The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Review

Justin, Mike, and I saw The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on May 3, 2014!! I can honestly say going into this movie I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as I personally did not like the first of this new trilogy at all. However, I am pleased to say that this was very well done. I still believe that the first two movies in the Sam Raimi trilogy are the best Spider-Man movies. but I'd put this one right after those.  I was shocked (no pun intended) by the overall quality of this movie. They got their act together for this one. The performances by Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Dane Dehaan, Jamie Foxx, Paul Giamatti, and Sally Field were all pretty good for the most part. Stone did really well with Gwen Stacy here and I think her and Garfield's Peter Parker had better chemistry than in the first one. Dehaan did really well as Harry Osborne descending into madness. I liked his approach, but I could have done without the emo look. Of course, it's really a nitpicky thing, because DeHaan did well tapping into the mind of the character. Jamie Foxx's portrayal of Max Dillon presented him as somebody that is more of a tragic hero than a pure villain. His frustrations with being invisible to the world can be something anybody can identify with. His transformation into Shocker was great-effects were absolutely amazing. The only thing I'd criticize is that his story did parallel Doctor Manhattan in Watchmen a great deal right down to the blue look. Shocker actually looks like Willow or Jeff Hardy's alter ego character he currently portrays in TNA Wrestling (at least one version of the character does). I do think Foxx really gave a tortured soul aspect to the Shocker character that made it stand out. The battles between him and Spider-Man were visually impressive. Paul Giamatti's appearance as Rhino was interesting-criminal mastermind that had a manic edge to it. Giamatti is an excellent actor, so his approach worked for the darker nature of this movie. Sally Field did a phenomenal job as Aunt May. She is exactly how the character should be. Overall, the plot of the movie focuses around three parts: 1. Peter Parker balancing his life as Spider-Man and his personal life with Gwen Stacy, 2. Peter's friendship with Harry Osbourne and the subsequent connection of Oscorp and his parents, and 3. Max Dillon's struggle with his invisibility as a human being to his larger than life persona as Electro. Each of these stories were written well, and some of them were met with some shocking (again, no pun intended) results. I am still recovering from a certain event towards the end of the movie. The whole theater screamed at this event. I honestly couldn't believe how graphic it was. Some of the dialogue was cheesy, and certain interactions felt awkward (the first time Harry & Peter share a scene), but that's just minor things because its a comic book movie, so you're going to encounter things like that. Overall, I'd give this movie a 4/5. The cast, darker storylines, incredible scores, brilliant storytelling for the villains, and better portrayals of Gwen and Peter from the first movie made this a very good superhero movie. It also did an excellent job of shaping things for the next movie in terms of main plot as well as hinting at new character arcs. This is one of the best movies of 2014 in my opinion.