Saturday, May 3, 2014

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

I have to admit something (and I hope that you won't think less of me):  I love superhero movies.  I really love them and I look forward to them about as much as a 13 year old boy does.  Quite often, I try to see them on opening night and a big tub of popcorn is a must.  Such was the case on Thursday night when I saw The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield), who is still tormented by his promise to Gwen's father to leave her alone, subdues Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), an employee of Oscorp who falls into a tank of genetically mutated electric eels and is transformed into Electro, an electric generator, in a dramatic confrontation in Times Square.  Electro is then placed in an institution to be studied.  Meanwhile, Peter's childhood friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), becomes CEO of Oscorp after his father, Norman Osborn (Chris Cooper), dies from a genetic disease which has been passed on to Harry.  He pleads with Peter to help him get a blood transfusion from Spider-Man because he believes that the genetically mutated spider venom with heal him.  When Spider-Man refuses, Harry helps Electro escape to wage battle against him.  However, Harry finds some spider venom at Oscorp but it doesn't cure him; it transforms him into the Green Goblin.  Spider-Man, once again, subdues Electro but has a final confrontation with the Green Goblin resulting in tragedy.  The film ends with Harry, who is now institutionalized, plotting the formation of the Sinister Six (I've heard rumors of a spinoff).  I enjoyed this movie but not as much as the first installment.  I loved Andrew Garfield's sensitive and awkward portrayal of the web-slinger in the first movie but, while he has great chemistry with Emma Stone, I felt that the on-again-off-again relationship between Peter and Gwen got a bit tedious.  There are many plots and sub-plots (including more information about the mysterious disappearance of Peter's parents) to keep straight and I will admit that I found my mind wandering; I definitely feel that 20 minutes could have been cut.  However, when all is said and done, the action sequences are visually stunning (Spider-Man swinging from building to building, an epic chase between a semi and every police car in Manhattan, and a near mid-air collision between two planes, just to name a few) and that is why I love superhero movies.  The scenes between Spider-Man and Electro are electrifying (literally) and great fun to watch.  The late night crowd I watched it with gave it a rousing round of applause and, I suspect, fans of the genre won't be disappointed.

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