No DC movie this week since Amazing
Spider-man 2 opened on Thursday
and much like Captain America: The Winter Soldier,
this is big comics news. I wanted to give you my thoughts and feels
on it. Here's a big warning – THERE WILL BE SPOILERS, so if you
want to go in unprepared, wait to read this review until after you've
seen the film. As a sweetener, there will be a STACK of Emma Stone
gifs too.
THE SQUEE
Unlike
the Marvel Studios films, which are amazing action movies with a rich
tapestry of a world, Amazing
Spider-man 2
is much more self-contained, and feels much more like a classic comic
book story. There are some goofy bits, and lots of soap opera-y bits,
just the way Spiderman should be. There's a heavy focus on the
character drama (so much so that I occasionally forgot that there was
a superpowered villain to fight) which is fantastic as the drama of
Peter Parker's personal life is such a big part of his character.
Andrew
Garfield and Emma Stone. These two. THESE TWO. THEIRS IS A FOREVER
LOVE.
Pictured: FOREVER LOVE
The final act, where Gwen Stacy dies (it was a bit of a
giveaway that she was going to die when she was named Gwen Stacy),
was absolutely heart-breaking.
There's
a fantastic theme running through the entire film, of time running
out and being seconds too late. Peter's late for his graduation,
time's running out for Harry, Peter never has enough time to say how
he feels, the action sequences shift to slow-motion, sometimes
completely stopping, all because Peter's attempt to save Gwen is just
that second too late. It's achingly painful and is more a matter of
style than foreshadowing. There is
foreshadowing, but the theme of trying to find enough time is a
constant one in the film that just happens to be a vital plot
element.
Peter's
feels! Such strong feels! The whole sub-plot about his father's
research (that was a major part of the first film) basically went
nowhere, but it did lead to an amazing moment between Peter and Aunt
May, where he essentially calls her his mother – WHICH SHE IS. I
also loved his PTSD and guilt over the death of Captain Stacy since
he'll always (ALWAYS) be searching for the approval of an absent
father figure who dies because Peter can't do anything.
Jamie
Foxx – outstanding, simply outstanding, almost unrecognisable under
the CGI but brings everything to the role. He manages to keep the
simmering rage of Max Dillon so close to the surface that you can
sense it in every motion he makes. Once he becomes Electro, he does a
great job of devouring the scenery around him like it's going out of
style.
THE
SUCK
My
biggest worry was that the film was going to be incredibly crowded
(the trailers certainly made it seem that way) since so much talk
around the film involved the Sinister Six – the six villains
teaming up to make life hell for Spiderman. The trailer showed Doctor
Octopus's arms, the Vulture's wings, the Rhino in full gear and in
action, and there was already Harry Osborn and Electro in the mix.
Fortunately, the only villains that play a major role are Electro and
the Green Goblin, which meant I was thinking for half the movie that
they were running out of time to introduce a whole bunch of
characters. It was a great set up for future films, but went too
strong too early and meant that what we got this time was VERY
different from what had been talked about. This was more of a
marketing and advertising let down than one of the film, but it still
altered the experience of watching the movie.
In
a similar vein, the mid-credits scene – NOT A SCENE! Yes, it was
worth sticking around for because I have always paid money to see
Jennifer Lawrence kicking some dude in the face, but stingers (as
established by basically every instance ever) are used to promote the
next film in the series or to tease more about the film you just sat
through. Having an average trailer for X-Men:
Days of Future Past
felt like cheating. I get that there might not be another film ready
to promote, but that's why you do something that concerns the film
you just made. It was just a little disappointing.
Dropped
subplots. So the Richard Parker research plot doesn't go anywhere
beyond setting up why Harry's plan is bad, but Electro had a lot of
pathos and proper motivation as a villain – which was went
precisely nowhere and wasn't really a factor after the halfway point
in the film. There was a lot of great action sequences, but no real
reason beyond... it looks cool?
Some
of the goofier lines were perfect for something like Batman
and Robin
but didn't fit the tone of the rest of the movie. They weren't
constant but were often enough that it just kind of grated. Most of
them come from Electro, which is disappointing because it simplifies
a character that had a lot of potential.
So
those are my thoughts on Amazing
Spider-man 2: Rise of Electro.
There's a few other comics that are like these films in style, most
notably Superman:
Earth One
and well, Ultimate
Spider-man.
If you've seen the film, what'd you think of it? Agree with me?
Disagree with me? Want to share more Emma Stone gifs? Leave them
here! Alternatively...
Superman:
Earth One volume 1
– 9781401224961 – J. Michael Straczynski - $17.99 – 136 pages
Superman:
Earth One volume 2
– 9781401235598 – J. Michael Straczynski - $22.99 – 128 pages
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