The Amazing Spider-Man-Has its Merits, But is Mostly a Dull Mess

Rewatching the Amazing Spider-Man 2. I've grown to appreciate the Spider-Man elements of the film. On a purely audio/visual level, the Spider-Man elements are superb. The web-swinging and Spider-man action look incredible, with fantastic visual effects and some striking visuals. The collaborative score between Hans Zimmer, Pharell Williams, and the Magnificent Six is so musically distinct, moving between a triumphant brass for Spider-Man's theme, sinister strings for Harry Osborne, and full-on electronic dub-step for Electro's theme. Andrew Garfield also continues to be incredibly charismatic behind the mask as Spider-Man.

However, everything else about the film continues to not work for me. The film has several plot threads, and none of them are very compelling. From Peter's will-they-won't-they romance with Gwen, a continuation of the mystery with Peter's parents from the first movie, Electro's part of the story, and Harry's storyline. It's all too much, and the film cuts between them from scene to scene, making for cluttered and messy pacing.

Each storyline has stuff that doesn't work for me. As much as Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone's excellent chemistry tries, the romance between Peter and Gwen doesn't work for me, mainly because of how overly controlling and stalkerish Peter comes across in his interactions with Gwen. The mystery of Peter's parents continues to be just as dull as it was in the first movie, with the film cracking down on the whole "Peter was destined to be Spider-Man" thing from the first movie by revealing that only people with Peter's blood can receive powers, which once again feels antithetical to Spider-man as a character. The storylines with Electro and Harry Osborn are not very interesting, and Jamie Foxx and Dane Dehann also provide weirdly over-the-top performances for how seriously the film wants to take their storylines.

It all makes for a film that looks good, sounds good, and has some decent scenes involving Spider-Man. But it also has a horrible script that juggles too many storylines at once that aren't very interesting. The film has snippets of greatness throughout, so I understand why some people like it. As for me, though, there's too much clunk and elements I'm not a massive fan of to like this film beyond its few redeeming qualities.

Watched in 35mm. Now Streaming on Netflix and Disney+ in the U.S.