The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Directed by Marc Webb
Based on Spider-Man by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko
Starring:
Andrew Garfield
Emma Stone
Jamie Foxx
Dane DeHaan
Colm Feore
Felicity Jones
Campbell Scott
Embeth Davidtz
Paul Giamatti
Sally Field
Running time: 142 minutes
Plot Synopsis:
Not much different from The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). And I’m too lazy to write a synopsis.
My Opinion:
I remembered writing a bit about The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) somewhere on this blog. I found the post! I started this blog at the end of 2012 so I just did a round-up of every film I’d seen that year (And ranked them from my favorite to least favorite. Those who know me know I’m anal like that). 😉 Anyway, that post is HERE and it makes for more interesting reading than the very little bit I said about The Amazing Spider-Man, which I ranked as the 18th best movie I went to in 2012 & gave a 6/10. I actually thought I’d liked it more than that! Hmm… This was my in-depth analysis: “Not actually that bad, but… What’s the point?? Do prefer Andrew Garfield to Tobey Maguire, though.”
Well, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is pretty similar to the last one. As I say at the start of every superhero movie review I do, I’ve never read a comic book so all my knowledge is only of the films I’ve seen. All I’ve really ever known of Spider-Man is what I saw in the Tobey Maguire movies (I still do NOT understand why they’ve done this whole reboot). Anyway, I enjoyed those just fine. Can’t say I’ve watched any of them since going to them, though, and I never really bought into Maguire.
So far, I feel pretty much the same way about the Garfield films – I’ve enjoyed them so far but it’s unlikely that I’ll be re-watching them anytime soon. They’re fun popcorn movies but I don’t enjoy them to the same degree as the Avengers films or the X-Men films. I do still prefer Andrew Garfield to Tobey Maguire, though.
FYI: I casually mentioned on Twitter that I’d seen this movie & ended up discussing the whole Maguire vs Garfield thing for a good couple of hours. I’ll go into detail on this at the end of the review plus there’ll be a POLL! You can vote for Team Maguire or Team Garfield. Go team Garfield! 😉
I do think this second Amazing Spider-Man is a slight improvement over the first one. I thought the villains and the big showdowns were better. They did a good job further developing the Gwen Stacy/Peter Parker romance plus his relationship with his aunt. The villains didn’t feel very developed, though, but this is often a problem with superhero films anyway. And Jamie Foxx was a bit weird as a total Poindexter nerd.
I’m not sure what else to say about this. I do still feel this reboot is pointless but it doesn’t mean these new films are BAD… If the others didn’t exist, people would like the Andrew Garfield ones more than they seem to. To be honest, I just want to start talking about the Twitter debate now because that was pretty entertaining. 😉
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is fun, as was the first one. It’s not going to change the world but it’s light entertainment. I had fun with it & there are far worse ways to spend a couple of hours.
My Rating: 7/10
ANDREW GARFIELD vs TOBEY MAGUIRE: THE BIG DEBATE
So, after seeing this movie last Tuesday, I casually mentioned to my usual group of Twitter buddies that I’d seen it. Bloody hell – I didn’t expect to spend a good chunk of the rest of the day arguing about who was the better Spider-Man: Andrew Garfield or Tobey Maguire. But it was fun and that’s what I love about this little group of people – I think I enjoyed the Twitter debate more than the movie. 😉
So I’ve chosen just one quote from each person as the debate went on for ages. And at the very end of this post, you’ll find a poll so you can vote for your favorite Spider-Man of the two. If you want to also put your choice in the comments below, I can add you to TEAM MAGUIRE or TEAM GARFIELD here & link to your blog.
TEAM MAGUIRE:
Brian at Hard Ticket To Home Video:
I was considering adding the choice of “Team Don’t Give A Fuck” as this is the team Brian declared he was on after spending a good couple of hours making it pretty clear he was very much NOT Team Garfield. Lol! Gotta love Brian. Here’s my favorite Brian quote. Note the time – 7:26 pm. My first post about going to the movie was at 1:50 pm. I think I just wore him out! Bwahaha! 😉
https://twitter.com/dr_goodtimes/status/458673224994533376
Eric at The IPC:
Eric seems to think Andrew Garfield is a teenage girl. This was Eric’s main argument throughout the day. Funny how all the girls are on Team Garfield. I think the boys may just be jealous of Garfield’s lovely big, brown, puppy dog eyes…
TEAM GARFIELD:
Me at Cinema Parrot Disco:
The tweet that started it all…
Zoe at The Sporadic Chronicles Of A Beginner Blogger:
After Brian & Eric had a go at me on the Garfield thing for a bit, I was very relieved when Zoe came to my rescue!
