PDA

View Full Version : The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Marc Webb)



Watashi
05-02-2014, 07:54 AM
http://static02.mediaite.com/geekosystem/uploads/2014/04/electro1.jpg

IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1872181/)

Watashi
05-02-2014, 07:55 AM
This is Batman Forever territory here.

TGM
05-02-2014, 09:53 AM
I thought the ending was incredible. If only the rest of this thing coulda been even NEARLY so good. As it was, while not terrible, it IS a bit of a mess, and coulda greatly benefitted from more of a "less is more" approach.

megladon8
05-02-2014, 05:51 PM
I thought the ending was incredible. If only the rest of this thing coulda been even NEARLY so good. As it was, while not terrible, it IS a bit of a mess, and coulda greatly benefitted from more of a "less is more" approach.


You're not the first I've read saying that the ending is incredible. Without going into spoiler territory, is it due to an emotional moment? Incredible action scene? Interesting thematically (ie TDK)?

Watashi
05-02-2014, 06:10 PM
The ending is one of the stupidest things about the movie.

TGM
05-02-2014, 06:23 PM
You're not the first I've read saying that the ending is incredible. Without going into spoiler territory, is it due to an emotional moment? Incredible action scene? Interesting thematically (ie TDK)?

It was just a pivotal, emotional moment that I thought was especially well handled. In fact, I'd go so far as to call the last 10-15 minutes of this movie absolutely perfect, and possibly the very best ending I've seen in a superhero movie to date.


The ending is one of the stupidest things about the movie.

Care to elaborate why you think this?

Watashi
05-02-2014, 06:43 PM
Care to elaborate why you think this?

I thought the post-Stacy death scene was handled fine, but everything with the Rhino and the little kid was eye-rollingly cheesy. It also expanded on one of my most hated tropes in superhero films where the villain is wrecking havoc and people are whooping and hollering just feet away behind police barricades. The scene with Electro was the worst where the dude is literally sending electricity out in every direction and people are just standing there booing him and calling him names. Yeah. Anyway, the part where the kid runs out and everyone does nothing but just let him stand there so he can have his big moment is so stupid. That kid is not brave. He is mentally impaired.

Watashi
05-02-2014, 06:44 PM
Also, the reveal that only Peter Parker could have been Spider-Man due to his blood completely butchers the mythos of Spider-Man and and his "every man" status that anyone can look up to. Now he's fallen into the whole "chosen one" bullshit trap.

TGM
05-02-2014, 07:09 PM
Also, the reveal that only Peter Parker could have been Spider-Man due to his blood completely butchers the mythos of Spider-Man and and his "every man" status that anyone can look up to. Now he's fallen into the whole "chosen one" bullshit trap.

I completely agree with this, and all of the stuff dealing with that aspect was by far the biggest gripe I had with the movie. In addition to what you said, it also makes things way too convenient, way too much of a coincidence, and keeps things tied too tightly together, to the point that it stretches believability, even within the realms of a movie such as this.

Sxottlan
05-02-2014, 08:06 PM
Yeah. Kind of tedious. Parts of it were enjoyable. The parts where something was actually happening.

Sxottlan
05-03-2014, 08:57 AM
Oh and by the way, enough with the magic blood as a plot point Kurtzman and Orci! For fuck's sake. Please!

Gittes
05-03-2014, 03:52 PM
I wish Electro, whose accompanying theme music was dreadful and silly, wasn't in this movie. Jamie Foxx was fine, but Dane DeHaan offered a more interesting character and performance. The movie likely would have turned out considerably better had someone just had the courage to insist that, in actuality, it wouldn't be so bad if the second film in this rebooted franchise focused on a villain that we've seen before.

Given what is at stake in this story, it almost feels a little disrespectful and ill-advised to focus on any villain other than Harry. I know Webb used similar words when discussing his rationale for removing Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane (something about honouring the storyline between Peter and Gwen, which he deemed "sacred"). I think he's right, and Electro should have been excised for similar reasons.

