I love the new Spider-Man reboots. I understand why people see it as inferior, but personally I find the stories way more interesting, a perfect balance of cartoony with gritty, awesome villains compared to the campier villains, a more interesting Peter Parker, and a much more interesting love interest. I loved the originals as a kid, but I think this is a great update for the older members of the audience to really get into. So yes, I'm biased. I love the new series.
But if there was one reason to get excited, and one reason that I knew I was going to have at least one thing to enjoy, it was the inclusion of Dane DeHaan, my favorite up-and-coming talent. He played the updated Harry Osborn. Now Harry hasn't seen Peter for many years, and are reunited by the death of his father (that's not a spoiler...it happens like 3 seconds into the damn movie). A few people complained about the relationship between the two, that it was unrealistic that they would meet up after years and not miss a beat. But to that I say...really? I've been surprised at who I've connected with years on. Heck, one of my best friends for many years out of high school was a so-called "popular girl", someone I wouldn't have ever seen myself talking to. And that happened. I have no problem believing that they play off each other incredibly well.
The other major complaint I hear is that there are too many villains. Yes, there are three, just like in Spider-Man 3. But there is one huge difference. These villains are not equal. They are not given the same screen time or the same significance to each other. Rhino is only in at the very beginning and very later on. People call this a wasted opportunity. I call it an amazing plot device to show that Spider-Man isn't just living in our world littered by the occasional super-villain. Because of his existence, villains with Rhino's significance come and go. Just like any other super villain. I think that's actually really really brilliant, and a welcome addition to the Spider-Man universe. As for Goblin, his story is far more intriguing from a character development standpoint than Electro's (although Electro is a lot of fun too). He serves a purpose, although it's not nearly as large as a super villain as Electro. None of this bothered me, and in fact I really enjoyed every villain involved.
Finally, there are the complaints that there's too much story for it to be cohesive. Again, I have to disagree. I didn't see any problem with the romance and action clashing. In fact, making Gwen Stacy helpful really helped take away from any disconnection. It all worked really well for me, successfully showing how actually difficult and emotionally tolling doing what Peter Parker does in high school actually is. There was always the questions of drama and romances in any superhero story. But this shows the stress of growing up in a far my intriguing, thoughtful way.
I loved The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It was gritty, funny, sad, beautiful, well acted and well written. As always, the biggest successes with these films have to go to the actors. Andrew Garfield is an unbelievable Peter Parker. Dane DeHaan is a thoughtful, desperate, creepy, and sheltered interpretation, and he absolutely nails it. Emma Stone is strong, smart, and thoughtful, an amazing Gwen Stacy. And then even Jamie Foxx, who plays a character who jumps between maniacal and comic relief, manages to have a great balance of the two. This is absolutely a movie that I will recommend, knowing full well people will have their problems
Rank - 4.5/5
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