The Amazing Spider Man 2
Laura Flippin's latest blog post:
This is quite a different movie for my taste but I thought I’d encourage some diversity:
In a recent post for the Projections Movie Blog, Dennis King evaluated The Amazing Spider-Man 2. In King’s opinion, the movie had a lot of strings flying through the air, as it juggled three villains, a tortured love story between a broody Peter Parker and a brainy adorable Gwen Stacy, CGI effects and flights of fancy that displayed the landmarks of Manhattan beautifully. At times, this could weigh down the film, as it makes an obvious appeal to draw in moviegoers of all shapes and sizes. However, King believes the movie managed the task decently, with only a few moments of unnecessary weight.
King claims that the acting is excellent throughout the film. Andrew Garfield, staring as Peter Parker in his second adventure, has clearly become comfortable in the role, as he swings and swaggers his way through Manhattan as Spider-Man. However, he still manages to maintain that keen awkward charm required for Peter Parker’s day job as a student and struggling photographer. Emma Stone matches Garfield quip for quip, as her intelligence and essential appeal creates a solid romantic energy between the two characters.
On the villain’s side, there is Jamie Foxx, who serves as the film’s main antagonist—an electric neon-blue product of an industrial accident involving eels. When the audience is first introduced to Foxx, he plays the role of needy and invisible Oscorp engineer Max Dillon, who becomes obsessed with Spider-Man, only to feel let down by the hero later on. King next mentions Dane DeHaan, who he indicates plays an appropriately creepy Harry Osborn—childhood friend of Peter Parker and heir to Oscorp. Osborn’s struggle with an illness leads him down his path as the Green Goblin, providing the film with its second major villain. Finally, briefly, Paul Giamatti appears as a third antagonist, playing a Russian Gangster in a Godzilla-like costume and refers to himself as The Rhino. King believes this hints at even bigger and better things to come in The Amazing Spider-Man 3.
However, according to King, the true triumph of the film is director Mark Webb’s ability to toe a delicate balance, including foundational material from the comic books while introducing new wrinkles and facets to add to the story. This allows The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to appeal to both comic fanatics and the more casual viewing crowd of summer movie attendees. Generally, Webb succeeds greatly at this balance. But, King does note that it is occasionally overshot, producing a film that is occasionally overlong and overplotted.
from Laura Flippin Movie Reviews http://ift.tt/1nEtjG7