Also, had Electro been taken out, perhaps more time would have been dedicated to fleshing out Harry's storyline (i.e., his motivation for hating Spider-Man). Unfortunately, there is no villain in this film whose resentment of Spider-Man is effectively developed. With Harry, I think we can assume that, like Electro, he's pinning a lot of his psychic baggage on Spider-Man, but the film doesn't seem to do an excellent job of communicating this. At first glance, Harry's resentment strains credulity, especially if seen as an indignant tantrum following Spider-Man's refusal to give up his blood. If we focus on this alone (I've noticed a number of reactions like this), then Harry's climactic arrival seems especially preposterous: at that point, Harry should realize that he's now living proof that Spider-Man wasn't really being callous or overly cautious in denying him his blood. I guess you could argue that this is a moot point, as Harry is a full-on psycho by the end, but then we're still left with a villain who hates Spider-Man because of a perceived slight (and because he's crazy). Harry's apoplectic rage at the end of the film seems like the sort of thing that should have been prompted by something more substantial.

However, if we look beyond the refusal of blood plot point, Harry's storyline is perhaps salvageable. His motivations aren't brought into relief quite as forcefully as Electro's, but this may have helped to make Harry a little bit more intriguing (and less contrived). It gives us a little bit of room, at least, to speculate that Harry's targeting of Spider-Man isn't necessarily silly or based on something flimsy. Spider-Man becomes an emblem of his abandonment issues, for one. His father's abject refusal of love and compassion is echoed, in miniature, by Spider-Man's rebuff. Following this, it's understandable that Harry would displace his psychic wounds onto Spider-Man, who can also be seen as a reminder of the fatalistic misfortune of Harry's life (Spider-Man is revealed to be the blood heir to greatness, whereas Harry is born into death and corruption). In this sense, Harry and Electro share similar motivations for their resentment: they hate Spider-Man because his apparent good fortune is so maddeningly incommensurate with their own failings and miserable luck.

Much of this seems obvious in retrospect, but the resentment and motivations of the villains definitely felt like a narrative snag while the movie was playing out. Electro's hatred is more immediately apprehended, but the emotional reversal of his character was awkwardly handled. That's why it's unfortunate that Harry's more interesting antagonism was sidelined in favour of one silly Electro scene after another.

A few other thoughts:



- Visually, the Green Goblin is great:

http://static.squarespace.com/static/51b3dc8ee4b051b96ceb10de/t/53277064e4b0da5800e7d691/1395093617697/the-amazing-spider-man-2-photos-green-goblin-rhino-and-more?format=750w

- The clear highlight of the movie is the thrilling and devastating realization of the Gwen Stacy arc; it's a scene of tremendous power. Once the Green Goblin arrives, the movie achieves a certain sublimity and is very suddenly running on all cylinders. It's a remarkable outlier in a film that is otherwise pretty uneven and problematic.

Henry Gale
05-03-2014, 07:32 PM
Also, the reveal that only Peter Parker could have been Spider-Man due to his blood completely butchers the mythos of Spider-Man and and his "every man" status that anyone can look up to. Now he's fallen into the whole "chosen one" bullshit trap.

Haven't yet seen ASM2 and haven't opened this spoiler, but if this is about Peter's parents and Oscorp having a hand in him being genetically engineered with Spider-like DNA before ever being bitten, I thought that was pretty heavily hinted at in the last one. Especially when it comes to Conner's strong interest in Peter and him eventually attempting to experiment on himself in similar ways. Peter had the key equation from his parents, but never shared the added happenstance and variable of him being bitten by a spider of theirs. Conners attempts to heal himself with the Lizard genes never came together the same way because he didn't have Peter's pseudo-immunity or groundwork laid for whatever re-routed genetics the bite ingnited, and Conners saw no visible side effects to however far the Parker parents had pushed in his evolution, despite Peter becoming the way he did in ways he never really chose or planned.

It all feels kind of similar to how Ang Lee's Hulk used Nick Nolte's experiments on Bruce as an explanation as to why he wasn't killed by the gamma radiation and managed to become Hulk, whereas anyone else would've simply died.

Watashi
05-03-2014, 08:13 PM
I also love how the amazing scientific genius Peter Parker doesn't know how batteries work.

