Go Back  DVD Talk Forum > Entertainment Discussions > Movie Talk
Reload this Page >

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Movie Talk A Discussion area for everything movie related including films In The Theaters
View Poll Results: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread
4.29%
8.57%
11.43%
17.14%
12.86%
18.57%
14.29%
4.29%
4.29%
0
0%
0
0%
Ah...No!
4.29%
Voters: 70. You may not vote on this poll

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Old 05-02-14, 11:18 AM
  #51  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: California
Posts: 3,322
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Chadm

Just like the 4 Spidermans before it, ASM2 was a colossal pile of shit.
Spider-Man 2 was actually pretty awesome.
Old 05-02-14, 11:27 AM
  #52  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Lower Beaver, Iowa
Posts: 10,521
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Chadm
Just like the 4 Spidermans before it, ASM2 was a colossal pile of shit.
I have to wonder why you keep going, wasting your time and money, when you hate these so much.
Old 05-02-14, 11:40 AM
  #53  
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 3,381
Received 21 Likes on 20 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by PenguinJoe
Spider-Man 2 was actually pretty awesome.

I agree. Spider-Man 2 was great, particularly due to Alfred Molina's performance as Doc Ock.

Spider-Man 3 has one great fight in it: the Harry / Peter fight in the beginning.
Old 05-02-14, 12:46 PM
  #54  
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: detroit, MI, USA
Posts: 3,669
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Patman
"Amazing Spider-Man 2" was remarkably bland, with a bloated middle act that lacked narrative tension, and character motivations of the antagonist(s) were sorely lacking or juvenile. I really have no idea how screenwriters Orci and Kurtz keep landing writing gigs, because they are so mediocre, totally made me appreciate David Koepp's effort in the Raimi-directed Spider-Man films.

But it's not as bad as "Batman and Robin", mainly because it has very little ambition than to just occupy 140 minutes per showing at the theaters.

I give it 2 stars or a grade of C. (And I'm being charitable)
You do know you're my DVDTalk critic of choice, right?
Old 05-02-14, 01:12 PM
  #55  
DVD Talk Limited Edition
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,601
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by PenguinJoe
Spider-Man 2 was actually pretty awesome.
SP2 was one of the better sequels ever, not as good as T2 or Aliens, but it would be in the next level...IMHO

Someone who says Spiderman 1-4 suck maybe should not be watching them.
Old 05-02-14, 01:53 PM
  #56  
DVD Talk Limited Edition
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,453
Likes: 0
Received 54 Likes on 49 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

So basically Sony learned nothing from the Spider-Man 3 debacle where too many villains bogged down the movie.
Old 05-02-14, 01:54 PM
  #57  
Banned by request
 
Supermallet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Termite Terrace
Posts: 54,150
Likes: 0
Received 8 Likes on 8 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Spider-Man 2 is awesome and still holds up. It's the only Spider-Man film to date that I can imagine wanting to watch again (or, in the case of ASM 2, at all).
Old 05-02-14, 02:07 PM
  #58  
DVD Talk Hero
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Somewhere between Heaven and Hell
Posts: 34,033
Received 709 Likes on 517 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Double_Oh_7
So basically Sony learned nothing from the Spider-Man 3 debacle where too many villains bogged down the movie.
But it wasn't the villains that bog it down. Just Elektro's origin is long winded and unnecessary. There are a lot of other things that bog it down.

I'm surprised that there wasn't any of the Sony executives that looked at this and thought, "you know, it's bloated, cut this and this and this and make it a tight film and hey, we'll be able to squeak out another showing per day and up our box office dollar."
Old 05-02-14, 03:29 PM
  #59  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: California
Posts: 3,322
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Image and video hosting by TinyPic
Old 05-02-14, 07:29 PM
  #60  
DVD Talk Hero
 
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Duluth, GA, USA
Posts: 37,797
Received 7 Likes on 7 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by iggystar
You do know you're my DVDTalk critic of choice, right?
Just pretend I write these reviews only for you. (Probably less than 5 others read them, anyhow, BTW). LOL!
Old 05-02-14, 09:17 PM
  #61  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Matthew Chmiel's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 13,262
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Patman
I really have no idea how screenwriters Orci and Kurtz keep landing writing gigs, because they are so mediocre, totally made me appreciate David Koepp's effort in the Raimi-directed Spider-Man films.
What?

