The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Marc Webb

[Spoilers Ahead]

There was no reason for Harry Osborn or the Green Goblin to be in Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. He was included for one reason: to kill Gwen Stacy. At some point the filmmakers looked to each other and said, “Gwen needs to die.” So in comes Harry. It was unnecessary. The film would have worked perfectly if it had just focused on the relationship between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy and their fight against Electro. I am bamboozled by the negative outcry against Jamie Foxx's Electro because I honestly think that he is the most compelling and frightening Marvel villain since Dr. Octopus. He felt like an actual THREAT and not just an over-hyped Monster of the Week. His character arc was brilliant, he was sympathetic, and his Times Square debut was easily the best part of the film. I loved how Peter and Gwen worked together to defeat him near the end of the film. If Peter’s whole arc was centered on him coming to terms with risking the people he cares for by being Spider-Man, then ending with Gwen's acceptance of the risks and, most crucially, Spider-Man accepting Gwen’s acceptance of the risks, would have been poignant and meaningful. The first Spider-Man film was about how a hero copes with death. This film SHOULD have been about how a hero copes with LIFE. Gwen's fridging and Osborn's inclusion in this film annoyed me greatly. First, it added to an already dreadfully over-long running time. Second, it was an addition of pointless cruelty to a film that had already been intense and emotional. Many of the film's best moments are the quiet ones where Peter and Gwen talk about their relationship. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are incredibly charismatic and their romantic scenes are charming and effective. But I would expect nothing less from the director of 500 Days of Summer (2009). I've also heard people complain that this was more of a romantic soap opera than a straight-up superhero film. To which I respond, "Uh...that's kind of the point with Spider-Man." There are great parts of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. But overall the film is too cluttered, too long, and too cruel. I know that Gwen Stacy dying is almost as important to Spider-Man canon as Uncle Ben dying. But a fridging is a fridging.

6/10