Without a doubt, the best and most entertaining thing about The Amazing Spider-Man 2 doesn't come in the form of its extensive fight sequences, but those moments shared between Peter Parker and girlfriend Gwen Stacy. It's safe to say that this was true of the original flick, too - Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone clearly have a unique kind of chemistry, which obviously resulted in their real life coupling during the filming of that movie. Now these actors are actually a couple in reality, their shared dynamic has soared even higher - it defines the film. If anything, then, it's annoying that we don't spend more time with this feisty duo as they banter their way from start to end. It's also made obvious by way of their romance that director Mark Webb is far better suited to handling relationship-centered scenes than he is action ones, which makes sense given that he was the brains behind the brilliant (500) Days of Summer. As the pair toil with the prospect of breaking up for the length of the narrative, the movie is imbued with a solid, emotional backbone that stops it from becoming mere CG overkill. Unlike with the occasionally unbelievable and somewhat disingenuous romance that took place between Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker and Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson for the sum of three movies, Garfield and Stone feel like a real couple struggling with real problems - but the gravitas between them is undeniable, especially in those scenes that are played for outright laughs (one of which finds them hiding in a broom closet and bickering about the cliched nature of doing so - "Well, I'm sorry I didn't take us to the Bahamas of hiding places!"). Here's hoping that, come The Amazing Spider-Man 3, Garfield can conjure up similarly enticing romantic schtick with Shailene Woodley, should she actually find herself coming back to the series. Like this article? Let us know in the comments section below.
