The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Underrated? Yay or Nay

[CyclopsWasRight]

Do you feel that this movie is underrated?

I don't refer to critical ratings but opinions among CBM enthusiasts.

Do you feel it's getting undeserved levels of dislike? Are words like travesty, disaster and so forth unjustified?

The poll is confidential so vote honestly as no one will see what you voted.

 

[OriginalMiles]

I don't think it's as bad as some people say.

They're entitled to their opinion of course, but I don't think it's all that bad.

 

[bapi]

NO, I think it's the worst Spidey movie yet! And this thread is absolutely needless. People will just repeat their opinions so...??

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

This thread isn't to gauge whether people liked it or disliked it but to gauge if they feel that it's underrated.

 

[Morg]

NO, I think it's the worst Spidey movie yet! And this thread is absolutely needless. People will just repeat their opinions so...??

and complainers too I see.

 

[Erzengel]

We are on a comic book website, so opinions can often be skewed.

I posted in the box office thread that movies like X-3, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Superman Returns and Spider-Man 3, we had hundreds of posters saying how it was a 5 out of 5, or a 10 out of 10. In hindsight, the general consensus now from what I see is that X-3 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine were the worst of the franchise. Spider-Man 3 is seen to be the worst of the 3 Raimi movies. Superman Returns is seen as mediocre/uninspired reboot.

When you have "excitable" fans of a movie, it seems like their first inclination is to "overhype" a movie.

I don't think TASM 2 is the worst CBM ever to grace the screen. Could it have been received better if there was no Raimi trilogy proceeding it? Possibly. That could be a reason. I know there are some Burton fans who probably like the earlier Batman films compared to the Nolan Trilogy. But, maybe enough time has passed, maybe the stench of the Schumacher films had to dissipate. Or maybe it's cause the Nolan Trilogy was just done well.

But with the amount of CBMs out past, present and future, expectations for quality can be expected. It's not wrong to expect a good movie and not necessarily a Transformers or Pirates movie (poorly reviewed movies that still make money.)

Going back to what I said about this being a comic book website. I think this site is mor in tune obviously because most of us are comic book fans but there's usually a consensus after some time to reflect. I think for the most part, people will agree on X-Men 1 & 2, Spider-Man 1 & 2, Nolan Trilogy, Iron Man and Avengers. We aren't going to have 100% agreement but those are the general standards.

We also have the awful CBMs, Green Lantern, Elektra, Catwoman and Batman and Robin.

If we look at it as a spectrum, every other CBM in general seems to fit in between each group. Some closer to one side than the other. But it's these movies that can split a group such as with TASM 2 and in the end it comes down to expectation and personal opinion.

In the end though, I think it has to do with quality. I think most people are like me and expect a quality movie. If it was a better movie, maybe it would not divide comic book fans as much.

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

Good post Erzengel

I'd place it around the Thor, Captain America, Spider-Man, X-Men, range.

That would be a decent and enjoyable movie but nothing outstanding.

Not amongst the greatness of X2, Batman Begins, First Class, Iron Man but also nowhere near the very poor Batman and Robin, Green Lantern, Elektra, Iron Man 2 range.

I've seen a few people placing it in that very poor range and wanted to gauge the majority

 

[Erzengel]

See I would rank X-Men over First Class and if I had to do a top 10, Spider-Man would probably be 7-10. It's just an example of personal taste/opinion.

My Top 5 in no particular order is Cap: TWS, Avengers, Iron Man, TDK, Spider-Man 2.

I'm sure a few posters can take anyone of those and say overrated, sucks, etc. but if you take the general consensus you'll get that they are perfect/almost perfect CBM movies.

I've seen enough people hype and slam TASM 2. It's probably somewhere in the middle of praise and critiques. A movie that got almost the same RT score as TASM 2 is MOS. I really liked it regardless of the score. I'm sure others wouldn't rank it as high as I would and that's how fans of TASM 2 feel. But I know the general consensus isn't to put this even in the Thor, Captain America level.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

Yes it is.

I stand by my opinion that this is the best Spiderman movie ever made thus far.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Underrated it is
The story is nice, not mediocre, not excellent, something in between

 

[Andrew Lucas]

Yes it is.

I stand by my opinion that this is the best Spiderman movie ever made thus far.

I agree.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

I agree.

BUT, I can see why this film pissed so many people off, ya know.

 

[LEVITIKUZ]

It's tied with the worst Spidey film with me. Say what you will but the villains in Spidey 3 were better. They were more developed, better motives, you could understand them.

Sandman = steals money to save his daughter
Harry = blames Spidey for Father's death
Venom = blames Parker for him getting fired and humiliated

Now let's look at TASM2

Rhino = mobster for a Russian mob that somehow is a threat to the city despite not being mentioned in the first. Also given a metal suit somehow.
Harry = blames Spidey for not helping him.
Electro = blames Spidey for forgetting who he is despite the fact Spidey saves lives on a daily basis

When you do a sequel, you need a strong villain or the film falls. Darth Vader in Empire, Joker in Dark Knight, Zod in Superman 2, Penguin in Returns, Khan in Wrath, Doc Ock in Spidey 2, Stryker in X2, (spoiler) in Cap 2, I could keep going on.

The only developed character in this is Harry. Peter is the same throughout the film except he has no Gwen.

Also the theme of time kind of sucks. What in this film does time involve?

