The Underwhelming Spider-man

After a long hiatus, I’m back. 2014 has been a good year for movies. Gems have emerged from sea of garbage that usually overwhelms us all or at least me. Super hero movies have received massive amounts of hype and the second installment of the Amazing Spider-man was no exception. After the tragedy of Toby Maguire’s Spider-man, Andrew Garfield is a superior choice. Success following the first movie raised standards for its sequel. Were those standards met? The jury is still out on that.

IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes

genres: action, super hero, science fiction, drama

Concept:

Spider-man’s story is well known to comic readers and thanks to a series of cinema disasters, known everyone else as well. The Amazing Spider-man 2 resides in a odd place. A trilogy’s basic function: movie one introduces the world, characters and some times a trilogy wide conflict. Movie two develops characters and deepens the conflict. Movie three resolves characters and conflict. Each movie has its own mini conflict, but successful trilogies have an arc that hovers above each part. Nolan’s Batman trilogy worked because each movie built upon one another. The last Spider-man trilogy failed because the movies were awful and narratively disjointed. Webb’s trilogy is a definite improvement. Unfortunately, lack of direction plagues the second installment.

The Amazing Spider-man 2 felt like an introduction movie even though it was a sequel. No new conflicts emerge and old ones are rehashed. The villain, circumstances and flow of time change, but core conflict doesn’t progress. This movie presented me with nothing new.

Characters:

Peter Parker/Spider-man (Andrew Garfield) is the web slinging hero of New York city and the most frustrating character in the franchise. Static and unchanging are the two words I use to describe our hero. Most superheroes share Spider-man’s identity crisis, balancing their normal and extra-ordinary lives. Peter’s struggle exists on a deeper personal level than other super heroes. Yet, this installment offers no forward progress.

Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) is Peter’s girl friend and the second most compelling character in the film. I like her relationship with Peter because she is a resolute force in his life. Unlike other super hero girlfriends, Gwen knows what must be done and isn’t afraid to endanger herself. Her strict sense of justice brings her closer to death. Sadly, the film didn’t add any depth to Gwen either.

Harry Osborne/Green Goblin (Dan DeHann) is Peter’s long lost friend and son of Norman Osborne. He takes the prize for the most compelling character. Terminal illness is cliche villain motivator, but it works so well. Harry’s struggle emerges from the fundamental fear of death that all humans share. His desperation to fight his father’s disease leads him to demonize Peter. What a stunning fall to darkness, too bad Electro gets all the screen time.

Electro ( Jamie Foxx) is a deranged electrical engineer who gains super powers due to a work accident (sounds really familiar). I hated this guy from the minute he was introduced. The film properly establishes Electro’s motivation and illogical actions, but this villain is devoid of character. The writers really expect me to believe that a mentally deranged man can hold a job as an electrical engineer? Seriously? Oscorp is supposed to be corrupt, but the circumstances leading up to Electro’s death are beyond stupid. Even shady corporations have some level of safety equipment, yet our dear engineer has to balance on a catwalk rail-guard while reconnecting a live electrical line. They weren’t even trying to produce a semi-realistic accident.

Story:

For those who are familiar with the Spider-man comics, The Amazing Spider-man 2 displays the paramount event in Peter’s life. The relationship that fundamentally changed who he would be become before meeting Mary Jane. Narratively this movie is a giant milestone, the one that really counts. Folks will say that the beginning and end or a story is important because those are what the audience will remember. I agree, but the middle bits are equal in value. Peter’s adventure this time around is swindling me. I was waiting for a punch line of joke that I didn’t know. It’s too draconian to imply that this movie is a waste of time, but the premonition was not far from me.
The Good
Positive elements litter this mediocre production. Usually, I don’t mention actors due to the difficulty of assessing their talents. Some characters or stories hinge upon how well an actor(s) can perform the role. Garfield and Stone provide an exceptional performance. The relationship between Gwen and Peter is the main conflict. Peter continues to struggle with guilt induced by ignoring his pact with George Stacy. When Peter and Gwen were together, I couldn’t help smiling because they were organic and natural. The romance didn’t feel forced, these two were happy just be around each other.

The movie should have focused on their relationship. Unfortunately, like a child with ADHD, the romance is shallowly addressed with many interruptions.

Gwen’s death was fantastic. A few inches would have saved Gwen, but Peter was seconds too late. The impact was doubled through ambiguity. As the scene played out, I hoped she would open her eyes. However, in my mind, I knew otherwise. Peter has the same realization despite his desperate cries, futility telling her to live.

Peter also learns about his past and why his mutation occurred. I liked this because too often Super hero powers are given a bogus explanation or none at all.
The Bad
As mentioned earlier, the narrative lacks direction. Electro is the embodiment of this narrative debacle. I know he is one of the big villains in the comics, but his presence makes the plot convoluted. Screen time is allocated to Electro before and after his accident which detracts from Peter and Gwen. Right now, I sound a bit like a pre-teen girl demanding more time for her favorite couple, but bear with me.

Given the importance Gwen’s tragedy, a majority of the first half should have focused on the young lovers alone. Harry/Green Goblin should have developed in parallel with Peter. Due to Electro’s presence as the “villain of the day”, the events above seemed rushed and unfinished. Technically, having Harry as the only villain would have been rehashing old territory. Webb probably wanted to stay away from the previous trilogy, but the film would have benefited if the Goblin took the throne again. Electro could have been replaced with a lesser villain from the Spider-man universe who worked in tandem with Harry, allowing Peter and Gwen to develop more depth. I think The Amazing Spider-man 2 broke under pressure from summer expectations. Summer blockbusters are almost always action films. My plot suggestions might remove too much action; thus, the film has to be released later or risk tanking in the box office. A risk the producers and/or Webb were unwilling to make.

Combine narrative confusion and repetitiveness to make a mediocre film. Peter’s struggle doesn’t change or deepen. I consider that a failure of the film because Peter’s suffering supposedly increases, yet nothing new is presented. I’ve seen him sad and depressed. After the tragedy, Peter should been destroyed emotionally rather than sad. His character needed to shift. The changes I wanted see might manifest in the sequel.

Score: 6/10

^ me after the movie

This movie was a rather large disappointment. I enjoyed watching it and the entertainment value is high, but the sloppiness is hard to overlook. It’s a shame that Spider-man can’t stick it on the big screen. A very interesting, deep and tortured super hero that is stymied by bad writing.

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