Mike at Screenkicker:
THEN, as a huge surprise, Mike showed up and agreed with us girls! We weren’t expecting that! Yay, Mike!
Cara at Silver Screen Serenade:
Cara wasn’t around until later in the day and we were all dying to know which team she was on. Well, I was at least. Lol. Luckily, she chose wisely…
UNDECIDED:
(Never got an exact answer from these two. If either of you wish to pick a side, I’ll move you to the appropriate place). 😉
Seth at Kloipy Speaks:
In a bit of a “Brian move”, this is the reply I got from Seth when I asked for everyone to choose a side “for the record” as I planned to mention the Twitter debate in my review. Lol!
Melissa at Snap Crackle Watch:
Melissa was more interested in another conversation that started up in which I reminded Zoe that she should watch the film Never Let Me Go, starring Garfield. I think we’d all like to read the book it’s based on. 😉
PICK YOUR SIDE:
Cinema Parrot Disco 
I’m still on the undecided list. maybe after I see SM2. I’ll have more of an opinion, but I doubt it 🙂
I dont care much who is under the mask as long as he keeps webslinging thru NYC
BTW, your poll doesn’t give the undecided option 🙂
Did you like the Tobey Maguire ones?
I left out “undecided” as I wanted to force people to choose between just these two! ; )
yes, numerous times. Only seen ASM once and havent yet seen the sequel, so I cant make an informed decision yet 🙂
finally saw this and ASM again and I think MaGuire is a much better PP/SM
Garfield seems too juvenile for the role IMHO
Really?? I just find Maguire so… Dull. : )
I found him to feel normal as opposed to the pompous character Garfield plays
I’m for the Brit Andrew Garfield. I think he manages the drama, comedy, action of the role perfectly. He can be geeky and cool at the same time. The distraction scene with the coffee at Oscorp is a perfect example.
Yay! Another vote for Garfield. : ) I agree – he just works overall for me more than Maguire did…
I’m undecided too to be honest. I think Garfield looks the part but he seems a bit whiny for me. The god-awful script for the new one didn’t help his cause either though.
That’s because he’s a whiny puss-boy.
Lol. He’s cute and you know it, Eric!
Aww – I didn’t mind this movie too much, Chris. I know it’s not brilliant but it’s entertaining enough for a superhero movie. I never take any of them too seriously. I don’t think either Maguire or Garfield are quite right for the part, though…
No desire to see ASM2 after the last three and a half Spider-Man films all ranged from ho-hum to flaming dogshit, but anyone, ANYONE, is better than Maguire.
Michael Cera?
He might be the perfect Spider-Man. Total dork in “real life.” Annoying, smart mouth under the mask.
Also, he’s a gangly little bitch. Seriously, why are you not the casting director?
Sorry I’m so late replying again but…. Are you two serious about Michael Cera??? If so, are you both mental?!?!? ; ) Hell no to Michael Cera!
If Cera had been in that I would NEVER have seen it. He’s such a pussy. I was joking because Mojo said “anyone would be better than Maguire”. Michael Cera is THE WORST.
I don’t think this movie looks very good and if you think it’s just like the first one but a bit better…. I thought the first one STUNK. And just for the record…. since we have more than 10 characters to type 🙂 I don’t like Maguire either. But I HATE that Garfield girl.
What? You don’t like Andrew Garfield??? I had no idea. ; )
I felt more less the same, that this one is a bit of a step up from the first, but that there’s not a lot in it. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has a heck of a lot of plot rammed into it though, too much. Garfield over Maguire for me!
Adam.
I’m surprised how much Garfield is beating Maguire in the poll. : ) Yeah – there IS probably too much plot going on. The movie is okay. Forgettable entertainment, though. But I had fun with it. : )
Bwahahahaha I loved this review, so much fun, and I LOVED the addition of the debate that you featured! Good stuff. Starting Never Let Me Go.
