The Amazing Spiderman 2 (2014) - Marc Webb

In the latest incarnation of the Spiderman franchise, Peter Parker is enjoying life as the web-slinger, embracing his role as the hero of New York City.  Still haunted by Gwen's father's dying words, Peter reluctantly distances himself from Gwen Stacy, constantly fighting his love for her.  With the emergence of Electro, an incredibly powerful man made of electricity, Peter must confront someone far stronger than himself, also leading him to conflict with his old friend, Harry Osbourne.  Marc Webb's The Amazing Spiderman 2 is an overstuffed film with far too many characters and plot threads.   The film thematic intentions are quite muddled because of this, with the film never having much of a through line whatsoever.   In a way, Webb should be commended for keeping this film coherent, doing an admirable job given the film's bloated narrative.  Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are still great in their respective roles with chemistry that really makes this film more enjoyable than not.  I firmly believe that these two actors are the only reason the characters don't feel completely lifeless, both bringing an impressive amount of genuine feeling to the roles.  The biggest problem with The Amazing Spiderman 2 is that it wants to do far too much, falling victim to the "Avenger's factor" of needing to get bigger and more epic by adding more villains and superfluous narrative threads into the mix.  The last 15 minutes of the film are a perfect example of this with an incredibly unnecessary epilogue type sequence the feels that it belongs in the beginning of The Amazing Spiderman 3, not the end of this film.  Overstuffed story aside, The Amazing Spiderman 2 is a visually striking film with some great CGI work that elevates the action and thrill to new heights for the franchise.  The Amazing Spiderman 2 is an improvement over its predecessor but unfortunately it never quite manages to set itself apart from the superhero mold. 

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