The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (12A)
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Sally Field, Paul Giamatti, Chris Cooper.
Running time: 142 mins approx.
So, cards on the table – I’m a massive Spider-Man fan, always have been. As a child of the 80’s and based in the UK, my exposure whilst growing up was pretty limited. I was brought up with the Spider-Man cartoons (both the original source of the Spider-Man song, and the Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends cartoons) and they are still watchable – and very popular with my kids now which shows you the quality of 30 year old cartoons.
Anyway – this film is The Empire Strikes Back, The Wrath of Khan, The Two Towers of the ‘Amazing’ Spider-Man movies. This is a set-up movie for a larger, ongoing story, but this by no-means takes away any of the shine from what is a great movie.
Andrew Garfield plays the title role with more youth and flare than Toby Maguire ever did – and is also more believable to be the age of the character. Emma Stone is ok as Gwen Stacey – but in the end I think she’s just playing Emma Stone (I’m a middle-of-the-road fan of hers). In this 2nd ‘Amazing’ film, we are finally introduced to Norman Osborn (Chris Cooper) and Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan). Both play the roles great and after seeing Chronicle – you can certainly believe that DeHaan was a great choice for this role. Jamie Foxx was an interesting choice of actor to bring into the movie – and plays Max Dillon convincingly and, eventually, Electro really well. Kudos to the make-up artists for when he finally is Electro, the design of his skin to show the after effects of his accident were a great change from the original green/gold costume that we may have expected, from the comic book version of Electro.
So what’s going on in this movie? Well we find that Spider-Man/Peter Parker is basically enjoying being a hero – he’s having to juggle his life a lot but, you know, he’s Spider-Man and is enjoying every minute. Peter is just about to finish High School, and he is sort-of planning on what he is going to do next with his life. Most of the main cast have the same issue; what/where am I going in life? Gwen has an offer to move to a prestigious university, Harry has a chance to emulate his father at Oscorp and Aunt May wants to find a new job to help move on from missing Ben.
Obviously (since the movie would be boring otherwise) things do not go to plan for anyone: Peter has to deal with attacks from a lot of different places. The pace of the movie keeps you on your toes, and generally doesn’t give you time to rest – which is good. Having two (there’s actually more than two, but only just) ‘villains’ in the film was a bold choice, but funnily enough it didn’t feel like two until near the end of the film. Both have their own stories, and it’s only at the end that both character’s plots merge.
Spider-Man’s costume has been upgraded, with the eyes getting a completely new design. Electro’s design, as I mentioned before, is great though it did feel a bit Dr. Manhattan (from Watchmen) – but you’re going to get that with someone who has blue skin and potentially complete control to teleport themselves & control electricity. Harry/Goblin’s design is thankfully nothing like the plastic suit in the very first Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man movie. This feels more armoured, almost Batman/IronMan like – with interlocking pieces of carbon fiber/metal. I liked the design – though I thought DeHaan was better at the Harry role, rather than the Goblin. But I think he will be more ‘Goblin’ in later films, and hopefully grow into the role – he still seems an ideal choice. Rhino’s suit is fantastic – and Paul Giamatti plays the role with all the stupidity that you would expect.
I’m deliberately skirting around the plot of the film. No major spoilers here. Spider-Man loves being Spider-Man; he is not Batman or the Hulk. This is just a kid from New York who is trying to do the best he can – and is enjoying every minute. I don’t want a brooding/EMO/Dancing Spider-Man… (Trying really hard not to go into full rant mode).
Now – I’m a parent of two kids. One fell asleep, the other was glued to his seat and thought it was “AWESOME”. And you know what – I agree, its not perfect, but no film is. (Please Google ‘Big Bang Theory and Indiana Jones) This is setting the scene for parts 3 and 4, and the Sinister Six and Venom movies that are coming to us in the next 6 years. I loved it, I hope you do too.
Rating? a 5/6 or a 8/10…
Your reviewer is Campbell Irvine, one of the founding members of Geekzine UK, and an IT Engineer by day.
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