The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Director: Marc Webb

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Sally Field

Written by: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner (story and screenplay), James Vanderbilt (story), Stan Lee, Steve Ditko (based on their comic)

2014 has been an incredible year at the movies for Marvel. Disney released two of the best films yet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: the game-changing “Captain America: Winter Soldier” and the rejuvenating shot of fun that is “Guardians of the Galaxy.” “X-Men: Days of Future Past” also hit theaters to much acclaim. With its innovative time travel plot, Fox wiped the slate clean with Wolverine and company, and impossibly managed to make the seventh film in the series the best yet.

And then there’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” which swung in on a web of mixed reviews and a box-office tally that was the lowest in franchise history (to be fair, $700 million is nothing to sneeze at.). The film was such a disappointment for Sony that a planned third film has been delayed from 2016 to an unspecified time in 2018. That disappointment has only been amplified by the fact that Marvel’s other films have been so exceptional this year. But that’s not exactly fair. Yes, the film certainly has a number of flaws, but there are enough redeeming qualities to make it worth a go for fans of the Webslinger.

Forget the action, this is the best thing about the film. 

The biggest problem with “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is that it has failed to learn from the mistakes of the past, namely it repeats the problems that plagued “Spider-Man 3.” There are simply too many characters and stray plot strands that add absolutely nothing to the story. For example, a showdown between Spider-Man and Electro toward the end of the film is frequently interrupted by a subplot involving two planes that are on a collision course due to a city-wide blackout. The scene has no effect on the plot or the characters. You could argue it’s there to show how the blackout affects the citizens of New York, but if that’s the case it’s a failure of prioritizing. Director Marc Webb cut scenes with Shailene Woodley as Mary Jane in the name of “streamlining” the plot, so why not this? Especially considering the film is already overlong at almost two-and-a-half hours. There are many other examples like this. It seems Sony is more intent on setting up a universe for future films than it is on telling a coherent story.

“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” works best when it keeps the focus on Peter Parker’s personal struggles, both in and out of the suit. This is mainly due to Andrew Garfield’s flawless performance. What I think this series gets much better than Raimi’s original trilogy is Spider-Man’s sarcasm. The banter between Garfield and his various enemies is quite funny, and livens up the already exciting action scenes. What’s most affecting though is when Garfield pulls back to show the more human side of his alter ego, such as when he interacts with a young boy in danger or when he tries to talk down an angry and confused Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) after he wakes up from an accident.

In fact, this is the first time in the history of the hero’s story on film where you really feel the tragedy that lurks behind the mask. Where you truly understand the vitality behind Spider-Man’s famous moral code: with great power, comes great responsibility. Peter is struggling with that responsibility because he’s in love with Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone.) The last film ended with Peter promising Gwen’s dying father that he’ll stay away from her to keep her safe but it’s a promise he’s struggling to keep. It’s easy to understand why. There’s a romance here that’s genuine, heartfelt and painful as the best romance stories tend to be and it’s really the film’s saving grace. The film floats by many of its flaws on Garfield and Stone’s breezy chemistry. Webb made his name with the wonderful indie romantic-comedy “(500) Days of Summer” so it’s no surprise that he feels most comfortable with the love story contained in his summer blockbuster.

It’s such a shame then that the sparks don’t quite fly when it comes to the villains in his story. Jamie Foxx’s Electro is a mixed bag. As Max Dillon, he plays the character a bit too over-the-top. His obsession with Spider-Man had the potential to be interesting, especially when he’s displaying signs of a personality disorder by imagining that he and Spidey are best friends, but it’s just not explored enough. When he makes the change into the blue-hued human generator, he’s actually quite menacing but his intimidation is dampened by some odd style choices. There’s a musicality to his fight scenes that makes it sound like he’s battling Spider-Man with the power of dubstep rather than electricity. Also, during his first big showdown in Times Square there’s some subtle but bizarre heavy-metal music in the background with Electro’s screaming stream-of-consciousness serving as the lyrics. It just doesn’t mesh well with the more grounded take on the superhero story.

Electro is better than expected, but surprisingly disposable.

Electro’s presence actually has very little impact on the story anyway, and could easily have been cut all together. Sure, we would have missed out on a couple of really creative fight scenes and some nifty visual effects, but cutting him would have streamlined the story, making it stronger. It also could have put more focus on developing Harry Osbourne (Dane DeHaan), who emerges as the central antagonist late in the film. Harry’s plight is easy to sympathize with but the film doesn’t look far enough beyond his spoiled, rich-kid persona to make you care. DeHaan does his best to spice up the material he’s been given but it just comes across as trying too hard. There’s a decent attempt to humanize him some with a re-kindled friendship between him and Peter, but it comes across as contrived. There’s a huge gap in time since the two have seen each other that the movie fails to acknowledge in a believable way.

Overall, there’s just enough here to satisfy fans of the series. “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is colorful and funny and engaging and the action scenes are expertly choreographed and animated. It’s one of the few films where I think that the CGI works better than practical effects ever could. And then there’s Garfield, who appears to have been genetically created in a lab specifically for this role. His scenes with Stone are the reason you want to see the film, even if you have to navigate a sticky web of mundane villains and unwarranted subplots to get there.

