When the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) was released 7 years ago, it can be said that it was only about 1 year (approximately) that I worked as an online media content writer . At that time I worked in one of the coolest Indonesian online game media, also discussing movies ( movies ).
As a result, at that time I also made a review of the film, which was directed by the director of the first film, Marc Webb. Well, at that time in my official review in the media, I gave a fairly high value to this sequel. About 3.5 to 4 stars or on a rating scale of 10-100, about 70-75.
Then jumping about 4 years ago, I again made this review of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 along with the first film and also, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, starring Tobey Maguire .
The reason I did the review at that time, was to welcome the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). Yes, it's almost the same as what I'm doing now with Dafunda. The only difference is now to welcome the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home , December 15, 2021.
In the review that was made for my personal Facebook page, I again gave a fairly high score. Now, 4 years later, again and again, I am reviewing this film again.
And now through a much fresher and more mature review, I finally realized one important thing. It turns out that all the cool marks that I gave to this film almost 8 years ago, was a very big mistake and very amateurish.
The Most Disappointing Spider-Man Movie
Why do I say that? Because after watching this film featuring Jamie Foxx ( Baby Driver ) as Max Dillon aka Electro and Dane DeHaan ( Chronicle ) as Harry Osborn aka Green Goblin, I finally realized that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a film release. The most disappointing live-action Spider-Man so far.
We can even say that the film was more disappointing than Raimi's Spider-Man 3 (2007). "Huh, is it that broken, min?" Well, just take a look at the following The Amazing Spider-Man 2 review .
More Focus on Peter & Gwen's Romance Scenario
Actually, there are a lot of aspects that factored in the "destruction" of this film. However, the main negative aspect of this film is that the film focuses more on the continuation of the complexity of the romance between Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone).
Okay , to be fair , focusing on the plot of Gwen-Peter's romance is indeed very logical to continue. This is because the premise of continuity is what was focused on in the first film.
After all, we all must be curious about the continuation of "1945" Peter's struggle in fulfilling his promise to Gwen's late father, George Stacy (Denis Leary), to stay away from his lover?
So with that reason, it's not surprising that directors Marc Webb and Sony are focusing all-out on this plot scenario. And after all, Webb is really good at presenting this focused plot. Really super dramatic and also, super emotional.
This Is A Superhero Movie, Not a Rom-Com
But despite the cool aspects of the focus of the Peter and Gwen romance conflict scenario, unfortunately the same thing is not seen in the action and superhero aspects .
In these two aspects, Webb looks just like that. There are not many aspects of the action and superhero that kick the aspect of Gwen and Peter's romance drama. Maybe only 3 that look really cool in that aspect.
Specifically, Electro's origin and backstory , the sad dynamics between Harry and Peter, and the final battle scene between Spidey with Electro and Goblin. The rest? MEH! Hey Mr. Webb , this is a superhero movie, man. Not a sequel to 500 Days of Summer feat. Spider-Gwen!
Repeat Spider-Man 3 Mistakes
The next very disappointing aspect of this film is that Webb, Sony, and Marvel don't seem to learn anything from Spider-Man 3 . Yep, especially if it's not a multi -villain problem .
Actually, it doesn't matter if Spidey is dealing with more than 1 ORIGIN enemy , all of his villains have a very logical motivation to be in the film. Or in other words, NOT FORCE .
Due to the fact, as big as Spider-Man 3 with its 3 villains is, at least they come up with a very strong and reasonable motive. Harry aka Green Goblin (James Franco) exists to resolve his conflict with Spider-Man (Maguire).
Flint Marko aka Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) is here because Raimi wants to surprise him if it turns out to be the killer of Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson).
And Eddie Brock aka Venom (Topher Grace) even though his presence with the symbiotic Venom forced him, at least he was in the film to become the new photographer of The Daily Bugle to replace Peter.
While the three villains in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ? Honestly, everything is much more demanding, both in presence and motivation. Especially in Green Goblin and Aleksei Sytsevich aka Rhino (Paul Giamatti).
