THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2

I have to admit that when The Amazing Spiderman came out in 2012 I was slightly sceptical, it just seemed like such a cynically quick turnaround after Toby McGuire trilogy. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to find that the reboot was well thought out and (crucially) well-acted and at the very least did much to banish the image of Peter Parker dancing round a club to soft jazz. Andrew Garfield’s Spider Man injects the movie with a good dose of humour and wisecracking which is a very good thing because a lot of this film deals with consequences of past choices and relationship troubles. These two tones could have clashed and made the film feel uneven but luckily director Marc Webb (no really) knows when the jokes and wisecracks need to stop and when they can be advantageous. In many ways this film belongs just as much to Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy as it does to Garfield’s Spider Man. Her choices influence events as much as his and her character makes a nice change from the usual ‘damsel in distress’ types that the character might have fallen into. It helps that Garfield and Stone (sounds like a detective agency) have such great chemistry together and play off each other so well. This also helps with the script’s clunkier moments where corny dialogue can be made less painful when said with some conviction. Facing off against Spidey in this outing is disturbed loner Max (Jamie Foxx) who is given electrical powers in a work accident (and you thought you had a bad day at the office). Foxx’s performance makes sure that once swathed in CGI lightning he does not degenerate into a special effect. As a villain it has to be admitted that he somewhat lacks motivation (he doesn’t even have an evil laugh) but his character is still enjoyable and the fights between hero and villain are visually thrilling. Final VERDICT 8/10 On the whole this is an extremely well made sequel. It remains to be seen if a planned third film can avoid the pitfalls of previous Spider Man films.