What is The Salient Feature of This Action-Packed Blockbuster from 2014?

Spiderman has been incarnated for modern audiences since 2002, but in the 1970s there were feature films about the webslinger, without none of the modernish gloss, but still relished by kids.

The original modern trilogy (2002-2007) was followed by a reboot of two films (2012-2014) and a new series of films (since 2017) under the wider Marvel banner.

Spiderman has taken off.

Pretty much one can pick and choose what Spiderman movie to watch, so is The Amazing Spiderman 2 worth watching? It is if you like a strong middle of relational content between good friends.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) which starred Andrew Garfield as the superhero webslinger. Tom Holland took over the reign of Spider-Man in several subsequent films during the late 2010’s and 2020’s.

Generally Acceptable Blockbuster

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was one of the default blockbusters to go to in 2014 if you wanted something generally suitable or acceptable. Godzilla, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, X-Men Days of Future Past and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes followed in that kind of suit. Though I can’t recall, these films may have contained instances of ‘offensive’ material, but it was in small doses rather than splattered on. The general arc of the films was quite innocuous sounding. I have seen all these films, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 struck me as more emotionally involving although the X-Men movie was probably better produced.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 contains name actors in the film’s big roles—Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Paul Giamatti, and Sally Field.

Andrew Garfield plays Peter Parker during the day and Spider-Man at night, a photographer for the local rag during the day, even photographing himself as Spider-Man, and a crime fighter by function and reputation.

Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man) has always been a bit of an awkward fellow whom you wouldn’t recognize as ‘cool’ but compared to Tobey Maguire’s more immersive Spider-Man, Garfield is, well, just Garfield in this, and brings a unique sensibility to the role that is distinctively his.

Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy plays Peter Parker’s girlfriend and she is also, well, herself and injects Gwen Stacy with her own personality.

Jamie Foxx is unique as worker by day and the villain Electro by night.

Sally Field is just Sally Field these days and Paul Giamatti is past his heyday playing the villain ‘Rhino’.

Dane DeHaan puts in the best performance as the disabled son of Oscorp’s Norman Osborn who, quite unfortunately, becomes the Green Goblin villain, due to a botched injection. There is vulnerability here and depth that the others don’t have. There is a sense that we feel his character has an unfortunate arc, that makes the viewer empathize with him.

We are rooting for the good guys, while wondering what will happen to the villains who have slidden away from the straight path. The backstories of the villains, such as why they are as they are, layers in empathy.

Salient Feature

It is quite an enjoyable Spider-Man film that is unafraid to make the viewer feel something more than the visceral thrills of special effects and sound. Scenes with DeHaan and Garfield have a special character as it accentuates the relational, which is the highlight of the film.

In the middle, action scenes take a back seat to the longueurs of Peter Paker (Garfield) and Harry Osborn (DeHaan) having ‘brotherly’ bonding time together which is very appealing relational material. Funny thing is, the key character is chatting with who would become the villain. Therefore, feelings and pathos may be at the expense of action for some viewers, but I, for one, enjoyed this immensely.

Directed by Marc Webb. The story (with James Vanderbilt) and screenplay was written by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Jeff Pinkner. Released May 2, 2014.