Time left before Gwen leaves?
Time left Harry has?
Time left before the planes crash?

Some of these we saw in Spidey 2. How is Gwen leaving for Englund different from MJ getting married? I think the second is worse. She's just studying aboard not leaving you.

Also how is the planes crash any different from the nuclear fission bomb about to go off in Spidey 2? Both you need to stop quickly.

It's just bad and poorly done.

 

[Andrew Lucas]

Sandman and Harry are okay but if you're ok with Venom then you should be OK with GG.

Also GG from Raimi was just a terrorist and nothing more.

Rhino character was always like that,just another dumb thug wanting to kill Spidey and he's going to get back for the next sequel.

Electro feels betrayed by his best friend on his mind,because when he thought he was someone Spidey took all the attention again,but I agree that the character has a lot of flaws.

Harry wasn't planning to kill Spider-Man till he took the serum,he was out of his mind after that,Harry was never a villain till the end of the second act,he cured himself but the serum made him crazier blaming Spidey for forcing him to do that.

It isn't easy to just let Gwen go,she is going to spent years there,staying away from someone you love for so many years is hard,just look at the end of the first one,and that was days.

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

It's tied with the worst Spidey film with me. Say what you will but the villains in Spidey 3 were better. They were more developed, better motives, you could understand them.

Sandman = steals money to save his daughter
Harry = blames Spidey for Father's death
Venom = blames Parker for him getting fired and humiliated

Now let's look at TASM2

Rhino = mobster for a Russian mob that somehow is a threat to the city despite not being mentioned in the first. Also given a metal suit somehow.
Harry = blames Spidey for not helping him.
Electro = blames Spidey for forgetting who he is despite the fact Spidey saves lives on a daily basis

When you do a sequel, you need a strong villain or the film falls. Darth Vader in Empire, Joker in Dark Knight, Zod in Superman 2, Penguin in Returns, Khan in Wrath, Doc Ock in Spidey 2, Stryker in X2, (spoiler) in Cap 2, I could keep going on.

The only developed character in this is Harry. Peter is the same throughout the film except he has no Gwen.

Also the theme of time kind of sucks. What in this film does time involve?

Time left before Gwen leaves?
Time left Harry has?
Time left before the planes crash?

Some of these we saw in Spidey 2. How is Gwen leaving for Englund different from MJ getting married? I think the second is worse. She's just studying aboard not leaving you.

Also how is the planes crash any different from the nuclear fission bomb about to go off in Spidey 2? Both you need to stop quickly.

It's just bad and poorly done.

Bold 1: That's oversimplifying things greatly.

Bold 2: Agreed, the movie lacked a central antagonist as it split that role and thus diluted it

Bold 3: was a bit heavy-handed but at least it had a theme.

 

[bugman]

so underrated. i adored asm 2, was on the verge of tears on multiple occasions (before it was even clear what was going to happen at the end), and was completely satisfied. was it too cluttered? sure. could they have taken the ending and let it build to the ending of asm 3? definitely. but it was so meaningful because stone just owned the character. she and garfield were beautiful together, frankly more so than even comic peter and gwen. and finally, we get to see an aunt may who is an active participant, not just a frail old lady who serves as a symbol and reminder of peter's shortcomings and guilt complexes but as a character with her own purposes, as well as one who drives peter forward.

in my mind, asm 2 may someday be considered the superior spider-man (heh, heh) movie. as it stands now, i consider it a close second behind raimi's spider-man 2.

in terms of superhero/comic movies all0time, i go like this:

superman: the movie
spider-man 2
the amazing spider-man 2
x2
batman returns

next tier:
spider-man
the avengers
the amazing spider-man
x-men: first class
batman begins

haven't seen days of future past yet...

 

[Erzengel]

I like to add that underrated usually doesn't involve tentpole summer blockbusters.

I hear underrated, I think of Near Dark, Collateral, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Movies like that.

 

[Voices]

It truly is the most comparable with Man of Steel. It's a matter of taste. I didn't like Man of Steel because I didn't like the tone and it wasn't a good representation of Superman for me. But I can see why my notions of what a Superman movie should be like don't apply to a lot of people. On the other hand, I loved TASM2 because it's exactly what I want from a Spider-Man movie. It's how I think Spider-Man should look and act on the big screen. I can see why people don't like this interpretation of the character though. So honestly, you're never gonna convince the people who like these movies that they aren't underrated. And you're never gonna convince the people that dislike them that they are wrong. It's simply too reliant on personal preference.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

It is overrated, although I think in time like with most films people will let emotions cool down and start to view the film as it is.

But as of right now I notice that there are a lot of fans giving this film unwarranted praise. It really is an awful film and an awful adaptation of the Spider-Man character.

 

[OriginalMiles]

Overrated? That's a new one.

I haven't heard anybody call it overrated before.

Maybe it is a little bit.

 

[Voices]

[YT]hpdZwuyEmRk[/YT]

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

and an awful adaptation of the Spider-Man character.

That's the one thing they nailed 100%

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Not 100%, but they did capture the character properly

 

[The Joker]

No it's not underrated. It gets what it deserves. It's a weak movie and Spider-Man movie. The plot is a mess, the villains are awful, and the action is predominantly forgettable.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

That's the one thing they nailed 100%

I don't remember comic Peter being a stupid jerkass, who never learns anything, doesn't give a crap about responsibility, and cares far more about his parents than Aunt May and Uncle Ben.