Koepp was really only involved with the first Spider-Man (which was based off a script by James Cameron). Scott Rosenberg and Alvin Sargent both did uncredited rewrites.

Sargent was the only credited screenwriter to Spider-Man 2. Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and David Koepp's script along with Michael Chabon's were both rejected. Sargent and Raimi went through both scripts and chose what they liked and didn't like despite Avi Arad and the studio wanting more villains and other topics. While Gough, Millar, and Chabon were credited with the story, Koepp got the shaft.

However, Arad and the studio had their way with Spider-Man 3. Sargent, Raimi, and Sam's brother Ivan were pretty much pushed into a corner by Sony and threw in all of the characters Avad and executives wanted. Unlike 2, the creative crew pretty much caved in.

A lot of Sargent's ideas that were tossed out by the studio were put into motion for Spider-Man 4. Sony also commissioned James Vanderbilt, David Lindsay-Abaire, and Gary Ross to write their own scripts. Vanderbilt's went forward (which focused on The Lizard) and Lindsay-Abaire and Ross' were tossed. When Raimi and Sargent left (Raimi for creative reasons, Sargent because his wife was dying from cancer), Sony put together Sargent and Vanderbilt's ideas and had Steve Kloves do a rewrite to turn the film into a reboot. Sony, Arad, and executives were still not happy with Kloves' output. However, they had a date to meet with the reboot and Marc Webb brought in more writers to rewrite various different portions of the script.

With Sony giving the green light to Amazing Spider-Man 2 before the release of the reboot and already setting a date in place, Sony threw a bunch of money at Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and their buddy Jeff Pinker to frame a "cinematic universe" and write the first reboot sequel. Vanderbilt only got a "story by" credit because when Sony picked his script to put Spider-Man 4 into motion, they also signed him up for Spider-Man 5. Who knows if any of his original script elements from what was supposed to be 4 actually made it into the final film.

Kurtzman, Orci, and Pinkner were supposed to write The Amazing Spider-Man 3. With Kurtzman and Orci splitting up, who knows who will write it. That also puts their Venom spin-off into jeopardy. Amongst the reboot franchise's other turmoil (Shailene Woodley made a comment during the press junkets for Divergent in wish signs pointed to Sony and Arad not liking her take on Mary Jane) who only knows who will be writing the next one. Maybe some monkeys banging their fingers on typewriters?

TL;DR: Avi Arad can go get to hell and the cinematic rights to Spider-Man deserve to go back to Marvel.
Old 05-02-14, 10:22 PM
  #62  
DVD Talk Special Edition
 
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 1,606
Received 111 Likes on 74 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

I enjoyed it for whats it worth... a popcorn movie. heh

Nothing great, but I have seen worst. It was better then ASM1, so at this rate maybe ASM3 will be the ONE!
Old 05-02-14, 10:39 PM
  #63  
DVD Talk Legend
 
DaveyJoe's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Maryland
Posts: 19,334
Received 184 Likes on 128 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Matthew Chmiel
What?

Koepp was really only involved with the first Spider-Man (which was based off a script by James Cameron). Scott Rosenberg and Alvin Sargent both did uncredited rewrites.

Sargent was the only credited screenwriter to Spider-Man 2. Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and David Koepp's script along with Michael Chabon's were both rejected. Sargent and Raimi went through both scripts and chose what they liked and didn't like despite Avi Arad and the studio wanting more villains and other topics. While Gough, Millar, and Chabon were credited with the story, Koepp got the shaft.

However, Arad and the studio had their way with Spider-Man 3. Sargent, Raimi, and Sam's brother Ivan were pretty much pushed into a corner by Sony and threw in all of the characters Avad and executives wanted. Unlike 2, the creative crew pretty much caved in.

A lot of Sargent's ideas that were tossed out by the studio were put into motion for Spider-Man 4. Sony also commissioned James Vanderbilt, David Lindsay-Abaire, and Gary Ross to write their own scripts. Vanderbilt's went forward (which focused on The Lizard) and Lindsay-Abaire and Ross' were tossed. When Raimi and Sargent left (Raimi for creative reasons, Sargent because his wife was dying from cancer), Sony put together Sargent and Vanderbilt's ideas and had Steve Kloves do a rewrite to turn the film into a reboot. Sony, Arad, and executives were still not happy with Kloves' output. However, they had a date to meet with the reboot and Marc Webb brought in more writers to rewrite various different portions of the script.

