Andrew Garfield dons the red-and-blue suit once more as I count down the five (and a half) best things about Marvel's new hit. (Arguably the much more interesting job of the two, right?)...
5. The CGI
Given that we ARE in 2014 and the main baddie shoots electricity from his fingertips, you can't help but expect amazing visuals from the second instalment of Marc Webb's reboot of the franchise, and they really do impress. The fight scenes involving Electro spark right out of the screen and Spiderman's web-travels around New York are heightened greatly by the excellent use of 3D.
4.5. The gags
When a film's tagline is "His greatest battle begins", you don't really walk into cinemas expecting to giggle, but The Amazing Spiderman 2 has a lot of unexpected but enjoyable funny moments! Alongside the emotional glimmers and the epic fight scenes, Garfield's new sarcastic, cocky Spiderman can't help but make a quip in any situation and we laugh along with him.
4. Mum and Dad's backstory
In the original Spiderman trilogy, Peter's childhood was relatively glossed over but not in this movie. The film actually starts with depicting what happened to both his parents and how and most importantly, why, he came about to live with his Aunt and Uncle. It's an interesting take on the story because whilst audiences don't know exactly what Parker's father was up to, we know much more than Peter himself and makes for heartbreaking way of viewing his anguish to know the truth.
Produced from the collaboration of music masters, Hans Zimmer and Pharrell Williams, need I say more?! The music fluctuates between being soft and moving and dark and full of bass to suit the mood of each scene and it really is perfect.
Surprisingly, the antagonist of the second Spiderman isn't actually in a lot of scenes, but the ones that he is in are electrifying exciting. The Green Goblin was always pretty terrifying with his maniacal giggle and angular grinning mask but there's no doubt that Electro is far more powerful than he ever was, and that's what makes him an excellent baddie.
He's a real threat to our Spidey. He can spark electricity, he can disappear and reappear at will and he can sizzle Spiderman's web shooters with a flick of the wrist and it's that potential danger that make his actions so unpredictable and interesting to watch.
His character arc is pretty well scoped, starting off as quiet and neurotic Max Dillon, an Oxcorp employee who's obsessed with Spiderman after a chance encounter with the masked hero. But soon his obsessions turn dark as he is subjected to electric eels, turned into a walking battery and perceived as a freak in front of the whole of New York City and his lycra-suited idol. (Also, no-one has a better bad-ass voice than Jamie Foxx so that's enough to be a reason to go see the movie, itself).
1. The RIDICULOUS chemistry between Peter and Gwen
Okay, so they are in actual real-life love as alter-ego's Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone which may help a little, but when these two are on screen together, you can't help but feel the cute. The doe eyes, the loving glares, oh our hearts melt! A lot of The Amazing Spiderman 2 is focussed on the pair's relationship and the trials and tribulations of dating a secret superhero, so it was essential that they were believable throughout the entire movie.
Not only are they sweet but they're incredibly funny together too, making for most of the film's funny scenes.
Someone who didn't quite make the list due to his fairly short screen time but certainly deserves some recognition is Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn. Not The Green Goblin mind, Willem Dafoe will never be trumped for that role in my opinion, but his portrayal Harry is pure brilliance. Creepy yet weirdly empathetic; desperate, dying Harry's motives are understandable, even if they are a little twisted. That hair cut though; a little less understandable.
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