Rebooting the Spiderman franchise so soon after the very successful Sam Raimi trilogy was never going to be an easy task for Director Marc Webb. The three films, featuring Toby Maguire as Peter Parker/Spiderman are the fifth, sixth and seventh highest grossing superhero movies ever – a testament to their popularity.
While Webb did introduce a few new elements into the story, including a more confident Peter Parker played by Andrew Garfield, and a continuing subplot concerning Peter’s parents, it did not reach the heights of its predecessors.
That may also turn out to be the case with The Amazing Spiderman 2: Rise of Electro. If so it will be through no fault of those involved in
the film, for they have done – if you’ll pardon the pun – an amazing
job.
The chemistry between Garfield and Stone was one of the positives to come out of the first film, and that has continued, and even improved in the second. So too has the performance of Garfield. His honest portrayal of Peter Parker, of the highs and lows he goes through as a teenage superhero, have you investing in the character as the movie progresses.
He takes the time to talk to those he has rescued, even while chasing a truck through the city, and when he catches up with the criminals is never short of a wise crack.
Despite this sometimes teenage brashness, Peter Parker is a nice kid, and warming to Garfield was not difficult. A scene in which he protects a young boy from bullies is a fine example of this. His conversation with the boy could easily have been condescending, instead, it was as I said – honest.
There are better villains, and more of them. Jamie Foxx is a bit over
the top as Electro, but as the whole concept of an electrified glow in
the dark villain is too, that can certainly be forgiven. Dane Dehann is
suitably creepy as Harry Osborne, and later the Green Goblin. While the always delightful Paul Giamatti makes a short, but memorable appearance as the Rhino at the end of the film. Both should be back for the third installment.
The special effects, as expected are excellent, and not particularly
overused considering the genre. The story is cohesive and interesting, giving the cast something to work with, and they all do their jobs well. Too often, a decent story is neglected due to the overuse of CGI. That certainly isn’t the case here. Indeed the two Marc Webb films are two of the few I would actually recommend seeing in 3D. Particularly when Spidey is swinging through New York.
While Marc Webb’s first foray into the Marvel universe was not as successful at the box office as both he and Marvel would have liked, I am certain this one will do a lot better. It certainly deserves to.
Superheroes: From Comic Books to the Big Screen 