A couple years ago, I thought The Amazing Spider-Man was a decent reboot after the mess that was Spider-Man 3.   Marc Webb imparted enough of a different vision and Andrew Garfield enough of a different take on Peter Parker that it was able to stand out of the shadow of Sam Raimi’s trilogy.  An intriguing plotline involving Spider-Man’s parents was introduced; with the origin story out of the way, there was a lot of potential for the sequel.  Unfortunately, none of this potential is fulfilled in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  With its poorly written villains, unsatisfying storylines, and unmemorable action, it’s disappointing on multiple levels and sends the franchise sputtering back down.

The leads are among the few bright spots.  Cocky but vulnerable, Spidey continues to be solid and Gwen Stacy is once again more than just an obligatory love interest.  Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone click really well together and this helps mask some contrived aspects of their on-and-off-again relationship.  The question of what happened to Richard and May Parker is answered; I only wish the villains and their storylines were half as compelling.  Electro’s motivation to kill Spider-Man comes out of nowhere and makes little sense.  He isn’t menacing, funny, or interesting whatsoever.  It wouldn’t be fair to put all of the blame on Jamie Foxx, not when he’s stuck with one-liners like “It’s my birthday, time to light my candles!”  Harry Osbourne fares somewhat better, but his arc feels rushed, particularly when he appears very near the end as the Green Goblin.  We’re supposed to buy that he’s rekindling a close childhood friendship with Peter and the movie strictly tells instead of showing.  It’s utterly unconvincing and this severely blunts the impact of his transformation.

Little investment in the bad guys tends to lead to little investment in the spectacle.  There’s a lack of freshness to the webslinging acrobatics and the visual effects almost seem to have taken a step backward.  Given the fact that this will be the lowest grossing Spider-Man yet, you have to wonder if franchise fatigue is settling in.  Uninspired, half-assed efforts like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will only accelerate it.

IMDB

Rotten Tomatoes