The Amazing Spider-Man 2 2014
B-
Because I wasn’t that crazy about the 2012 reboot of Spider-Man, I didn’t have any intention of seeing the 2014 sequel. But in 2018, that movie found its way to Dollar Tree, and not just the Blu-ray, but the 3D Blu-ray (which I can’t play, but it also included the 2D Blu-ray though I think my player could play the 3D version in 2D). So that was hard to pass up and since I also have the first two of the earlier series that I want to watch, I thought I would watch this one first and then be done with Andrew Garfield.
Garfield is a pretty good actor and gets some great scenes where he can really act, but the material lets him down and it seems kind of hokey. I like his friendly version of Spider-Man and that he shows empathy towards the two main villains in the movie. I read some reviews of the movie and the big complaint is there is just too much going on here and I have to agree. Jamie Foxx plays Electro and he looks great in glowing electro-blue, but his character is kind of weak and just kind of a placeholder until they can get to the origin story of the other villain. Meanwhile Spider-Man is trying to push Gwen Stacy away or win her over once she moves on, which feels forced, but Emma Stone is pretty good in her role. A lot of the science is just not good and the characters are not that realistic which may be true to the comic book series, but makes for a very average movie. Then a final act is added that maybe sets up a sequel that was never made. I used to watch the 1967 cartoon series on TV and it seems like there would be plenty of stories to make a few movies, but the movies seem to recycle a lot of the villains. Ultimately Sony reconsidered this series and chose to reboot the series once again as part of Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. Maybe just as well since this one struggles despite hitting a lot of the right notes. The Blu-ray has great surround sound and looks very good, even in 2D.Written: 31 Oct 2018
Owned on: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital