{"id":2316,"date":"2014-05-06T12:25:24","date_gmt":"2014-05-06T19:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ealasaid.com\/main\/?p=2316"},"modified":"2014-05-06T12:25:24","modified_gmt":"2014-05-06T19:25:24","slug":"the-amazing-spider-man-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ealasaid.com\/main\/2014\/05\/06\/the-amazing-spider-man-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Amazing Spider-Man 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Like<\/a>

Like Peter Parker’s room, this film is a mess.<\/p><\/div>\n

Ealasaid A. Haas<\/p>\n

Directed by: Mark Webb
\nStarring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Sally Field
\nRated: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action\/violence<\/p>\n

Superhero movies are big these days, but a small group of filmmakers are discarding the fundamental characteristics that make these heroes who they are in the comics and re-designing them to fit whatever story the writers feel like putting together. First, \u201cMan of Steel\u201d took Superman and turned him into a murderer; now \u201cThe Amazing Spider-Man 2\u201d has taken Peter Parker and turned him into a guy with daddy issues who\u2019s following his destiny by carrying on his father\u2019s battle against a hugely powerful corporation.<\/p>\n

At first look, this film is a poorly-strung-together string of scenes involving a common cast. Start poking at it, and it becomes increasingly clear that this version of Peter Parker \/ Spider-Man has almost no volition of his own. He wants to break up with his girlfriend Gwen (Emma Stone) because her father strong-armed him into promising to do so, but doesn\u2019t break up with her because she gets angry at him for not respecting her choice to stay with him. He finally looks into what his parents were doing when they abandoned him with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, but only does so due to promptings from fate. As supervillains begin to appear, they have all been created by the omnipresent Oscorp.<\/p>\n

As Peter starts investigating what happens to his parents, his clues are all revealed by accidents rather than by his own cleverness, and once the supervillains start showing up, it becomes increasingly clear that rather than Spidey\u2019s activities being dictated by his desire to use his powers responsibly, everything from his powers to the people he fights can be traced back to Oscorp. Moreover, everything is foreordained: Spider-Man is stepping into his destiny and facing inevitable situations rather than setting his own path.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Amazing Spider-Man 2\u201d has had the worst opening weekend of any Spider-Man movie in the recent pair of reboots (Sam Raimi\u2019s three films starting in 2002, plus the run with Andrew Garfield starting in 2012). Even 2007\u2019s \u201cSpider-Man 3,\u201d which was widely panned, did better. Sony seems determined to run the franchise into the ground rather than let the film rights to Spider-Man revert to Marvel.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a pity, because the production values of \u201cThe Amazing Spider-Man 2\u201d are very good. The cast is solid, Garfield brings a goofiness to the title role that\u2019s endearing, and the special effects are excellent. Unfortunately, it\u2019s all wasted because without a decent plot, all the prettiness in the world can\u2019t make a movie good. Worse, even the little Easter eggs thrown in for fans are awful \u2013 Doctor Octopus\u2019s appearance in a future film is foreshadowed, but in a way that makes it painfully clear that Sony is completely changing his origin story.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re the kind of moviegoer who just wants to watch pretty pictures and can ignore incoherent plotting and violations of the fundamental motivations and themes of an existing canon, \u201cThe Amazing Spider-Man 2\u201d covers all those bases. Folks who actually like Spider-Man as a character, who are invested in Peter Parker as a person, should stay far, far away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ealasaid A. Haas Directed by: Mark Webb Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Sally Field Rated: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action\/violence Superhero movies are big these days, but a small group of filmmakers are discarding the fundamental characteristics that make these heroes who they are in the comics and re-designing them to fit whatever story the writers feel like putting together. First, \u201cMan of Steel\u201d took Superman and turned him into a murderer; now \u201cThe Amazing Spider-Man 2\u201d has taken Peter Parker and turned him into a guy with daddy issues who\u2019s following his destiny by carrying on his father\u2019s battle against a hugely powerful corporation. At first look, this film is a poorly-strung-together string of scenes involving a common cast. Start poking at it, and it becomes increasingly clear that this version of Peter Parker \/ Spider-Man has almost no volition of his own. He wants to break up with<\/p>\n

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