The web-slinger is back in a not so satisfying sequel. Andrew Garfield returns as the masked hero and along with his partner (both in the movie and in real life), Emma Stone, delivers a good performance. The superstar-filled cast of villains includes Jamie Foxx, Paul Giamatti, and Dane DeHaane; all also gave good performances, but that’s not where the problem with this movie lies.
The writing was the weakest element of the story. Only one of the three villains gets a bit of development (I will not spoil which one), while the second gets an even smaller, completely flawed amount, and the third gets none at all.
The writing was the weakest element of the story. Only one of the three villains gets a bit of development (I will not spoil which one), while the second gets an even smaller, completely flawed amount, and the third gets none at all.
The first movie of this franchise was better because we could relate to the villain a bit more. Doctor Connor’s character had a better development and made the audience root for a morally-balanced Spider-Man to prevent The Lizard from harming others and killing Doctor Connors. The villains in this sequel have poor development and Spiderman is not as forgiving as he was with Doctor Connors with some of the other villains, which is a point never fully explored.
Director Mark Webb gets creative leeway that is not usually seen in summer tent pole films by directing a lot of the complicated character driven scenes with a more independent vibe than Hollywood vibe. He uses a lot of hand held and Dutch camera angles to display these emotional scenes. Webb focuses a lot of attention on the scenes revolving around the relationship of Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker, but the action scenes get little attention. This is clear based on the quality and duration of the action scenes; compared to the character-focused scenes, they almost feel rushed.
Before I end this review, I must note a comparison to the previous Spider-man franchise. Spider-Man 2 (2004) is one of the best comic book superhero movies because one cannot watch that movie without feeling how much it can suck to be a superhero. The goal of most movies is to bring across either a message or feeling. Sam Rami does so masterfully in Spider-Man 2, making audiences feel pity as the constantly beat up Spider-man tumbles through the film. This is important because many superhero films don’t have a message outside of the cliché “it’s hard to do the right thing” and that message isn’t even all that clear because the hero wins and gets the girl at the end every time! Though this also happens in Spider-Man 2 (2004), you still better understand Parker’s inner struggles. This movie doesn’t come close to the originality or quality of Spider-Man 2 (2004).
Overall, the movie had a mixed bag of really good and really bad moments. You might enjoy it, but you might also regret it. I expect better from these movies and I hope those colors will shine in the next two films in this franchise.
Grade: B-
Director Mark Webb gets creative leeway that is not usually seen in summer tent pole films by directing a lot of the complicated character driven scenes with a more independent vibe than Hollywood vibe. He uses a lot of hand held and Dutch camera angles to display these emotional scenes. Webb focuses a lot of attention on the scenes revolving around the relationship of Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker, but the action scenes get little attention. This is clear based on the quality and duration of the action scenes; compared to the character-focused scenes, they almost feel rushed.
Before I end this review, I must note a comparison to the previous Spider-man franchise. Spider-Man 2 (2004) is one of the best comic book superhero movies because one cannot watch that movie without feeling how much it can suck to be a superhero. The goal of most movies is to bring across either a message or feeling. Sam Rami does so masterfully in Spider-Man 2, making audiences feel pity as the constantly beat up Spider-man tumbles through the film. This is important because many superhero films don’t have a message outside of the cliché “it’s hard to do the right thing” and that message isn’t even all that clear because the hero wins and gets the girl at the end every time! Though this also happens in Spider-Man 2 (2004), you still better understand Parker’s inner struggles. This movie doesn’t come close to the originality or quality of Spider-Man 2 (2004).
Overall, the movie had a mixed bag of really good and really bad moments. You might enjoy it, but you might also regret it. I expect better from these movies and I hope those colors will shine in the next two films in this franchise.
Grade: B-
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