With Sony giving the green light to Amazing Spider-Man 2 before the release of the reboot and already setting a date in place, Sony threw a bunch of money at Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and their buddy Jeff Pinker to frame a "cinematic universe" and write the first reboot sequel. Vanderbilt only got a "story by" credit because when Sony picked his script to put Spider-Man 4 into motion, they also signed him up for Spider-Man 5. Who knows if any of his original script elements from what was supposed to be 4 actually made it into the final film.

Kurtzman, Orci, and Pinkner were supposed to write The Amazing Spider-Man 3. With Kurtzman and Orci splitting up, who knows who will write it. That also puts their Venom spin-off into jeopardy. Amongst the reboot franchise's other turmoil (Shailene Woodley made a comment during the press junkets for Divergent in wish signs pointed to Sony and Arad not liking her take on Mary Jane) who only knows who will be writing the next one. Maybe some monkeys banging their fingers on typewriters?

TL;DR: Avi Arad can go get to hell and the cinematic rights to Spider-Man deserve to go back to Marvel.
Old 05-02-14, 10:40 PM
  #64  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Mike86's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 24,710
Received 1,128 Likes on 888 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Saw it tonight and honestly I didn't think it was that bad. My expectations going in were pretty low but it was better than I expected it to be. I still thought the character designs of the villains stunk but the action was overall pretty good. Garfield did a better job this time around and Emma Stone was great as Gwen just like she was in the first one. I'd probably give it at least a 3.5 out of 5.
Old 05-03-14, 12:31 AM
  #65  
DVD Talk Gold Edition
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,353
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by mdc3000
I didn't mind the score but found it jarring in parts - I completely hated the electro song - hearing this horrible song in his head was idiotic (I honestly couldn't tell if it was diagetic or non-diagetic at first) and the Philip Phillips song did not fit the scene in which it was used at all. It is not often that music can completely take me out of a film but ASM2 managed to do that about 5 times.

I love Spider-Man in this movie - when Garfield is in the suit, he nails it. His chemistry with Emma Stone is undeniable....but everything with the parents was boring the first time, worse this time because they spend so much time on something that adds up to nothing. The Aunt May scenes were forgettable and all the setup of Electro feels like a bad sketch show with Foxx amping the nerd stereotypes up to 1000.

Very torn on this one. Some great scenes and fun action - but so many eye roll inducing moments. I still wake up with nightmares about the wasted potential of Raimi's Spider-Man 3 and how horrible it turned out - ASM2 didn't blow it on that grand a scale, so I'd still notch it about that abysmal turd.
I agree with pretty much all of that, except the Aunt May stuff, and that I wouldn't say the stuff with the parents added up to nothing.

One of the things I liked about Amazing Spider-Man was that it came off more real world (like the recent Batman trilogy), and less campy, like the previous three Spider-Man movies, especially the third one. AS2 back peddled severely into camp land with everything about Jamie Fox and the way he protrayed Electro, much to the film's detriment.

Also, in regards to Electro...
Spoiler:
aside from how he got his powers, the rest of what they did with the character did not work for me. Did not care for him being able to discorporate into pure electricity at all. They almost made him too powerful and godlike.


Those who have said the score was terrible were pretty much spot on. Particularly the "hero" part with the horn sections, which were so 1970's Wild World Of Sports, that it just took me right out of those scenes. Would have probably been great in a Rocky movie, but that's not what we were dealing with. And that Electro song? That was almost as bad as jazz dancing Emo Spider-Man in SP3.

Aside from that, it was a decent enough popcorn flick, but not nearly as good as the first ASM. Worth seeing for all the parts with Andrew Garfeild and Emma Stone, as their Peter/Gwen chesmitry is on the money, as is Garfield's time as Spidey.

Spoiler:
Just too bad the decided to kill off Gwen, already, as Stone's portrayal of her was one of the draws for me. They could have kept her around for at least one more film before doing the eventual deed, I think this was a big mistake on whoever is calling the shots creatively.

Last edited by Rocketdog2000; 05-03-14 at 12:37 AM.
Old 05-03-14, 01:56 AM
  #66  
Member
 
Brack's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: near Cincinnati
Posts: 10,007
Received 61 Likes on 39 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

I guess I'm going into this with very low expectations, but then again, I felt that way about the first of these new ones and thought it was second only to Spider-Man 2. So who knows, but the too many villains thing didn't have me too optimistic. I will see it this weekend and report back later.
Old 05-03-14, 02:25 AM
  #67  
DVD Talk Legend
 
asianxcore's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: California
Posts: 20,200
Received 360 Likes on 303 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by devilshalo
I'll reiterate.

