THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 WEAVES A TANGLED WEB

In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) finds himself being torn in many different directions. He is still torn about what he should do with the love of his life, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). In the previous film he made a promise on her father's death bed that he would keep Gwen out of his life, for her own safety and while he still has strong feelings for her he doesn't like how breaking his promise makes him feel.

Harry Osborne (Dane DeHaan), an old childhood friend of Peter's and the heir to the Oscorp throne re-enters Peter's life. He suffers from the same disease his dead father had, and it is slowly killing him just like it did to dear old dad. Harry believes Spidey's blood could provide the cure he needs, but Peter isn't too sure, afraid of what it could do to his friend.

Along with all this, a new villain emerges in the guise of Electro (Jaime Foxx). Formerly, dweeb-ish Oscorp employee Max Dillon, Electro is tired of being ignored and decides to force NYC and the world to finally notice him. 

Andrew Garfield is back as Parker/Spider-Man, and looks significantly older. It's pretty hard to buy Garfield as a graduating high school student (maybe if you squint hard enough?), but he is still the best Peter Parker/Spider-Man we have had on the big screen, perfectly embodying both roles here (plus he doesn't take the mask off during fights in this one). Emma Stone is still a nice Gwen Stacy, and her romance and chemistry with Garfield (her real life boyfriend) is both palpable and real. Dane DeHaan is fantastic as Harry Osborne/Green Goblin (his laugh for the Goblin character is absolute perfection). Harry gets a LOT of screen time, while Goblin doesn't get much  (only one or two scenes) but his big fight with Spidey and Gwen is probably the best thing about this film. Paul Giamatti also does a very brief stint as Aleksei Sytsevich aka Rhino. He's only in two scenes here, and has just the right amount of screen time.

Unfortunately, Spidey 2 suffers from exactly what you would expect it to: There are too many story lines to follow. The main ones (despite what the marketing would have you believe), are really about Peter's and Harry's friendship, and Peter's and Gwen's relationship (both share about equal importance). Jaime Foxx is good as Electro, but he doesn't really stand out like I thought he would, plus he's more so on the back burner for most of the film (he's only got two fight scenes with Spidey, both of which are fantastic, and the rest of his screen time is him being tortured and making threats.). Contrary to popular belief, he's not the main baddie here. Instead, it's actually Harry who is the big villain. It's Harry who is the one pulling the strings, and planning the plans. In fact, Spidey 2 can almost double as an origin story for The Goblin.

While the focus is once again squarely on Peter Parker for most of this film, we still get more of Spidey than we did in the first film. I am happy to say we finally get the quick-quipped, fun, and fast Spidey that we all love from the comics. The fights he stars in and the scenes where he's swinging through the streets of NYC are easily the best parts of this film (especially in 3-D, where we get plenty of screen penetrating moments, an impressive deal of depth, and some scenes that once again make you feel like you are Spider-Man. That said, when the fights aren't around the 3-D is almost nonexistent.). 

While The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is indeed a mess, it's still more faithful to the comics than previous Spidey films, the acting is top notch, the 3-D is more than impressive during scenes with Spidey, and Garfield as Spidey/Parker is quickly becoming an icon (at least, in my eyes). The attempt to add some emotion in the end doesn't really work, but that final fight between Goblin and Spidey is still perfect in all the right ways. I'd say that Amazing Spider-Man 2 is indeed a bit better than the first Amazing Spider-Man (this sequel isn't dark, moody, or brooding, but is instead appropriately comic book-y) . Amazing Spider-Man 2 may weave a tangled web, but the end product is still satisfying, enjoyable, and fun. 

4 STARS

UPDATE: Upon a second viewing, I still agree with my original review for the most part. The film has way too many plot lines and it tries to do too much. This much can safely be said about ASM 2, it is an ambitious film, maybe too ambitious. The visual effects are all spectacular (both Goblin and Electro look fantastic,all of the fights are pretty and great,  and the various scenes of Spidey swinging around the city are breathtaking and fun). I think the emotional parts near the end actually work extremely well (maybe I was just having an off day when I first saw this film), and naturally the Goblin/Spidey and Electro/Spidey fights near the end are spectacular and awesome. Jamie Foxx is pretty great as Electro, although (as I said in my original review) he is on the back burner for most of the film. I still think Andrew Garfield is THE PERFECT Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and Emma Stone is just too perfect as Gwen Stacy (Yes, I still love their relationship and think they are a great couple). I'm happy that I can officially say I think this is a much better film than the first Amazing Spider-Man film. ASM 2 is certainly far from a perfect film, but it's still pretty damned great for the most part.