The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is heavy-handed. One of the key themes of the movie is time, and as we see Richard Parker's watch in the first frames and hear characters talk about the time they have in life, it's quite clear this is an Orci and Kurtzman script along with numerous plot contrivances and not-so-subtle motivating speeches throughout.
The script isn't a total mess though, it carries it's weight of numerous characters with decent heft as most of the big players are intertwined to the specter of Oscorp in one way or another, keeping things coherent. In other words, it's not like Spider-Man 3. It also is able to balance it's different tones to fine effect -- from the hilarious Max Dillon scenes to the catastrophic and tragic occurrences of it's third act. It all seems to come full circle in the melancholy and gratifying hope of it's opening set-piece to the rousing return of Spidey in the final scene. By the end of it all, you feel like you've gone through an opera and rollercoaster of emotions. The film's structure and pacing are fine, things don't get too boring or humdrum in the 2nd act, even if the Peter and Gwen talks start to homogenize a bit just before the 3rd act.
It's a credit to director Marc Webb that despite all the spectacle, there's still a very human core to The Amazing Spider-Man 2, as was with the first film. Peter and Gwen's relationship feels real and the excellent chemistry between Garfield and Stone only boasts their in-and-out romance further; their relationship is the core of the movie and it's strongest success. The villains of the film feel like an odd mix at first, but work well in context later on. Jamie Foxx's Max Dillon is an extroverted, outcast and exaggerated caricature that inflates himself into the God-like, power hungry, self-serving yet persuadable Electro, who ends up teaming up with the persuasive, desperate and eventually maniacal Harry Osborn. Both of who's despondency, despair and general disliking of the ol' webhead brings them together. Foxx and DeHaan are a dynamic duo and it's a shame they don't get more to do together, because their chemistry -- which oozes with villainy -- is really something. Both actors bring an entertaining nefariousness and charm to their roles, and they're more uniquely characterized and visualized than other recent superhero baddies thanks to some one-liners and silliness.
Oh yeah, Spider-Man is in this movie, and he's great. Garfield brings more of his humor, pensiveness and dramatic ability this time around and that is a credit to Webb, as we feel like the character has progressed enormously between the shaky, unfocused teen we saw in the beginning of the first film. This film really is a showcase for Garfield's immense range as an actor, he's going to have a great and long career. As for Spidey, this is the best we've ever seen him; with a fantastic costume, amazing CGI and 3D, Spidey's swinging feels virtuous and more visceral than ever before. I had a jolt in my seat during the first swing scene.
Speaking of the fine CGI and 3D, they also bolster the already thrilling action sequences, especially the final third act battles with Electro and Green Goblin, where in which I felt my heart was about to burst out of my chest, despite the fact that I spoiled myself on it beforehand. It's a testament to Webb's direction in both making us care for the characters and crafting a damn good action setpiece, even despite a rather superfluous Plane sequence which is interwoven between the powerplant Electro-Spidey fight.
Despite my gushing, the problems I listed at the beginning are still very apparent and hurtful to the film as a whole. Most especially with the plotline of Peter's parents, story progression feels far from organic as many of Peter's occurrences upon new info are less from solving clues and more from happy coincidences. There's also plenty of spoon-fed exposition (particularly within the albeit creepy appearance from Norman Osborn) and magical blood plot-lines to tick off the Orci-Kurtzman checklist.
The first film had some interesting directorial choices that never fully felt explored, but in this film, it seems like Webb is much more confident in the material now that the origin is out of the way. There's a greater sense of individuality to this new reboot series than the first film compared to the Raimi series now, with things like Spidey's dynamic sense, the comic-book style tone; which is filled with one-liners, intentionally cheesy character bits and Dr. Kafka (see for yourself) but also tragedy and weight that keeps things in reality. The film is an eclectic mix, and this is represented by Hans Zimmer's contemporary and electronically-colored score that ranges from traditional orchestral tunes, to an epic electronic-dubstep mix for Electro to guitar tuned and bass-blasting beats for the Rhino.
Overall, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 works well, it's loaded with strong work from it's main players, great action scenes, humor, a wonderful core relationship between it's two leads and more confident direction. It's the film's ambitious script that proves to be it's biggest falter, with plenty of obvious mishaps despite some interesting thematic and character ideas such as time, self-serving along with some interesting moralizing.
Barely got a good look of the glider too. Have to go see it again ASAP to get a better overall feel of the movie, hopefully with a better crowd!
t: I'd rate the film 7.5/10 I guess.