Dukefrukem
05-04-2014, 06:02 PM
This totally blew away my expectations having hated the first movie.

But it wasn't just the action that impressed me (even though the Electro finale made little sense), it was Webb's ability to expand upon Peter/Spider-man's relationships, mostly with Gwen. The two have tremendous chemistry and every time they were on screen together it felt genuine and I actually felt emotional quite a few times- esp the scene when Gwen and Peter are talking about being friends, and Peter reveals that he has been following her. "only once day- sometimes more"- the dialog feels like something a 19-20 year old would say. I loved this.

Most of the ground work laid in the first movie is explained in ATSM2 but it made me wonder "why"? It still felt like another "setup" movie for whatever the sinister six will be. Electro was pretty bad but everything else was great- the setup of Rhino and Green Goblin.

Wryan
05-04-2014, 06:48 PM
This should probably be subtitled The Amazing Spiderman 2: Everybody Cries. Or The Amazing Spiderman 2: Why Are You People Standing Around When Crazy Shit's Going Down!?

Still, I had fun. I thought it was admirable that they focused so much on the characters and their interrelationships. It's sort of odd and unfortunate that it doesn't lend the actual action more weight, with the one obvious exception, whose scene was handled very well. I like Garfield as Parker a lot, and he and Stone felt incredibly genuine. A few narrative snags and silliness and coincidence that others have pointed out. Enjoyable overall.

P.S. Anyone know who played Mr. Fiers at the end there? Voice seemed familiar.

Dukefrukem
05-04-2014, 07:06 PM
This should probably be subtitled The Amazing Spiderman 2: Everybody Cries. Or The Amazing Spiderman 2: Why Are You People Standing Around When Crazy Shit's Going Down!?

Still, I had fun. I thought it was admirable that they focused so much on the characters and their interrelationships. It's sort of odd and unfortunate that it doesn't lend the actual action more weight, with the one obvious exception, whose scene was handled very well. I like Garfield as Parker a lot, and he and Stone felt incredibly genuine. A few narrative snags and silliness and coincidence that others have pointed out. Enjoyable overall.

P.S. Anyone know who played Mr. Fiers at the end there? Voice seemed familiar.

Sounds almost identical to my experience.

Wryan
05-06-2014, 01:49 AM
There's something else I want to comment on. I'm a little surprised that so many people are criticizing the "rushed" nature of the Peter/Harry rekindling that "comes out of nowhere." Well, sure it comes out of nowhere, to a point. Harry has been gone for many years. They drifted apart, after clearly being very close during their childhood, after "being there for each other" during some of the tougher times that we don't get to see. Surely most people have drifted that far apart from someone they once considered a beloved friend...and then encountered them again later on, only to have it be awkward and halting. You wonder if this person is the same person you knew. You wonder if they've grown up and moved past you, or if you've moved past them. They are so different. They have such different concerns. You carefully converse and try to feel each other out for that same sensation. And then someone makes a joke or a reference. And there's a crack, a little indentation. And then another joke, and it widens. And you feel this strange rush of elation upon seeing that some of the rhythms are still there, almost like relief that you didn't "waste" your time getting to know and care about this person who might be a stranger now.

And yes I do think all of this was present in that reintroduction scene, a really important scene because it has to sell a lot that goes unspoken and a lot that will have to hold future plot points on its shoulders. And I think Garfield and DeHaan played it beautifully, perfectly. I've lived this moment thrice in my life, once where it worked out well and another two where it did not. I would have thought this experience would be somewhat common, so I'm surprised at the reaction to it. Ah well. I thought it was handled just right.

Henry Gale
05-06-2014, 09:23 PM
Hoo boy, this really is all over the place. Makes it all the more befuddling and disappointing considering how so much of the stuff involving the few characters carried over from the first movie together on screen work so completely and satisfyingly, and they're sidelined for so much of it.

Anything with Peter and Gwen, Peter and Aunt May, or Peter dealing solely with his role as Spider-Man and its purpose is as top notch as anything you could want in a movie with these characters. Then there's everyone else, seemingly transplanted from several other drafts and comic book productions muddling the whole thing up.

