Film review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

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Published on Tuesday, 22 April 2014 12:15

Last Updated on 22 April 2014

Freda Cooper

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It’s been a great Easter for family movies!  Rio 2 and Muppets Most Wanted for the younger film fans, Captain America:The Winter Soldier for the older ones.  But the big film aimed at the holiday is The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

It’s another super hero and another sequel.  But the great thing about Spidey is that he’s not like all the others.  True, he takes his mission very seriously but, unlike them, he’s blessed with a sense of humour, taunting and teasing his adversaries, so to the outside world it appears like he’s simply having fun.  And when he gets the chance to freefall over the city of New York, he most definitely is having fun! 

As we can see here:

At the start of the film, however, he’s showing his serious side, worrying over his responsibilities as a crime fighter and as a real person, ie Peter Parker.  Not that he has too much time to brood, because the film’s first villain soon presents himself and he’s back to work.  First comes Rhino (Paul Giamatti) who steals a truck containing plutonium and goes on the rampage.  But Spider-Man’s (Andrew Garfield) biggest adversary comes in the glowing blue shape of Electro (Jamie Foxx), an odd-ball who acquires his powers after an accident.

Most of the film concentrates on the battle between these two: Electro nurses a grudge against Spider-Man and plans to destroy New York’s electricity system.  At the same time, Spider-Man/Peter Parker has personal problems to deal with: his on-off relationship with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and finding out how his parents died.  He eventually finds out the truth and it seems that all roads, both in terms of his parents and his enemies, lead to Oscorp, whose tower block dominates the skyline.

Don’t expect action, action, action all the way.  The action sequences are genuinely exciting, especially the scenes involving Electro:  Jamie Foxx’s transformation to a glowing blue mass of electricity is impressive.  Sandwiched between the action are scenes that take the story forward – the romance with Gwen and the return of Harry Osborn, who leaves the door wide open for Spidey 3.  And, given that the film has a 12A certificate, this balance makes it spot-on for its audience.  There are also a few surprises – but this is a spoiler-free zone!

As I queued to see the film, the group of 12 – 15 year olds in front of me clearly couldn’t wait to see it.  When I left and they were even more excited than before!  If they were anything to go by, Spidey will go down a storm.

If the 3-D version is screening at your local flix, it’s definitely worth spending the extra and wearing those nerdy specs.  And if you want to find out more about the film beforehand, the website http://www.theamazingspidermanmovie.co.uk/site/ is jam-packed with information.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is currently on in cinemas around the UK.  Join the queue!