First up, let’s talk about 2012’a “The Amazing Spider-Man”.
Whilst it looked good and had plenty of good moments (including one of the best
Stan Lee cameos), it was definitely lacking a lot of the charm of what we know
as “good” Spider-Man, plus the Jekyll & Hyde Lizard was rather hackneyed if
well portrayed. What we need for the sequel is more bang for our bucks, more
humour, more Gwen Stacey’s delectable smile. Looks like someone was listening…
“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” does many, many things right.
First up is a noticeable shift towards peter Parker and his alter ego being a
complete wiseass. Right from the start as he tries to stop an armoured car
heist, Spider-Man is in with the funnies before the fists, and it makes
everything so much more enjoyable. Like in Brian Bendis’ “Ultimate Spider-Man”
series, half the battle is in the dialogue. This movie has completely different
writers to the last, and boy, does it show.
How about a tragic but powerful villain? Oh yeah, we got one
of those. Jamie Foxx is Max Dillon, a rather pathetic man who is walked all
over by just about everyone. The problem is that he’s also a very smart man,
and unappreciated smart people can be tricky if they, for example, get turned
into living electrical generators. Anyone for a big dose of revenge? Foxx puts
in a good performance as Dillon, both before and after his transformation into
Electro, although the before is much better for actually sculpting a
characterisation.
The other notable figure in the film is Harry Osbourne, son
of Oscorp head honcho Norman, who was also The Green Goblin in the original
trilogy. Dane Dehann has a look about him of Leonardo DiCaprio after a visit to
Slimy Evil Villain school, but he does at least invest Harry with a passable
excuse to act like a total asshole.
Naturally, the whole thing revolves around Peter Parker and
Gwen Stacey. Andrew Garfield seems more at home in the role this time round,
and handles the snappy dialogue like a pro (which he is, natch), as well as the
inevitable anguish that comes from being Spidey. Emma Stone is once again
stunning as Gwen, with the Oscar for eye make up seemingly in the bag. True love
never has run smoothly for Peter Parker, and so it’s no surprise when this
relationship has it’s ups and downs, especially when peter is haunted by the
presence of Gwen’s dead father, warning him to keep away from her or put her in
ganger. Cute couple, though.
I’m not going to spoilerize the plot here, hence not
mentioning anything that’s not in the trailer. The next film is neatly set up
at the end, although unlike some I didn’t feel that this was just an elongated
trailer. Mark Webb (yeah, we’ve done those jokes) directs with more style and
panache then before, including some very effective uses of slow motion to show
just how Spider-man’s enhanced senses and reflexes work. Some of the fight
scenes are genuinely brilliant, and there’s a mini slapstick scene at Oscorp
that is a one minute marvel. To be hinest, this all feels closer to what a
Spider-man movie should be than any since Spider-Man 2, so let’s hope the next
one is better than the shambles that was Spider-man 3. If they keep the writing
team, it may well be the case.
Final Trailer - Do NOT read the comments under it as they will ruin the movie!
