378 - Still not Amazing

For those who have not seen this movie, I will warn you this summary/rant will contain spoilers so turn away now if this bothers you.
















Let me start off by saying the Amazing Spider-Man 2 is not a complete train wreck. It does have a decent amount of kick ass fights, enjoyable moments and some amusing comedy. The onscreen chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone got better with this instalment. Not to mention Captain Stacy appearing as a ghost was clever. So I would recommend giving the movie a watch... but just wait for a DVD or Blu-Ray release first.

What exactly has been improved from the first movie? Well, alot of things actually. At times it had some decent pacing and villain fights that lasted longer than a piss break, and building up a stronger portrayal of Peter Parker than Tobey Maguire could mumble his way through in all 3 of Sam Rami's movies.

I think the problems this movie suffers with is the balancing act of multiple plots and juggling 3 villains again. Because that worked out so well in Spider-Man 3 didn't it? I want to say I fucking called it with "Rhino-Thunderzord" being a complete throw away villain. I hope you're ready for this but he appears for a grand total of 5-10 minutes.... at the end of the movie.

Oh yeah, as cheesy and badly put together his "costume" looks this was so difficult to keep a straight face through. Considering his dumpy ass comes bouncing into view right after a funeral scene. This drastic shift in tone would be like watching Old Yeller; with Barney the goddam Dinosaur singing the Macarena after the dog took both barrels!

You could literally cut Rhino out of this movie and it wouldn't affect anything!

The Green Goblin also felt shoe horned in. First of all, I don't even care that Norman isn't the Goblin. I've already seen that and love the shit out of William Defoe's take on the character. So if this reboot wanted to be its own thing then it needed to do something drastically different. Not different for the sake of being different; like say making Uncle Ben the Goblin, but rather changing routine. Harry was Goblin in the comics so this isn't a big shocker, yet I felt a Goblin story should be its own movie. Not a side story to Electro, who the movie should be about.

It's repeating mistakes I saw in Spider-Man 3 (so you know I'm not biast to the Rami trilogy) by introducing a villain as a "misunderstood soul" who wasn't really evil, gets curb stomped by Spidey then disappears till the final act. Without giving too much away, the movie should have ended with Electro's death. This would be the perfect set up for Amazing Spider-Man 3. Harry gets his cure which turns him rabid, who he blames Spider-Man for and goes after him as his supreme nemesis... THE HONEY ROAST HAM.... Errrr I mean THE GREEN GOBLIN!!!

I call him a Ham because he goes full Cloud Cuckoo Lander when he shows up. Even to the point William Defoe would say "WOW.... you need to dial that back a bit!" which I will say Dane DeHaan killed it as Gobbie. Even getting the creepy laugh down to a T.

Okay, this is an extreme nitpick here, but why can't I get a movie Green Goblin who looks like Gobbie in the comics? It can't be because "That wouldn't be realalistic!" If Spidey can swing around in skin tight red and blue pyjamas, then get a killer looking Goblin on screen dammit!!

As far as Electro goes, I really like what they did with his character. Starting off in a similar frame Peter Parker was, as a socially awkward nerd nobody cared about. Unlike Sandman, I actually felt sorry for him. Yet alot of his screen time was sacrificed to set up "The Sinister Six" which I believe is Sony's way of sticking a middle finger up at Disney and Marvel's Cinematic Universe. Oh yeah because nobody wants Spidey to join The Avengers am I right?

I know Sinister 6 would be an interesting movie but is it going to be worth it? I mean an Avengers movie has alot of potential in the same regards to IF they ever get that Justice League movie off the ground. Yet I'm still a little iffy on movies based on lesser known teams like Sinister 6 or Guardians of the Galaxy. Yes I know they have their fans and even chatted to them for second opinions, yet I'm kind of approaching Super Hero Movie Burn Out. Just because a super hero or team exists doesn't mean they need a movie.

You'll know they're scraping the bottom of the barrel when Power Pack or Next Wave gets a movie.

So the big talk from Sony is Sinister 6 and my fav villain VENOM is getting movies. Sure I'll watch them cus I'm a sucker, a commercialism magpie and a glutton for punishment. Yet I feel like cramming 6 villains into 1 movie with 1 movie of build up doesn't fill me with confidence.

However I am open to be being proven wrong. Balls in your court Sony.


Back to Spidey, I just didn't walk away from this enjoying it 100%. More like 40% enjoyed it. I would have done away with Goblin and Rhino, just to keep the focus on Electro and the fate of Peter & Gwen's relationship. It's another super hero movie that tries to do so much with so little time. Again that's what I think; feel free to leave your comments on what you feel about the movie.


Still no J Jonah Jameson.... in person.


Oh one last thing.

The movies post credits scene is a set up for.... X-Men Days of Future Past?

Now I know Wolverine won't be crossing paths with Spidey (and vice versa) anytime soon but this cross promotion has me scratching my head. So Sony won't work with Disney but are willing to work with 20th Century Fox in some capacity?

Well, there is that old saying "Better the devil you know!"