One or Two Villains Are Enough
So based on the argument from the previous paragraph, we can conclude that this film should only focus on 1-2 villains . If for example one, it should only be with the Green Goblin considering its historical relationship with Peter and also of course, the iconic ending of this film.
Or if you want 2, just Goblin and Electro. Well luckily, this is what we see in the film. The motive for their cooperation, although very rushed, is still very reasonable. So yes, the conclusion here is that Rhino should not have been included in this film from the start.
But yes, as you read in the main title of this review of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 , what can you do, right? In order to “pursue a deposit” to setup the ambitious project The Sinister Six , in the end, like it or not, Rhino had to be featured.
Well , with that project which is no longer running, finally The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and we as the audience are now at a loss, right? And if only they didn't apply that mind-set and get rid of Rhino, WOW! This film will be much better.
Like Long Music Video Clips
Again and again we will talk about the negative aspects of this potentially very potential Spidey sequel. Of course I don't want to do this. But what are we going to do? The fact is that the ratio of the bad films is more dominant than the good ones.
Now the next negative aspect, is the film which feels more like a long music video clip. Indeed, we know very well that at the beginning of his career, Webb's resume was more dominant as a music video director.
Maroon 5's 'Harder to Breathe' , Green Day's 'Waiting' , to ZAYN and Sia's 'Dusk Till Dawn' , all of the video clips were handled by this man from Bloomington, Indiana. And indeed, if we look at it, the entire music video clip is really cool.
But yes The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is not a video clip of the song. It's a blockbuster film adaptation of comics and superhero characters who have been adored by millions of people over the years. So why suddenly Webb in this sequel immediately changes him like the “sister” from Green Day's 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' video clip?
I swear from beginning to end, the way this film is shot is like a video clip of a song. And we ourselves also feel that way when we see it. Or to be specific, this film is like a music video featuring Spider-Man swinging wildly.
Actually, if I'm honest, the first film looks and feels that way too. But this sequel looks and feels much more striking. Maybe if Webb could arrange his plot very cool or at least like the first film, it wouldn't be felt.
The story of Electro Origin and Gwen's Death is a very Peny
Actually there are some more negative aspects of this film. But apart from being endless, it will also be a waste of time. So let's get straight to the point now to the positive or good side of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 .
Fortunately, there are quite a lot of positive aspects which as a result, makes the film still very watchable . The first positive aspect is the universe version of Electro 's origin story . Yes, we can say the story is very human and very relatable .
Many people out there, maybe even us (maybe YES!) are nerdy , freaky , and introverted figures like this. And Foxx was very successful in bringing Dillon's character to life. We too as the audience also sympathize with him.
And the cool thing is, when Dillon finally became a super antagonist Electro, Foxx was also very cool in his switching . Foxx is truly a talented actor.
Then another thing that saves this film is the courage of Webb, Marvel, and Sony to fulfill the wishes of Spider-Man comic fans so far. Yes, especially if it doesn't kill Gwen Stacy like in the storyline arc of the classic comic, The Night Gwen Stacy Died , which was published in June and July 1973.
Why do I say brave? Because many fans at that time were not sure that this sequel would do it. Even when the trailer for the film clearly shows the fall of Stacy, many believe that in this version of the film, Spidey will save her.
Well, surprise! This film does not change Stacy's sad destiny. If only they had saved Gwen, I'm sure this movie would be even more weird and messy.
Shouldn't Hurry Release
Finally, based on the entire discussion above, we can conclude that what caused The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to be so disappointing was haste and miscalculation.
Yes, if Sony and Marvel weren't too keen on deposit and only focused on one villain like the first film, at least this sequel would be as good as the first film.
Because this film has some good plots, much cooler Spider-Man costumes, and cool looks and chemistry from all the actors (especially Garfield and Stone).
But in the end, everything went awry just to realize a dream project for years which in the end didn't work at all. Phew … Luckily Spider-Man: No Way Home exists and will fix all the faults of these two Spidey Garfield films.
Okay guys , I hope this review of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is useful!
