Where director Marc Webb was finding his feet in The Amazing Spider Man (2012), coming to a big blockbuster after his small, intimate movie debut with 500 Days of Summer , in this sequel he displays a surer hand. While quieter moments are sweet and touching as always, the grand, eye-popping ones are delightfully gob-smacking.
It is graduation day and Peter is running late as he is busy spinning a web around Russian mobster Aleksei Sytsevich. As Spider-Man, Peter goes about saving the city from assorted bad guys but as Peter Parker, he struggles with the promise he made to Gwen’s father about keeping away from her. Peter’s best friend, Harry, returns from boarding school and on his father’s death takes over Oscorp. When Harry learns he has the same degenerative disease that killed his father, he thinks Spider-Man’s blood will save him. Peter is reluctant because he does not know what the side effects would be.
There is also electrical engineer Max Dillon who idolises Spider-Man but like all fans, turns violently against him because of a perceived insult. To add insult to injury, Max falls into a tank of electric eels and turns into a human generator. Peter also wants to find out the truth about his parents’ disappearance. There is a lot going on in Peter’s life and he would need his spidey super powers to stay on top of things.
The movie is engaging, thrilling and very funny. Andrew Garfield makes for a cutely conflicted super hero while Emma Stone as Gwen is the smart, sassy girlfriend we’d all like to have and Sally Field as Aunt May would win favourite aunt competition hands down. Jamie Foxx is self-effacing as Max and manic as Electro while Dane DeHaan looks like a very young Leo DiCaprio as Harry and suitably demented as Green Goblin. Paul Giamatti as Russian mobster and Rhino personifies the hammy and unstoppable.
The colours are happy, the web slinging zingy and the little details like a superhero doing his laundry and colouring all clothes red and blue is delightful. Just two postscripts: As always wait for the end credits to roll for that wee extra and nervous flyers have quite a bit to be anxious about!
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Genre: Action
Director: Marc Webb
Cast : Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Sally Field, Paul Giamatti, Dane DeHaan
Plot: Spidey has to find an effective work-life balance
Bottomline: Super fun