3 out of 5

Oh, and here's picture of Spider-Man in a firefighter's helmet... just because. 

And, yes... this actually happens in the movie. 

Thor: The Dark World

Director: Alan Taylor

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Christopher Eccleston, Anthony Hopkins

Written by: Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely (screenplay), Don Payne, Robert Rodat (story), Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Larry Lieber (based on their comic)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and some suggestive content

The God of Thunder is back in his second solo outing, and while “Thor: The Dark World” is undeniably entertaining, it’s still not as strong as some of Marvel’s previous efforts.

This time Thor (Chris Hemsworth) must contend with the return of the Dark Elves, a race of creatures who are determined to return the universe to all-consuming darkness by using a weapon called the Aether, which was hidden from the Elves eons ago by Thor’s grandfather, Bor. Meanwhile, Thor’s brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is imprisoned in Asgard by their father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) due his actions in “The Avengers.”

Back on Earth, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is still looking for the hunky god that swept her off her feet two years ago and accidentally (some might say conveniently) stumbles upon a portal that leads her to the mysterious Aether, which infects her when she touches it; Because you can’t not touch a spooky, gravity-defying liquid in these types of movies.

I could go into a lot more detail just about the setup of the plot, but I’ll spare you.

The movie is constantly throwing exposition at the audience, which wouldn’t be too bad if it wasn’t a bunch of incomprehensible, pseudo-scientific nonsense. I understand that in a fantasy setting certain things need to be explained but, in this film, most things are over-explained. This actually makes the movie more confusing, less captivating and distracts us from the more compelling parts of the narrative.

Thor may be the God of Thunder but there are no sparks here.

Mercifully, the movie gives us an abundance of stunning visuals to accompany the dull stretches of dialogue.The production design is gorgeous. The aesthetic hybrid of science fiction and fantasy is endlessly inventive and always a joy to behold. I love the way that the kaleidoscopic celestial bodies intermingle with Asgard,  the Tolkien-esque city that’s been enriched by magic and technology. Without a doubt, this is the best looking film in the Marvel universe.

           

“The Dark World” shines brightest when the film focuses on the family turmoil in Asgard and the impending invasion of the Dark Elves. So, it’s a shame then that the film spends much of its first 45 minutes on Midgard (Earth to us mortals) with the bland human characters. Natalie Portman fares better in her role as Jane, but she still seems a little too ditzy and careless to be taken seriously as an astrophysicist. Kat Dennings makes an unwelcome return as the “comic relief,” Darcy, who’s almost as unnecessary as she is irritatingly unfunny. Then there’s Stellan Skarsgård as Dr. Erik Selvig, who’s so traumatized from being possessed by Loki in “The Avengers” that he spends most of his scenes …without pant… *sigh.

The funniest thing about “Thor: The Dark World” is that it tries harder than any of the other Marvel films to make you laugh, and somehow it’s the least amusing. It’s odd that they tried to wring most of the humor out of the human characters because it’s actually Thor himself that provides the most humor. Hemsworth is hysterical and his fish-out-of-water shtick surprisingly never gets stale.

There’s a lot of fun mined from Thor’s time spent with his traitorous brother as well, mostly because Hemsworth and Hiddleston are exceptional in their respective roles, but also because the jokes are grounded in a relationship that is real and gives the movie the emotional anchor that it needs.  When the sibling rivalry between Thor and Loki is finally thrust into the foreground of the story, the movie finally comes to life. Their complex love/hate relationship is the heart and soul of the “Thor” franchise. The time spent uselessly explaining the plot could have been put to better use by giving these two more screen time together.

Unfortunately, that chemistry doesn’t transfer over to the romance between Thor and Jane. It was forced in the first movie, and it doesn’t feel much more authentic here. Jane falling for Thor is understandable: he’s funny, confident, powerful and knows the secrets of the universe. His love for her remains questionable, though, because we never get to know her as a person other than she’s an intelligent goof who likes the stars. Portman is endearing, but that does little to convince me that a god can fall for this mere mortal.

Marvel doesn't have the best track record with villains,
but Malekith is one of their better efforts.

His desire to protect her from the Dark Elves though, makes perfect sense. Their motives for destroying the universe are somewhat fuzzy, but it does little to diminish their terrifying presence. Their leader Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) is a sinister force to be reckoned with. When “The Dark World” finally gets to the otherworldly action, you’ll almost forget about the sluggish journey it took to get there. The battle scenes are elegantly orchestrated and leverage their fantasy elements to create some creatively loopy scenarios. The final showdown involves our hero tumbling with Malekith through portals to other realms. It’s head-spinning fun.

“Thor: The Dark World” is definitely an improvement over the first film, but the pull of Earth’s gravity – and especially its inhabitants – prevents it from reaching the stars. Hopefully in the inevitable third installment, Marvel will put as much care into crafting Midgard as they do Asgard. 

3.5 out of 5