Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Movie Review: ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’

businessinsider.com Andrew Garfield reprises his role of the famous comic book hero in the latest adaptation of the Spider-Man story.
BUSINESSINSIDER.COM
Andrew Garfield reprises his role of the famous comic book hero in the latest adaptation of the Spider-Man story.

★★☆☆

In Marc Webb’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2we are reunited with one of the world’s most popular superheroes, as the film continues to explore his battles against villains, his ups and downs with his best friend, his budding romance and his love for the aunt who raised him. What makes Webb’s film different from Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 2” – released 10 years ago – is that the recent version seems to spice up the action thrill with a hoard of villains and heavy special effects.

The movie opens with the classic scenes of Spider Man (played by Andrew Garfield) swooping gymnastically among Manhattan skyscrapers to stop a Russian mobster, while attempting to make it in time for his high school graduation. He invariably saves the world, yanks pedestrians out of the approaching vehicles and passes on encouraging words to civilians, but misses the valedictorian speech of his girlfriend, Gwen (Emma Stone), because of this responsibility.

Covered by a hoodie and equipped with a backpack throughout the movie, Andrew Garfield returns with a more teen-friendly portrayal of Peter Parker, compared to the earlier performance of Tobey Maguire. Peter’s romantic relationships here are similar to the one drawn out in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 2,” mainly focusing on Peter’s struggle to reconcile his love for Gwen and the promise to her father that he will keep her safe by staying away from her. Gwen, an Oxford University candidate whose knowledge of science aids Peter in his fight against evil, is a decidedly smarter and more helpful companion than Kristen Dunst’s dream-girl Mary Jane, who usually appears as a pawn of Peter’s enemy. A couple in real life, Garfield and Stone gives a natural chemistry to Peter and Gwen’s romance, which is at times overly indecisive and tedious.

The classic heroes often face confrontations with their best friends in their journey to save the world, and the film embraces this stereotype. Despite Spider-Man’s good intentions, his actions are somehow read as unsympathetic and twisted into detrimental acts that make enemies. After recently inheriting the genetic engineering company Oscorp as a young, petulant CEO, Peter’s old pal, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) suffers from a fatal disease and believes that the only plausible remedy is Spider-Man’s blood. Harry turns to his best friend for help in finding Spider-Man, but Peter turns him down in fear that his blood might further damage his best friend’s already fragile life. Harry takes Peter’s worry as a denial to help and their friendship becomes hostile.

Dane DeHaan’s performance as Harry Osborn transforms parental neglect into a melodramatic internal rage. Harry radiates an intense gloom consistently throughout the movie and his smoldering rage eventually explodes into ruthless pursuits of revenge.

Meanwhile, Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), a neglected and naive electrical engineer at Oscorp who perceives every slight compliment with life-changing importance, suffers an accident that transforms him into a glowing blue monster known as Electro. However, his gruesome look and his supernatural power are taken as threats to the police, who react with defensive attacks. Later on, Electro is taken by Oscorp’s scientists and treated mercilessly as a subject of study. It’s a tragic and well-delivered example of subjecting those who are different to endless scrutiny, and in this case, scientific experimentation. Again, however, these ideas are not new, and seem a little too reminiscent of other comic-book films such as the “X Men” series.

The plot is ambitious in its attempt to incorporate layers of subplots that not only materialize actions, but also explore the emotions of each character. In addition to the romance, the deteriorating friendship and the rise of, not one, but several monsters, Peter is also digging into his family history and the story of his missing father. The mind-blowing special effects inevitably make the movie a thrilling watch, but unfortunately, when combined with the numerous plotlines, can become excessive and overly complicated. The different elements of this film are individually very impressive – the special effects and performances are exciting and engaging – but for some viewers, the overall experience might just be too exhausting.

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