Movie Advisor: The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Though it gets a bit silly, there are welcome shades of grey to the villains here, even if, with foreshadowing of the upcoming Sinister Six movie, we’re back in dangerous triple baddy territory. Jamie Foxx does good work on the tragic fall of lonely Max Dillon, who is transformed accidentally into the dangerously out of control Electro, threatening New York City with deep fried citizens, blotting out all the lights and playing some retro electro to boot. Paul Giamatti has less time to set up one more bad guy.
Again, is this offering really all that original? Probably not, but at least there are enough twists on the tale to keep things fresh enough. Many will love the audio-visual assault of CGI on show here, but for my tastes it’s a little too much mess and noise, and overly cartoony compared to the recent Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Sally Field still doesn’t quite ring true as Aunt May for me and despite a handful of stonily unimpressed looks from Leary, and a few flashbacks, his presence is lacking here, particularly at a crucial juncture that doesn’t make any sense at all. It’s left to Garfield and Stone to do the heavy lifting that ensure this is good popcorn fare, if nothing overtly amazing.
Review courtesy of The Lowdownunder.
Rotten Tomatoes says: 78% – “Thanks to Marc Webb’s confident directing and talented cast, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 entertains in spite of its crowded canvas and occasionally stilted narrative.”
The Telegraph says: “The thing is, all the electricity Webb needs is right before him, in the continued perfect match of his leads…Peter and Gwen know they should break up, and keep trying to, but you can’t pretend away chemistry like theirs – it’s an atomic fact. They light the film up with a sparkle and sadness it couldn’t live without.”
See it: With a huge box of popcorn on a rainy Friday night.
Kids? Evil villains and fast-paced action with confuse and scare those under 12.