The Hype: After a well-executed if disappointingly unnecessary reboot to the Spider-Man franchise, it looked like director Marc Webb had all he needed for a Spider-Man sequel that would actually make us buy into Andrew Garfield as the web-slinger once and for all. Villains include Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, the fantastic Paul Giamatti, and excellent up-and-comer Dane DeHaan: what's not to like? The Reality: A messy script ruins what could have been an excellent Spidey sequel, for despite running close to two-and-a-half hours, ASM2 fails to rustle up a single truly compelling villain even when having three to choose from (even if Giamatti is in the film for mere minutes). DeHaan does a decent enough job as Harry Osborne, though the focal antagonist, Foxx's Electro, suffers from poor motives and a lack of personality. On the plus side, Garfield's chemistry with his love interest Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) is as strong as ever, and Webb fulfills her most iconic comic book moment with sure skill, but it's not enough to elevate a dispiritingly generic superhero flick. Audiences appear to agree, as the movie "only" made $708 million at the box office, causing the inevitable sequel to be delayed to 2018.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
