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The Amazing Spider-Man 2
"You can call me Web Head, you can call me Amazing, just don't call me after dinner, you know what I'm sayin'?"
When the hell did abysmally average director Marc Webb, mastermind of the painfully overrated (500) Days of Summer and the sort-of-alright Amazing Spider-Man, get the talent to create one badass movie?
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 isn't just a step up, it's a leap up. The action is incredible, with swooping, spinning and special-effects that don't distract. Everything's choreographed to perfection and done just right, hitting every beat and fuelling your inner 8-year-old. Not just that, but the story is handled with surprising skill, especially one that takes a lot of risks in involving multiple villains and supporting characters, along with a bucketful of story elements and sub-plots. It's actually quite puzzling to think how the guy who could barely sustain interest with a dodgy CGI Lizard fighting a weird looking Spider-Man could make a movie so...(no pun intended, well...a kind of pun) 'Amazing'.
Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker has evolved, he's no longer that brat I ****ing hated. He's now a tortured soul who actually cares for the well-being of others, and just wants to be happy without people getting hurt. Whilst I still have some issues with Garfield's character (that dodgy fake accent, especially), there's no denying he brings a lot to the table here. Next up on the cast list is Emma Stone, one of the most memorable female love-interests in a superhero film for a while. Stone brings a lot of charm and class to the role, and this is probably her most memorable performance since Easy A.
On to the villains, now. Jaime Foxx sizzles ass as Electro. Seriously, ever since Django, Foxx has become something of a star, but a star with a sudden spurge of talent. He gives it his very all, and it's probably because he might be a fan of the material, but it's also obvious he's having a ball with Electro, despite him not actually having a lot of screentime. Paul Giamatti is pure cheese, and he is only a smidge above a cameo role. He does have a questionably bad Russian accent, but there is a charm to him once he gets talking (which is only in one or two scenes). Now I am left with one, Dane DeHaan. DeHaan did something that's almost impossible to achieve...he gave a better performance in a role than James Franco did. Yep. Whilst Franco's furious and vengeful turn as Harry Osborn was great, it's DeHaan's young and naively prestigious take on the role that makes it really work. He commands every scene he's in, he's loveable and hateable, and my complete respect to Webb for the phenomenal direction of DeHaan in the scene where he becomes the Goblin, it's truly almost something from a horror movie. Whether DeHaan's Osborn or the Goblin (I won't tell you too much about his performance as the latter for spoilers sake), he's clearly one of the best - if not THE BEST - thing about The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Finally, I'll touch on the score by Hans Zimmer and The Magnificent Six. If it weren't for this kick-ass techno and flute/trumpet score, the film may have only gotten a 4. However, the music pumps you up so much in every action sequence, every swooping shot of Spider-Man, every tracking shot of Electro's lightning, and every tense moment that you can't help but avoid blinking so you can suck up every moment in front of you. It's a great score, if not one of Zimmer's best. Possibly even better than his Dark Knight score, but it's certainly no Inception (Time, good lord) or The Thin Red Line (everyone love Journey To The Line).
Overall, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a homerun for the Spider-Man series, it sets up everything for future films, be them Spider-Man-based or villain-based. The action is huge in scope, but the character still remains focused on his primary purpose, helping people (something Man Of Steel appallingly lacked). The characters are nothing short of memorable and great, along with the story and production elements such as the score, as discussed. It's a great film, and one I would certainly recommend checking out in IMax, because it is a blast to see on the huge screen.
P.S. For those who have seen the film, does he say "I'm techno, I'm Electro" to the scientist at Ravencroft? I was gonna use that as my quote, but I think I may have misheard.
Oh and stay until after the credits for something...odd, but cool nonetheless.
"You can call me Web Head, you can call me Amazing, just don't call me after dinner, you know what I'm sayin'?"
When the hell did abysmally average director Marc Webb, mastermind of the painfully overrated (500) Days of Summer and the sort-of-alright Amazing Spider-Man, get the talent to create one badass movie?
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 isn't just a step up, it's a leap up. The action is incredible, with swooping, spinning and special-effects that don't distract. Everything's choreographed to perfection and done just right, hitting every beat and fuelling your inner 8-year-old. Not just that, but the story is handled with surprising skill, especially one that takes a lot of risks in involving multiple villains and supporting characters, along with a bucketful of story elements and sub-plots. It's actually quite puzzling to think how the guy who could barely sustain interest with a dodgy CGI Lizard fighting a weird looking Spider-Man could make a movie so...(no pun intended, well...a kind of pun) 'Amazing'.
Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker has evolved, he's no longer that brat I ****ing hated. He's now a tortured soul who actually cares for the well-being of others, and just wants to be happy without people getting hurt. Whilst I still have some issues with Garfield's character (that dodgy fake accent, especially), there's no denying he brings a lot to the table here. Next up on the cast list is Emma Stone, one of the most memorable female love-interests in a superhero film for a while. Stone brings a lot of charm and class to the role, and this is probably her most memorable performance since Easy A.
On to the villains, now. Jaime Foxx sizzles ass as Electro. Seriously, ever since Django, Foxx has become something of a star, but a star with a sudden spurge of talent. He gives it his very all, and it's probably because he might be a fan of the material, but it's also obvious he's having a ball with Electro, despite him not actually having a lot of screentime. Paul Giamatti is pure cheese, and he is only a smidge above a cameo role. He does have a questionably bad Russian accent, but there is a charm to him once he gets talking (which is only in one or two scenes). Now I am left with one, Dane DeHaan. DeHaan did something that's almost impossible to achieve...he gave a better performance in a role than James Franco did. Yep. Whilst Franco's furious and vengeful turn as Harry Osborn was great, it's DeHaan's young and naively prestigious take on the role that makes it really work. He commands every scene he's in, he's loveable and hateable, and my complete respect to Webb for the phenomenal direction of DeHaan in the scene where he becomes the Goblin, it's truly almost something from a horror movie. Whether DeHaan's Osborn or the Goblin (I won't tell you too much about his performance as the latter for spoilers sake), he's clearly one of the best - if not THE BEST - thing about The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Finally, I'll touch on the score by Hans Zimmer and The Magnificent Six. If it weren't for this kick-ass techno and flute/trumpet score, the film may have only gotten a 4. However, the music pumps you up so much in every action sequence, every swooping shot of Spider-Man, every tracking shot of Electro's lightning, and every tense moment that you can't help but avoid blinking so you can suck up every moment in front of you. It's a great score, if not one of Zimmer's best. Possibly even better than his Dark Knight score, but it's certainly no Inception (Time, good lord) or The Thin Red Line (everyone love Journey To The Line).
Overall, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a homerun for the Spider-Man series, it sets up everything for future films, be them Spider-Man-based or villain-based. The action is huge in scope, but the character still remains focused on his primary purpose, helping people (something Man Of Steel appallingly lacked). The characters are nothing short of memorable and great, along with the story and production elements such as the score, as discussed. It's a great film, and one I would certainly recommend checking out in IMax, because it is a blast to see on the huge screen.
P.S. For those who have seen the film, does he say "I'm techno, I'm Electro" to the scientist at Ravencroft? I was gonna use that as my quote, but I think I may have misheard.
Oh and stay until after the credits for something...odd, but cool nonetheless.