Firstpost
  • Home
  • Video Shows
    Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports
  • World
    US News
  • Explainers
  • News
    India Opinion Cricket Tech Entertainment Sports Health Photostories
  • Asia Cup 2025
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
Trending:
  • PM Modi in Manipur
  • Charlie Kirk killer
  • Sushila Karki
  • IND vs PAK
  • India-US ties
  • New human organ
  • Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale Movie Review
fp-logo
Review: Amazing Spider-Man 2 looks stunning, but is a tad too long
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Review: Amazing Spider-Man 2 looks stunning, but is a tad too long

Review: Amazing Spider-Man 2 looks stunning, but is a tad too long

Tanushree Bhasin • May 2, 2014, 14:45:34 IST
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter

What we have in the end is not an amazing Spiderman, but a mildly engaging, intermittently interesting and ultimately disappointing Spiderman.

Advertisement
Subscribe Join Us
Add as a preferred source on Google
Prefer
Firstpost
On
Google
Review: Amazing Spider-Man 2 looks stunning, but is a tad too long

What’s there in the Spidey tale, that hasn’t already been told? Only a few years separate Mark Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man series from the Tobey Maguire starrer Spider-Man trilogy, and there isn’t much about the superhero in question that’s shrouded in mystery. Though the creators felt that the amazing Spiderman needed a new suit, the film didn’t try much else in the way of reinvention. Not a huge fan of the prequel either, I was left quite bored by most of The Amazing Spider-man 2. The film starts off with a rather interesting narrative jump into the reasons behind Peter Parker’s abandonment by his parents as a child. We see how Peter’s father, a researcher at Oscorp was forced to leave his son and escape for fear of his life and how both he and his wife are mercilessly murdered on a plane. But upon returning to present day Peter Parker, the plot suddenly drops its pace and questions about his father are shoved (quite literally) into the closet. As sub-plots compound and explode uncontrollably in all directions, the film’s entire focus shifts to the continuing teenage romance between Parker (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) – and the fact that they can’t stop their past from haunting them. Gwen’s father, minutes before dying, had made Peter promise that he’d stay away from the daughter. And Peter’s guilt and confusion eventually leads to a series of break-ups and make-ups. But the sheer frequency of these ends up making the entire exchange a bit too hollow. To be fair, the two have unbelievable chemistry and are enchanting together. Their exchanges, which are at once goofy and charming – are quite fun to watch and they both share a wonderful sense of comic timing. Confusion, it seems, is a part of the film’s commendable effort of harking back to the original comic book. Especially the Peter Parker–Spiderman dichotomy, which is revived brilliantly by Garfield. The prompt quips, science babble and the general friendliness of the super-arachnid is revived and Garfield even stops to help out a kid who was being bullied in an alley. As the two teenagers quarrel, New York is left completely in the dark (literally) by Max (Jamie Foxx) an under-confident Oscorp engineer who mutates into Electro after a bizarre accident that involved him being electrocuted while simultaneously attacked by electric eels. While Electro remains the main villain in the film, the writers have thrown in a couple of other super villains into the fray, with both the Green Goblin and Rhino turning up for the party. This overabundance was perhaps to ensure that Spidey does remain amazing, but unfortunately this isn’t the case. Peter’s former best friend, Harry Osborne returns home, jaded and dying. But eventually, he falls out with Peter and manages to convert himself to the Green Goblin. The Goblin, though an iconic Spiderman villain, is wasted in the film especially since the Sam Raimi directed trilogy had exhausted the Goblin-Osborne family of all plot possibilities. Dane DeHaan is occasionally brilliant as Harry Osborne, though his presence in the film becomes yet another subplot which is unsurprising and insufficiently explored. [caption id=“attachment_1505259” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]The Amazing Spiderman-2 will ultimately leave you disappointed. Image from Facebook. The Amazing Spiderman-2 will ultimately leave you disappointed. Image from Facebook.[/caption] Depending on who you want to believe, the film cost anywhere between $200 million to $300 million. And you can tell where the money went because the film looks absolutely stunning. The carefully choreographed action sequences don’t blow your mind because of the excess – things don’t explode unless they need to, cars don’t fly about unrealistically. Instead, the fights that Spiderman finds himself in are brilliant to watch because of its unusual restraint. But behind the gloss, the film – which runs well over two hours – stretches its narrative limits to the very final limit. In a world where the arena of comic book films have been redefined by the exuberance of the Avengers and the broodiness of Batman, this film seems to lose itself. It tries at once to be a New York romantic comedy, an action film, a film about the lonely office employee, a film about lost and absent fathers and occasionally a comic book film. What we have in the end is not an amazing Spiderman, but a mildly engaging, intermittently interesting and ultimately disappointing Spiderman.

Tags
Hollywood review MovieReview Emma Stone The Amazing Spider Man 2 Spider man 2 review Spiderman Review Spiderman 2 review
End of Article
Written by Tanushree Bhasin
Email

Tanushree Bhasin is a Delhi based journalist with a background in film-making and history. see more

Latest News
Find us on YouTube
Subscribe
End of Article

Top Stories

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe

Top Shows

Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports
Latest News About Firstpost
Most Searched Categories
  • Web Stories
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • IPL 2025
NETWORK18 SITES
  • News18
  • Money Control
  • CNBC TV18
  • Forbes India
  • Advertise with us
  • Sitemap
Firstpost Logo

is on YouTube

Subscribe Now

Copyright @ 2024. Firstpost - All Rights Reserved

About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms Of Use
Home Video Shorts Live TV