Amazing Spiderman 2: What a (Marc) Webb We Weave...

Etrane Martinez (Comic's Corner) 

Spider-Man movie franchise conversations usually boil down to one thing, Directors Sam Raimi and Marc Webb; who made a better movie that truly satisfies the most stubborn of fan boys, (like that's possible,) while also entertaining the average theater patron? 

...And The Amazing Spider-Man 2 adds to that debate. Though it adds fuel to both sides of the argument, as a long time comic book reader I prefer Webb's take of the wall crawler primarily because with the help of screen writers James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves the first installment of "Amazing" felt closer to the Spider-Man universe that I grew up with.

Andrew Garfield's second outing as Peter Parker is both fun and true to the heart of the source material. Where Webb does his best work as a director is in his understanding of the feel of the marvel characters and their primary motivations. In his first Spider-Man movie, as well as in the sequel, Peter is presented as a more realistic teenager compared to past portrayals where Parker is given more of the generic characteristics of a stereotypical "nerd". The movie also marks the return of Emma Stone in the role of Gwen Stacy... the anti-Mary Jane and thank god! Her performance was a excellent as Peter's on and off again girlfriend. This time around the screen play was written by Robert Orci, Jeff Pinkner, and Alex Kurtzman. The movie also introduced us to Harry Osborn played by Deen DeHaan (Chronicle) who delivers the Green Goblin performance that we wished we saw in Raimi's first Spider-Man movie. 

The movie offers a barrage of visual eye candy and SFX's which are laid out and paced like the action pages of your favorite Todd McFarlen Spidey comic. The visual effect crew also did wonders in bringing Electro, played by Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx, onto the screen making him a strong highlight of the movie, but only post transformation. Where they excelled the most with their rendition of this classic bad guy was by making him look so strong and impressive while also making him look like a natural part of this version of Marvel's "Dr. Manhattan." 

Another aspect of the movie that I enjoyed was that like the first movie, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" pays homage to some of the characters most visually iconic moments in the web head's long history in print by recreating them on screen to be enjoyed by all of us who might have hung out in the basement a little too long. Even the actors wardrobe helps to create a feel and look born from the early pages of Steve Ditko and Stan Lee's Amazing Fantasies #1 (the first appearance if Spider-Man.)

 Where Marc Webb and his creative crew went wrong in my opinion, was in the development of the movie's story and plot turns. What the movie gains from its visual achievements it equally looses out due to a series of overly "convenient" moments in the script that are meant to ease the story to the next transition but ends up leaving the watcher still asking questions while the movie moves on without them. One quick example can be found in Foxx's character Max who has a space between his two front teeth the size of a Cheez-it cracker that is magically fixed when he gains his electric powers. As stupid as it sounds, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Do villains get good dental? Is there a bad guy union? 

Often Peter's conversations with his Aunt May, played by veteran actor Sally Fields, are used as the moral compass that motivates Parker to make the hard choices that go hand in hand with being a superhero. With great responsibility etc, etc... Is The Amazing Spider-Man 2 a bad movie? I wouldn't say that. It's not like it's Daredevil or Batman and Robin. The things Webb got right he did so exceedingly well, but the movie falls short of telling a compelling story. At times it felt like Sony Pictures was trying to follow suite with the The Avengers and the other superhero movies connected to it by cramming in scenes meant to introduce futures sequels and even a spin-off movie based around Spider-man's most fearsome group of foes, The Sinister Six... if you just heard a high pitched squealing sound that would be my inner child getting excited. Ultimately, I would say that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was on par with the first one but unfortunately like the first one, it left room for improvement. That being said, I still enjoy watching the movie for what it was and what it represents to me, my childhood day dreams come true.

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