If it weren't for there being no obvious villain for the majority of it, is there any reason for Max Dillon / Electro to exist? Everything he ends up doing is inconsequential, his eventual team-up with Harry comes at a time right when he's also just about to experience villainous changes, and so much of Dillon's backstory with his mother, sinisterly fragmented lullabies and other details that Foxx and Webb teased as long ago as Comic-Con seem to have completely vanished, leaving very little unique characterization or discernible motive to much of what Electro does. And even still, he's trapped and submerged for like an hour of the movie's runtime. At least when Whiplash and Justin Hammer were in the same place for half of Iron Man 2, there were planning their finale attack.

How much better would it have been if they'd just removed Electro, but marketed the hell out of Giamatti's Rhino and given him similar screentime, and forced the audience to be surprised(!) and invested(!) with a movie that focused simply on big, immediate drama and plot issues (and arguably the only ones that matter) to Peter, Gwen and Harry's central stories. Not that Harry's board member blackmail shenanigans with Colm Feore and Felicity Jones (as much as I like them as actors) is interesting the way it unfolds in the slightest, but in terms of where the conceptualizing, shooting and final film diverge, there's apparently a later Goblin attack on Oscorp that was a major sequence test screened (that you can also see snippets of in the trailers) that could've worked as a much more interesting pre-clock tower climax than the largely stakes-less Spidey/Electro explodey business.

There's also the big technical improvements all around that are individually impressive but don't largely make the proceeding much more interesting. The endless colour range and detail in Dan Mindel's 35mm cinematography is a huge step-up to the largely dim and muddy RED-shot palette in the 2012 installment, Zimmer's score is way more varied, exciting and memorable than the major of Horner's efforts, mostly with the big themes and Johnny Marr guitar and other synthy flourishes are nicely expansive (though Hans' more experimental Magnificent Six bits like anything involving Pharrell's whispery nu-rock/dubstep Electro theme is something I wish I didn't have to ever hear, let alone as much as the movie employs it), and the general production design feels much more assured and distinctive, even when it's feels way too heightened and Schumacher-Batman-y.

The general time window I felt like the movie's scenes had each been written, directed and edited by different people was when within ten or so minutes, you have that gorgeous, endlessly charming scene of Peter and Gwen establishing the rules of their relationship, all scored to Phosphorescent's "Song for Zula" (Great song choice! Original and subdued scene! All ignited by the ridiculous chemistry of the leads), and it's followed shortly after by the scene where Peter makes the conspiracy/relationship wall in his room stitching together every thread of his past and present, accompanied by Phillip Phillips "Gone, Gone, Gone" (What? Ew. Why? No.), all coming off about as subtly as this:

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz43gsPFuC1r7iltto1_500 .jpg

And yet, as underwhelming and haphazard as it was for more of it, those last 15 minutes, or everything from the moment Goblin snatches Gwen to the credits, kinda blew me away, got my heart racing (maybe because I realized the inevitable was coming) and tugged at me emotionally more than I ever expected it to and I might've even welled up at the cemetery seasons bit and sappy cross-cutting of Gwen's speech with the kid standing up to Rhino more than the big death scene. It was basically the best case scenario of what this movie could've been, unfortunately only shoved right to the end and with two hours of insanely inconsistent stuff before it.

As hard as it is to rate and sum up feelings on, because it's made up of polarizing ends that never seem to naturally intersect, from here on I'll just try to remember the best of it, and hold on to those outnumbered but nevertheless impressed feelings I have until they hopefully get their shit together for the 3rd movie and beyond. Otherwise, all the heavy seed-planting on display here will end up feeling even more pointless than it currently does.

**1/2 / 5.8

Henry Gale
05-06-2014, 09:34 PM
And I guess for reference:

Spider-Man - *** / 7.0
Spider-Man 2 - ***½ / 8.6
Spider-Man 3 - ** / 4.3
The Amazing Spider-Man / 8.0-ish, but its sequel's kinda sullied its possibly naive, wide-eyed potential

Dukefrukem
05-07-2014, 02:04 PM
Great thoughts Henry.