Hehe. Thanks. : ) The Spider-Man Twitter debate was good fun! I’m assuming you’ve reviewed this by now?!? God I wish I could read blogs at work. : ( I’ll be by right after I finish replying to comments. : )
Hahahaha it was so fun. I did yes, one day you will have a minute to meet up with it 😛
Yes, we miss you!
Zoe! Can you find me a job where I can blog all day??? Lol. : )
You can come work with me 😛
LOL As you can see I don’t know much about Spider Man I only saw the one with Maguire so I guess I will vote for him, although I think Garfield is super cute for a nerdy looking dude… As soon as you said Never Let Me Go that sparked my interest. 🙂
Good review though I will wait for it in on DVD. If anyone cares I did buy the Spiderman nailpolish from Revlon and it’s so cute. See that’s how I think.
Spider-Man NAIL POLISH? Jesusgodwhatthehell
LOL!!!! Yes they are special colors for the movie and they have little spider webs on the bottle. I got a pinkish one and blue totally Spiderman right?!
It’s… something.
Lol – you aren’t really missing anything with these Spider-Man movies, Melissa. They’re fun but not exactly brilliant. I think the nail polish sounds cute! Scott likes the sound of the pink one. ; )
Yup Revlon has a whole thing of makeup related to it. 🙂
Garfield, by a country mile. Maguire’s performance was as dull and lifeless as they come. In his defence though, I imagine it’s hard to muster up much energy when your love interest is being played by Kirsten Dunst who, while good in some films, was abysmal as Mary Jane Watson.
Garfield is winning the poll with 73%. I actually thought it would be closer. : ) lol – I do think Emma Stone has been a much better Spider-Man love interest. I don’t really love either actress…
TEAM GARFIELD, BABY. I feel like we need to share this entire Twitter conversation. There were several gems in there, and the world needs to know the full extent of how hilarious we are. 😉 Nice review! Even though it’s mostly getting meh reviews, I believe I’m attending the midnight premiere this week…If nothing else, worth it for pretty and not at all girly Andrew Garfield (think Eric will catch that?). 😀
Lol! Us Probies ARE pretty hilarious. Don’t know how we don’t have, like, a million followers on Twitter! ; ) I can’t remember – did you see this one?? Thanks for the comments – I’m slowly catching up on replies & then I’m catching up on all the Proby blogs right after so I’ll be annoying you with lots of comments soon. ; )
Yaaayyy comment showers from Mutant are the besssst! 😀
Lol! Dear lord don’t let Mike see this comment – I know exactly what he’d say! Dear lord… Am I turning into Mike? I can read his pervy mind! Help!!
Dear lord. DON’T LET HIM INTO YOUR HEAD, MUTANT. STAY STRONG.
Noooo!!! My head might explode! It’ll be like Scanners!!!
Definitely Maguire. Mainly because I have found Garfield’s two Spidey films to be utterly average and he has not been able to do anything to elevate them.
Far fewer people have chosen Maguire than I expected. To be honest, although I prefer Garfield, I don’t think either is great. But it made for a fun debate. ; ) It would be nice to see a really GOOD Spider-Man film…
Personally I thought the first two Raimi ones were good films. Not particularly cause of Maguire, but am sure he didn’t hurt. I would just love to the property back in the hands of Whedon etc at Marvel.
Great review. I loved the film and thought the new lighter more comic book feel of the film made Spider-man finally feel like Spider-man.
Very much looking forward to the next one, BRING ON SINISTER SIX! 😀
Thanks! : ) You’re the first one to really say something positive about it. Most comments have been very negative. I don’t think it’s up there, really, with some of the best superhero films but I think people are far too harsh on it (and the first Amazing Spider-Man). I’ve enjoyed them. : )
Your welcome. I don’t see the need to be harsh and if there is enough I like then I can ignore little faults, not to say I don’t see them but I can enjoy the film even though they are there 😀
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I just now got around to seeing this post. I’m more firmly than ever on Team Don’t Give a Fuck.
You’re always on Team Don’t Give A Fuck! ; ) You know I’m actually on Team Hemsworth. Screw Garfield & Maguire!
How did you end up here? I made no mention of boobs in this review, did I?!
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