SPOILERS
So many people are complaining about this movie. Personally, I think it is all a matter of tastes and expectations. But for me, I wanted to see a comic book come to life, and that is exactly what I got. It didn’t go beyond the genre. I liked the first film quite a lot, but could never get over how the first half feels so grounded, while the second half feels so unrealistic. But TASM2 retains the comic book look and feel throughout the whole film without compromising the human emotions that relate to us all (suffering, hope, death, etc.).
Since there are so many detailed reviews on this site, I just want to take this time to address a few of the complaints I heard going into it, and why I believed they worked for the better.
The Plot and Tone
Yes, I agree the plot and tone are all over the place, which is not only what I was expecting, but also what I loved. When you read a comic book, especially Spider-Man, you are constantly weaving in-and-out of plot threads; so as a result, the tone will most definitely change. For example, I recently re-read Amazing Spider-Man #31-33 (one of the best storylines in my opinion). There is so much going on there; you have Peter Parker beginning college at ESU, the introduction of both Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy, then you have the much darker story about Peter’s Aunt May in the hospital, all the while Spider-Man is trying to deal with the mystery of the Master Planner, who is none other than Dr. Octopus, shown scheming. So that sounds busy and feels busy when you read it, but yet it works. And TASM2 did a terrific job at tying all of its plot threads together.
To those who say it’s too “cheesy” or “hammy” I have to say that I kind of enjoyed those scenes. Have you ever read a Lee/Ditko comic? They have so many of those moments, and watching this movie brought me back to that. The moments people are complaining are so campy (Rhino, Max Dillion, Dr. Kafka, etc.) were really not bad when you think of them more in the style of the older comics. While at the same time, we also got the more dark tones of the ULTIMATE series. This was especially evident with the whole Harry Osborn storyline. So it truly was a mix of both worlds.
The Villains
I thought these villains were done fantastically (yes all of them). And here’s why. Rhino was great because they didn’t go beyond his status as a villain; he was a fun set-up, a great way for Spider-Man to show off his skills. They didn’t give him a back-story or a sympathetic angle, and that was just refreshing to see.
Now Electro. A lot of people are having issues with Max Dillon and his so-called ‘campiness.’ But as a couple of medical graduates pointed out to me after the movie, they did an excellent job making Max Dillon very mentally ill. For one, he showed several signs of schizophrenia, including the voices in his head (the score) and him conversing with himself. The fact that he constantly brought up his birthday was also a nice touch of how he wanted to get noticed. Now once again, as these medical friends of mine brought up, since he went through most of his life with this feeling of isolation and need to be noticed, after going through a traumatic accident with the eel tank, he was made vulnerable so that anything could push him over the edge. Spider-Man in Times Square was actually using therapeutic techniques to try to calm him down, but he broke the “patient’s” confidence and trust the moment he forgot his name (which in their eyes is a huge deal). Then you see Electro angry over Spider-Man being on the screens instead of him; thus the moment no longer became about helping him but about people cheering on Spidey. All of this, plus the man shooting him, lead to Electro’s rage and later, his eventual partnership with Harry (who actually gave him what he wanted). I don’t claim to be an expert in all this, but there was no doubt a lot more thought that went into this character than people are giving credit for.
And finally, the Goblin. Did I want to see Norman Osborn as the Goblin in this movie, yes! But did they make Harry work as the Goblin, absolutely! I think most of it has to be attributed to Dane Dehaan’s performance, which really was a menacing Goblin from start to finish. He made me feel disturbingly uncomfortable the moment he got on screen. Even though his appearance was brief, that whole scene (along with Gwen’s death) made the most impact on me and all those I brought to the movie. Yes Harry’s stroyline was rushed, but I felt like it nonetheless gave us all the essentials I was hoping to see (Harry and Peter as friends, Harry’s dramatic almost bipolar nature, his drinking problem, etc.). And on a side note, Chris Cooper deserves some applause for his brief appearance. He managed to make a dying, bed-ridden Norman Osborn so incredibly cruel and menacing. There is no doubt that his influence can be felt throughout the whole film and that he is a villain worth talking about.
The Cinematic Universe
People are annoyed at how much effort this film made at setting-up sequels. But I saw it more as an expansion of Spidey’s universe. With the Raimi films, I felt like it was just New York (or should I say the Sony backlot) with some Spider-Man characters dropped in. But this truly felt like I was in Spider-Man’s New York City. I don’t know how to explain it, but it just felt like all the characters were great nods to the comics, no matter how brief their appearances were. All the easter eggs were a nice touch, I don’t know how people can’t see Webb’s fandom coming through. As a life-long fan of Spider-Man, I felt like this movie did a great job at catering to my fanboyness.
Everything Else
Besides all that, I loved just about everything else in this film. Special praise to Gardfield, Stone, and Dehaan, who brought their characters to life and came with their A-game. The final climax is now my all-time favorite scene in a comic book movie. As a fan I feel like we were given a near-perfect adaptation. I am grateful for Marc Webb’s passion for this character and series. Also, the score was unbelievable! Whether you like it or not, there is no denying that Hans Zimmer and his team went all out in trying to do something unique, and I believe it worked.
What blew my mind was how for a sequel, this film was very self-contained. Heck, you didn’t even really need to see the first one to enjoy this one. And even though so much was set-up for future sequels, I could be satisfied with never seeing another Spider-Man film again because of how well these plots were tied-up. Honestly, the death of Gwen being done so emotionally perfect in this film has lowered my hype for the next film, knowing that she won’t be alive. This is the Spider-Man film I have waited for all my life, and it is now tied with the Dark Knight as my favorite comic book movie. All in all it was a great mix of action, comedy, drama, mystery, and sci-fi.
Conclusion
So I know many of you will disagree with me, seeing how controversial this movie really is. And it’s great that we have a site like this where we can respectfully dialogue about these films. But we need to be thankful that we are in a golden age of comic book movies, where we are getting some of our favorite heroes and storylines we grew up with adapted to the big screen. We are definitely spoiled fans, and perhaps this is why movies like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will never get the praise it deserves.
10/10