I was kinda mad at the Stacey death a few days later. They setup such a strong relationship between Parker and Stacey and I was convinced that in the next installments they were preparing for Stacey to start dating Flash and ultimately leading towards a Venom/Spider-man battle and a fight for Gwen. The purpose would have been so much greater because of the relationship build in the two Spider-man movies. It was as close to perfect as we are ever going to see.

Oh and for reference

Spider-Man - ****½
Spider-Man 2 - *****
Spider-Man 3 - ***½
The Amazing Spider-Man *
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ****

BuffaloWilder
05-08-2014, 07:17 AM
I'd actually written a pretty good-size medium length review, and then my browser reset. Film was okay. Narratively, incredibly shakey and unfocused. Which is strange because, taken on their own, each scene is wonderfully paced and directed and Garfield and Stone are a joy to watch both on their own and together, but I just don't understand how they relate to one another in a cohesive whole.

Some pretty indelible imagery though, especially in the final Electro sequence at the power plant and in the "epilogue" - and, I think it goes without saying at this point that Marc Webb gets the character and tone of Spider-Man and his world a lot better than Raimi ever did.

I'll be talking about it in fuller depth on a podcast later this week, so - I dunno, listen to that, I suppose.

Skitch
05-08-2014, 10:24 AM
I'll be talking about it in fuller depth on a podcast later this week, so - I dunno, listen to that, I suppose.

Subscribed.

Dukefrukem
05-08-2014, 12:17 PM
The guy in the X-Men preview, looks like a skinny Seann William Scott.

Henry Gale
05-12-2014, 02:21 AM
I was partial to the mutant that had the power to make that other guy throw up.

X-Men Origins: Ipecac

I know it was radiation poisoning, but still, you see his biohazard hand tattoo for like half a second to even put together what he's doing.

Stay Puft
07-25-2014, 05:40 AM
Sony decided to throw this up on youtube so I said fuck it okay then and...

Eh, same rating as the first I guess. Both films are frustrating experiences because, like BuffaloWilder says, I think these films nail Spider-Man a lot better than Raimi's trilogy, but at the same, they're such horrible narrative messes and pretty lousy overall. Not much else to add that hasn't already been said. Unfocused, haphazard... plot threads going nowhere or not adding up together... and like Henry says, Electro really didn't fit into this thing. The backstory with Peter's dad and Oscorp is hugely miscalculated, for reasons already discussed (magic blood lol) and also just shit like Peter Parker discovering that secret subway car, which feels like it was lifted out of a different movie in tone.

But, also, despite Electro's presence in the film being pointless, Electro was the only villain I actually sort of liked watching. I didn't care for DeHaan's Goblin and I thought Rhino was just the fucking worst (sorry, Giamatti, but... no). Even though the CGI is pretty spotty throughout, I thought the Electro scenes were generally colorful and fun and I liked some of the sound design and musical details like having Electro's inner monologue mixed with the score. I wish the film had more stuff like that. Most of the time I just sat there in dismay at the utter lack of imagination on display. This has to be the most boring filmmaking mustered for a blockbuster this summer, though I do wonder how much of that could be because of the editing (even that opening action scene was incredibly dull, but then it's also hard to appreciate practical stunts when the film cuts through those shots so quickly to hurry the action along; it's amazing that they apparently cut so much, given that what remains is still way too fucking much for a 2hr+ movie).

Irish
07-28-2014, 06:13 AM
This thing has a whole host of problems. The script was terrible, from the structure to the dialogue. (I didn't realize that Kurtzman and Orci wrote this. Discovering that after the show explained a lot). Most of the movie makes no sense. The production values are cheesy in a Flash Gordon sort of way, but without that movie's heart.

Biggest problem is that the script contained multiple storylines and none of them were interesting. The hero doesn't want anything except to stop the bad guys whenever they show up (& he doesn't do anything Spidey related except boss battles). In between, he stalks his ex girlfriend. The villains are flat. Their reasons for doing what they do are shallow, petty, and really childish. Spider-man won't inject you with a dangerous substance? Spider-man forgot your birthday? Well, sure, it totally makes sense that you'd explode in a rage, swear a blood oath, and attempt to take out half the city. Totally.

