Marc Webb's first film, released not even two years ago, was a good starting
off point for the franchise. Andrew Garfield had the geeky cool charm of Peter
Parker down pat, and his chemistry with Emma Stone (his real life girlfriend)
was and remains off-the-charts. The introduction of Gwen as Peter's love
interest was a refreshing twist from the Sam Raimi movies and despite the
familiarity of Spidey's origin, there was a welcome lightness to it.
Goodness knows we didn't need another grim 'n gritty comic book movie. The
Amazing Spider-Man 2 maintains a spirited sense of humor, but with a ton of
characters to consider and even more subplots to juggle, nothing quite rounds
into shape as it should.
One of the many storylines needing to be dealt with is the big secret
surrounding the death of Peter's parents (Campbell Scott and Embeth Davidtz),
and the reasons they abandoned him as a child. A thrilling mid-air sequence
clues us in to the mystery, before we're literally dropped into Spidey's latest
adventure. Now on the verge of graduation, Peter finds himself juggling his
role as Spider-Man and as Gwen's boyfriend, this despite the promise to stay
away he made to her late father. Betraying that promise weighs on him, and his
relationship with Gwen has gone into on-again/off-again territory. She's
considering a move to London if she's accepted into Oxford, which threatens to
end their love forever. In the spandex realm he's keeping busy battling brutish
Russian mobster Aleksei Systsevich played with comical exaggeration by
Paul Giamatti. In the midst of stopping his rampage, Spidey saves unappreciated
Oscorp employee Maxwell Dillon (Jamie Foxx), who quickly becomes obsessed with
the hero. Dillon's friendly, if somewhat creepy, infatuation with Spidey turns
dark for unconvincing reasons when he falls into a tank of electric eels
(seriously) and is gifted with incredible electric powers. He also starts to look
like the spawn of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze and Watchmen's
Doctor Manhattan. 
As if a wayward girlfriend, tons of family secrets, and a staticky blue
supervillain weren't enough, Peter also has the sudden arrival of childhood
friend Norman Osborn (Dane DeHaan), back from being sent abroad by his dying
father (Chris Cooper). Now the head of Oscorp, Norman learns he's dying of the
same degenerative disease, and the only way to possibly cure it is to get some
of that Spider-Man blood flowing in his veins. It's the friendship between
Peter and Norman that suffers most from the crowded plot, as we get basically
one scene of the two reconnecting, professing their mutual angst, and then
splitting off to become foes. Norman gets green, ugly, and desperately in need
of a manicure, while Peter's attention is divided in a million different
directions. And so is the script pieced together by Roberto Orci, Alex
Kurtzman, and Jeff Pinkner, who fail to give the story any sort of focus. The
weirdly ambiguous passage of time (weeks and months pass without explanation)
is a symptom of the film's poor narrative structure, just as the lack of clear
antagonists for Spidey. A hero is only as compelling as his enemy, and despite
there being three bad guys to tussle with, none of them are given much shape.
Electro goes from dorky to menacing sidekick at the drop of a hat, while Osborn
is never written with any consistency. The betrayal he feels over his father's
actions never comes through, nor do we really get a sense of Norman's
friendship with Peter, which becomes a huge issue as secrets become unmasked,
both literally and figuratively.
As for Peter and Gwen, their turbulence is something of a double-edged
sword. The exploration of Peter's concern for her safety is believable and
totally in keeping with his protective nature. He's already seen too many loved
ones die over his costumed life and won't risk her, too. But as they
repetitively bounce from one "should we or shouldn't we" conversation
to the next, it doesn't give Gwen much to do until she's just another damsel in
distress. Garfield and Stone are such a charming couple, genuinely having fun
in one another's presence, that it's often enough to overlook the lack of
forward momentum. Others in the supporting cast aren't given much to do, some
to an embarrassing degree. Felicity Jones turns up as Felicia, presumably
Felicia Hardy aka the Black Cat, and she clocks maybe three minutes as Osborn's aide.
Chris Cooper might have given the film some real emotional weight if he had
stuck around as Norman Osborn, but he only gets one scene. DeHaan, one of the
finest young actors working today, does his best to internalize Harry Osborn's
angst, but the script doesn't offer him enough opportunities. 
As for whether or not Gwen meets the same fate as in the comics, well, those
answers aren't going to be found in this review, but the decision Webb makes is
bold and definitive. Despite the glaring problems he does do quite a few things
right. He's certainly more confident in the use of CGI action, ramping up the
speed and incorporating a number of dizzying visual splashes. The Times Square
sequence alone impressively combines 360 degree roto-scoping and slo-mo to
fully capture the scope of Electro's powers. Despite the heavy effects work and
massive amounts of destruction, the action never feels cold or distant, a
lesson Zack Snyder probably needs a refresher in. Webb does a good job of
inextricably linking Spider-Man to New York's fate while also planting the
seeds of future dissent.Finally, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is both bloated and insubstantial, feeling like little more than a set-up movie for Sony's expansive plans. To paraphrase Spidey's famous credo; Webb has the great power to right the course in the next movie, and hopefully he'll take the responsibility to do just that.
