REVIEW: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2: RISE OF ELECTRO

It is that time of year where Hollywood releases big-budget blockbusters for the summer season. The summer movie season officially kicks-off with the movie I am about to review. It is a much anticipated sequel to the movie adaptation of popular comic book superhero Spider-man.

The sequel is titled The Amazing Spider-man 2: Rise of Electro which is a sequel to 2012’s The Amazing Spider-man. Once again, the film is directed by Marc Webb from the previous film. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone returns as the two leads, Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-man and Gwen Stacy respectively. Other returning cast members include Sally Field as Aunt May, Campbell Scott and Embeth Davidtz as Peter’s parents, and Denis Leary as Gwen’s father. Joining this ensemble cast is Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon a.k.a. Electron, Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn a.k.a. Green Goblin, Paul Giamatti as Aleksei Sytsevich a,k,a, Rhino, and Colm Feore. The film is written by famed writing duo Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (The Legend of Zorro, The Island, Transformers, Star Trek) together with Jeff Pinkner.

How will this sequel fare up to expectations? Do read on…

Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-man

SYNOPSIS:

After the events from the last film, Peter Parker is still juggling the life between being the city’s superhero Spider-man, being the nephew to his aunt, and being the boyfriend to Gwen Stacy. While helping the police during a heist, Spider-man saves a gentleman named Max Dillon who is a big fan of Spider-man. The following day, Dillon was involved in a freak accident at his workplace in Oscorp which resulted in him being electrocuted by electric eels. Meanwhile, an old school friend Harry Osborn seeks out Peter Parker for help in saving his life but Parker refuses. Osborn, an heir to a billion-dollar business empire Oscorp, soon finds out that the company he is about to inherit have been conducting unethical scientific experiments. Fueled by revenge because of Parker’s rejection, Osborn teams up with Dillon to destroy Spider-man.

The two returning lead characters; Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy

SCRIPT:

Scattered and unorganized. I noticed that the writers tried to tell three separate perspectives from three different storylines and all of them intersect at certain points of the film. Such writing technique can be great but it can also result in a messy film. Unfortunately, the film looked like it tried too hard to explain multiple plots. There were some good comedic moments but the story lacked motivation for me to explore further. There were many Easter Eggs (trivia) to satisfy the hard core comic book fans in terms of potential characters in future Spider-man films. Characterization of new roles were thinly written and there was not much back-story about them. There is a surprise twist at the end which most audience might not see it coming but hardcore comic book fans of Spider-man might expect to happen.

Jamie Foxx joins the cast as Max Dillon a.k.a. Electro

Jamie Foxx as Electro

ACTING:

Garfield and Stone were great in the lead role of romantic couple. Garfield’s portrayal of Peter Parker was just as good as the first film. I felt the casting of Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn didn’t fit the role. Though he tried to bring some intensity and determination to his role as the villain, I felt it wasn’t too convincing.. Jamie Foxx’s acting ability were under utilized but I guess this is because he was covered by heavy make-up.

Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield have pretty good chemistry

FILMING:

This is where the film really excelled. The shots has gotten more creative compared from the previous film. More action means there was more budget for this film. The visual effects were pretty good and stylistic. There were many scenes and shots created to showcase a 3D feel for the audience. There were some scenes which felt like it was overdone. When it comes to set design, the production designer did well in conveying the comic book ‘feel’ to it while still stay grounded in some form of realism. The stunts were pretty well done too.

Filming of The Amazing Spider-man 2

PACING:

It started of well. Straight into the action with fast paced adrenaline. Then it slowly got draggy as the film tries to tell the multiple story plotline. It got okay towards the end.

TONE (MOOD):

A teenager on the brink of adulthood who has to balance between his super heroic gifts, the love of his life, and unforeseen enemies who seek out vengeance.

Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) meets his old pal Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan)

Spider-man and soon to be The Green Goblin have a discussion

DOWNSIDE:

Quite a lackluster and weak script. The storyline and multiple plots were not engaging enough and in my opinion, uninteresting.

UPSIDE:

Good visual effects, stunts, and action sequence.

Spider-man, protector of New York City

OVERALL:

I know most summer blockbuster films or even superhero films rarely give focus towards having a good script, but this one was a little disappointing to me. The first film had a really good story and this second film just did the opposite. It is not necessary to see the first film in order to see the second. Maybe doing a comparison is unfair but if I evaluate based on me not seeing the 2012 film, I would have said the same thing. Good action but messy story.

RATING:

6.5 out of 10