The other odd thing-- Every trope in this movie feels like something out of the middle of last century. The lone genius inventor in a secret lab. The dorky villain, alienated, spurned by everyone. The experiment gone wrong conferring powers. The villains turning up randomly and literally tearing up the streets (and for no real reason). The kid "inheriting" his dad's company like it's a private fiefdom. The whole thing felt dated and weird. Like a bunch of 1950s narrative aesthetics shoved into a 2014 world.

Curious that this movie did middlin' to poor business in the US but gangbusters around the world. Which makes this franchise sorta on par with stuff like Resident Evil. I don't get that at all.

Dukefrukem
07-29-2014, 01:18 PM
This thing has a whole host of problems. The script was terrible, from the structure to the dialogue. (I didn't realize that Kurtzman and Orci wrote this. Discovering that after the show explained a lot). Most of the movie makes no sense. The production values are cheesy in a Flash Gordon sort of way, but without that movie's heart.

Biggest problem is that the script contained multiple storylines and none of them were interesting. The hero doesn't want anything except to stop the bad guys whenever they show up (& he doesn't do anything Spidey related except boss battles). In between, he stalks his ex girlfriend. The villains are flat. Their reasons for doing what they do are shallow, petty, and really childish. Spider-man won't inject you with a dangerous substance? Spider-man forgot your birthday? Well, sure, it totally makes sense that you'd explode in a rage, swear a blood oath, and attempt to take out half the city. Totally.

The other odd thing-- Every trope in this movie feels like something out of the middle of last century. The lone genius inventor in a secret lab. The dorky villain, alienated, spurned by everyone. The experiment gone wrong conferring powers. The villains turning up randomly and literally tearing up the streets (and for no real reason). The kid "inheriting" his dad's company like it's a private fiefdom. The whole thing felt dated and weird. Like a bunch of 1950s narrative aesthetics shoved into a 2014 world.

Curious that this movie did middlin' to poor business in the US but gangbusters around the world. Which makes this franchise sorta on par with stuff like Resident Evil. I don't get that at all.

Awww man the script to me was passable because I enjoyed the Gwen/Peter story so much. The other stuff is just filler leading up to a Sinister Six movie. Agree with the flat villains, I'm not sure there was much for Electro to be mad about. But it's certainly better than the first movie.

Skitch
08-06-2014, 09:18 PM
Finally caught this in the dollar theater.

What the fuck did I just watch? This thing felt like it had three different directors. A good scene goes into a bad scene into a worse scene, repeat. Electro and Jamie Foxx were both terrible. There were probably some of the best Spider-Man scenes ever filmed...in one of the worst superhero movies I've seen slapped together. Some of the score was excellent...and immediately followed by score that was completely different and terrible and didn't work at all. What a strange strange strange film. The Rhino was a better developed character than Electro, and he only had about three minutes of screen time.

Henry Gale
08-06-2014, 10:15 PM
What the hell? These deleted scenes (http://www.slashfilm.com/amazing-spider-man-2-alternate-ending/#more-247158) -- 23 minutes worth, which is just the stuff they wanted to include (Where you at, Shailene?) -- but mainly the first one, show how wildly different a direction things could've gone. This alternate, more horrific version of Harry's transformation and what they've included of his attack on Oscorp is a lot better than whatever the final film had too.

EDIT: So really, just watch the first five and the last three minutes to save some time. The rest just seem like extensions and pre-re-shoot versions of scenes. The only other noteworthy new stuff is with Electro's ill, emotional neglecting mom, which sounded a lot better in theory as pathos for him as a villain before now actually seeing how they dramatized it. Yeesh.

After now seeing how much has been changed with both of Webb's movies in the editing and re-shoot phases, they have to just sit down, take some extra time before the 3rd one (which they have since it's not set for 2018), and tighten up a fully-formed script with a cohesive story arc before shooting for once. I mean, how do you decide in the editing process that a revelation like that with Peter's dad being alive and confronting him (which I guess isn't really relevant to spoiler but...) suddenly doesn't need to be in it?

