Yet the tag line on the movie’s posters and billboards says: "His greatest battle begins." How many times can he have his first, greatest battle? Haven’t we already covered much of this territory? He has become Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Here, Garfield is the cheeky, wisecracking superhero of Marvel Comic lore. Garfield’s Peter already had a restless, restless streak in him-a chip on his shoulder for his outsider status-which made his choice to become a vigilante crime fighter make more sense. What made his performance in the original "Amazing Spider-Man" work so well, and what made it such a pleasing difference from the way Tobey Maguire played Peter Parker in Sam Raimi’s " Spider-Man" trilogy, was his innate rebelliousness. Garfield gets to be a bit lighter and more playful this time around, but his inner struggle over the use of his arachnotastic powers-and the larger consequences of them-remain palpable. These are the real 3-D effects, the ones created by the flirty sparks between these two actors. And every scene between Garfield and Emma Stone as Peter’s sharp and assured girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, leaps off the screen. One revelatory exchange between Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker and Sally Field as Peter’s Aunt May is so poignant, it made me want to cry.
There’s a lot going on here but very little that’s truly compelling.Ĭonversely, though, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" is strongest when it’s at its quietest and most intimate. The whole endeavor just drags on and on, and any momentary thrills you may have experienced have long since passed. Just when you think it’s over, there’s another fight and another villain, another climax and another conclusion. It’s sufficiently giddy at first but eventually grows repetitive and wearying, especially as more and more stuff gets blown up real good. Spidey swings and swoops through the sky, gliding between tall buildings and around steep towers.
Instead, working with veteran screenwriters Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci (" Star Trek," " Transformers") and Jeff Pinkner (TV’s "Alias," "Lost"), Webb gives us a film that’s densely plotted-sometimes confusingly so-with set pieces so big and glossy, they’re depleted almost entirely of any connecting sensation. I want Webb’s " (500) Days of Summer" version of teenage superhero angst-and it exists here, but only in glimmers. The sporadic moments of recognizable human contact and emotion are the only ones in this latest episode of the soaring web slinger that truly take flight. There's shit like that."Ībout her death, though? The actress isn't saying a word until after we've seen the movie.Director Marc Webb’s follow-up to his entirely adequate " The Amazing Spider-Man" from 2012 feels even more like it’s just been unloaded from the assembly line. She gets herself in the middle of stuff, that's for sure! I do get webbed to a car. "I don't get to do too many crazy stunts. Personally, that meant that she didn't participate in as many stunts as some of the other actors. She's incredibly helpful to Spider-Man.He's the muscle, she's the brains." I can think of one important instance.She saves him more than he saves her. In fact, she can't think of too many times that Peter Parker comes to Gwen's rescue in the movie. Its no fun if you know exactly how something is going to happen.Įmma Stone recently spoke with Total Film about the impending fate of Gwen Stacy, revealing that this incarnation of the Marvel character is no damsel in distress. Why wouldn't he want to keep audiences on their toes. We'd think it would have to eventually come, but maybe Marc Webb is changing the mythology to bring an unexpected twist to what most fans already expect will happen. But that doesn't necessarily mean she dies in this film, or even in The Amazing Spider-Man 3. Set photos reveal that she will wear her iconic 'death' outfit in the movie.
With actress Emma Stone an important and very popular part of the new movie franchise, many have wondered how her fate will play out in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Major Spoiler, most people know that Gwen dies at the hands of the Goblin when he throws her off a bridge, snapping her spine before Peter Parker can save her. Well, if you feel as strongly, than maybe you should stop reading.
Is it a spoiler? Even though the storyline was introduced in 1973, some folks claim it is.