The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was meant to put Spidey back at the top of the superhero pile. Instead it ended up being the least successful superhero movie of 2014, beaten at the box office by a Captain America sequel, an X-Men time travel story and a Guardians Of The Galaxy movie. It's getting embarrassing that Sony seem so inept in dealing with the hero. It's stuffed with so many supporting characters and concepts trying to set up the long list of clearly desired sequels that it forgets it needs to win over audiences first. The fingerprints of executive meddling are all over the film, with attempts to build a shared universe akin to Marvel's overriding the unique voice that originally brought director Marc Webb to the series in the first place. The hunt for Uncle Ben's killer, a plot point that traditionally defines the entirety of Peter Parker's character, is ignored, the mystery surrounding his parent's disappearance is lazily tied up and primary villain Electro is given a campy backseat to allow ample setting up of The Sinister Six movie. There's no sense of cohesion or even a basic understanding of the material, with the only thing remotely commendable being the admittedly breathtaking web swinging sequences. Emblematic of the film's confusion is how it handles The Night Gwen Stacy Died. One of the series' most iconic moments, seeing this brought to life should have been a defining moment of superhero cinema. Instead, thanks to a web hand and hollow head clunk the farewell to Emma Stone, the best thing in the movie, was laughable rather than moving.