Grouchy
09-09-2014, 05:25 AM
This is just a terrible movie and the lowest point in the Spiderman franchise so far. Not much to add to everyone's criticisms... "Magic blood" plot, some pretty terrible villain motivations and appearances, and I just can't believe anyone can be moved by the romantic scenes... They reminded me way too much of Attack of the Clones.

It's fimmaking by committee at its most exhausted and tiresome.

Neclord
09-09-2014, 05:32 AM
Everything Grouchy said.

Dukefrukem
09-09-2014, 11:35 AM
Better than the first movie though.

TGM
09-09-2014, 02:00 PM
It's really not, though.

transmogrifier
09-09-2014, 02:20 PM
I don't know why I ever watched the first one. I'm not going to make the same mistake with this one. So sick of Spiderman.

Skitch
09-09-2014, 09:11 PM
Better than the first movie though.

Madness!

Dukefrukem
09-10-2014, 02:08 AM
Madness!

The first ASM, not the first Spider-man.

Skitch
09-10-2014, 03:12 AM
The first ASM, not the first Spider-man.

I know! Madness! :p

Grouchy
09-10-2014, 06:13 AM
It's worse than the first one. The Lizard was at least a proper villain.

Dukefrukem
09-10-2014, 11:38 AM
I'm telling ya. Gwen and Peter relationship is the best thing in this series so far. It's almost as if the Villains aren't needed.

Grouchy
09-10-2014, 06:47 PM
Let's just agree to disagree on that one. Emma Stone is cute as hell and even so I was glad she died because it meant no more dialogue scenes with Peter.

number8
09-11-2014, 07:11 PM
I have not seen this one, but in the first, the Peter/Gwen scenes were virtually the only ones I found watchable.

Henry Gale
09-11-2014, 10:05 PM
I'm telling ya. Gwen and Peter relationship is the best thing in this series so far. It's almost as if the Villains aren't needed.


I have not seen this one, but in the first, the Peter/Gwen scenes were virtually the only ones I found watchable.

Yeah, that's absolutely how I see it. Except unlike you two, those elements even significantly pushing me into genuinely liking Webb's first film quite a bit.

But like I've said again and again (especially to anyone I know that hasn't seen it that brings it up), I can't help but say TASM2 is worth watching for anything that puts Gwen and Peter or him and Aunt May in a room together, even if that doesn't make up nearly enough of it.

Otherwise it's so weirdly inconsequential when it tries to deal with any of its villains despite how much time it devotes to them. It might construct a decent action scene with those antagonists here and there, but take Electro out of this movie's events and tell me anything really changes. Harry's arc (with the Rhino bookends) provide more than enough to fulfill the conflict quotient.

Simply too many threads struggling to find ways of being important to one another, but at least that emotional core of it comes out relatively unscathed. Its final ten to fifteen minutes somehow still worked beautifully for me, despite the road to them.

Ivan Drago
09-12-2014, 02:07 AM
I never posted about this when I saw it in June, but I was surprised at how much I liked it. Sure, Electro's storyline was awful, and a couple moments don't work, but I loved the relationship between Peter and Gwen, Dane DeHaan was spot-on as Harry Osborn, and the action sequences were awesome. It's nowhere near the caliber of the first two Raimi Spider-Man movies, but the more I think about this movie, the more I like it.

Dukefrukem
09-24-2014, 01:54 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBYKwkrqL18

Sven
09-24-2014, 04:10 PM
Dumb, but likable. Gwen's character, as an emotional lynchpin, was limp. All she does is smile with her cute button nose and get all adorably flustered. Their chemistry together was not enough to get me lumpy, because she had no resonating personality traits. Similarly, the film's attitude towards motivation and perspectives on good/v/evil is very flat and naive. Still, I kinda can't get over how perfect the Garfield rendering of the character is. One of the more successfully realized transpositions of a fantastical superhero personas into a mostly live-action context.