and a nod to clue me in as to how damn silly it is.

 

Same with Garfield's Parker in that same OsCorp/Osborn environment. Hey, Harry, best bud. Haven't seen you since we were 11. Sorry your piece of shit dad died. My daddy's a piece of shit too. Let's have a mope orgy and skip stones on the river. Oh, shit, Pete, guess what, I have Norman Osborn disease. My dad's pog slammer's piece of shit meter beats the fuck out of your dad's. Beat that, best friend. Ugh. I can't. That blows, bro. I'm going to die in 25 to 45 years, Pete. I need Spidey blood to live. I NEED IT NOW! RIGHT NOW! Sorry, Harry, I think it wouldn't be good. I can't. I'll talk to him but Spidey's not gonna like it. By the way, I have a sneaking suspicion that my dad's actually a hero 'cause, you know, I'm a hero and it might be genetic.

 

It's one thing to be telegraphed, a la Caps 2 and a ton of other CBM flicks. At least give me a measured pace. And, PLEASE have some fun, charm and swagger in executing what we unequivocally know's lurking 'round the bend. And, for fuck's sake, don't make it feel uber-telegraphed in taking forever to deliver what we know's coming. When I order fast food garbage, I know it's coming fast. I don't expect it to take the length of time it takes to get a three course meal to arrive. That's why I ordered it. I'm hungry. Give me that greasy shit. Bad service here. And, the toy that's prepackaged with my kid's meal's , well, it's defunct.

 

Stone isn't bad. None of actors are bad really. Their characters are boring and tedious, even on the most bottom-rung, blockbuster storytelling level of expected tedium. It's how they're employed in the overstuffed story that's bad. It's a series of distractions. It's incredibly unfocused. Less focused than the Transformers films people mock. Less focused than The Lone Ranger. 

 

Not to mention, Lone Ranger, while unwieldy, has some fierce, ugly commentary. Iron Man 3, while it put many off with it's baffling/irreverent twist, attempts satire of its own genre and satirizes the face of terror. Batman Returns, while weird and grotesque to a fault, celebrates the tragedy of being a half human, penguin freak and comments on the the complacent role of women via Catwoman. They're not loved by many. But, they do know what they want to say... Even on a thinly veiled, blockbuster level. They do have style to burn too. And, they certainly don't lack invention.

 

And, even BayFormers, while altogether lacking in substance, are loud, disorienting, spectacularly filmed in chunks and layered with genuine weird to an extent that they're truly unique.

 

It earns nothing. It's a series of mildly serviceable distractions when at it's best. And, an infuriating parade of everything/nothing when at it's worst. No identity. No consistency. Nothing approaching a stylistic stamp, whether good or bad. Totally forgettable. An upsettingly mediocre experience. It's my least favorite big budget CBM in years.

 

D+

Edited May 2, 2014 by JohnnyGossamer

[JohnnyGossamer]

Sorry, that's really long and lacks focus. I guess Webb and Co. inspired me.

[lilmac]

Sorry, that's really long and lacks focus. I guess Webb and Co. inspired me.

 

*bravo*

 

One of the best written reviews I've read in awhile.