The good:
Spoiler:
Fight sequences with Elektro and Harry (he does not call himself the Green Goblin)
Gwen dies. (People in the audience actually gasp, even if you seen it coming.)
Spidey swinging thru the city. Head over heels better than the Raimi films.
Acting still better than the Raimi films, too.

The bad:
Spoiler:

Overly bloated with unnecessary scenes. Most of Aunt May's scenes don't need to be in this.
Necessary scenes that don't pay off i.e. Richard and Mary Parker opening. But nothing happens after Peter finds their hidden lab.
Gwen and Peter go thru their relationship like Lana and Clark in Smallville. Where you had several seasons to be annoyed with it in Smallville, they do it in 2.5 hours. That's too much foreshadowing.
Pacing. The scenes with Gwen and Parker grind the film to a halt.
Too much Max Dillon, not enough Harry Osborn.
If Peter didn't want to give up his blood, they gave him a lame excuse. Had they recut it so that they place the hidden lab scene prior to his refusal, it may have made more sense.

And thinking back on it:
Spoiler:
I might be taking a stab at this, but I don't think Norman Osborn actually died. There's a scene during his eulogizing in which they show his large bed with some type of scanning going on and a nurse standing over the bed. Looks like there's a body there, but it's very secretive.

The test screening running time was about 2:40 and it's now down to 2:22. Could have easily been trimmed even more.
I agree with these points as well as much of what has been stated in this thread.

I'm probably going to see it again with a different group of friends, but I walked out of the film feeling it was average and sloppy. At times I felt like everything introduced was half-finished or an excuse to make sure the next TASM film (or Sinister Six), isn't introducing 6 villains at once.
Old 05-03-14, 03:05 AM
  #68  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 599
Received 5 Likes on 5 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

It felt like it was actually Amazing Spider Man 3 and I had missed the second film somehow.

They should have given Peter and Gwen another year in high school.

Spoiler:
They could have kept Norman's death and Harry in it and waited for the third film for Goblin.


And, in addition to what other people brought up, was anyone else bothered by the whole Peter and Harry bonding scene? "You were there for me when my parents died." Sounds like two adults or at least post college age guys talking about something that happened a few years before when they were at least teenagers. Instead, they're talking about something that happened at least 10 years before when they were like 8 years old. How deep could it have been? Just felt like a really forced, don't-think-about-it-too-much moment. :/
Old 05-03-14, 02:41 PM
  #69  
DVD Talk Hero
 
slop101's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: So. Cal.
Posts: 43,861
Received 439 Likes on 307 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Peter being "destined" to be Spider-Man is such bullshit and negates everything that actually makes him a special every-man. Fuck everyone involved with these re-boots.
Old 05-03-14, 03:53 PM
  #70  
DVD Talk Special Edition
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,182
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Saw this earlier today. It left me with the same feeling as "Batman Forever". The Peter Parker stuff was good, but the rest was a bit of a disjointed mess. The villains were caricatures and over-the-top and Emma Stone was woefully underutilized being that she was one of the best things about the film. It almost felt like they left a lot of her scenes on the cutting room floor. And that's a tragedy in this particular case. There was a good film lurking somewhere in here, but the filmmakers couldn't quite manage to get there.
Old 05-03-14, 03:55 PM
  #71  
DVD Talk Gold Edition
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,353
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Oh, and one other thing I forgot to mention...

There's a plot point scene shown in the trailers, that doesn't even take place in the actual movie. Not that that's never been done before, but I noticed it while whatching the movie last night.

Harry Osbourne (to Peter) - "Peter Parker. You're going to want to see this. Oscorp had you under observation. (Shows him multiple photos on computer screen)
Peter Parker - "Why?"
Harry Osbourne - "Well isn't that the million dollar question?"


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/nbp3Ra3Yp74" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Last edited by Rocketdog2000; 05-03-14 at 04:00 PM.
Old 05-03-14, 05:07 PM
  #72  
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
 
joe_b's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,390
Received 91 Likes on 58 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

- The whole Electro arc (especially Foxx's gap-toothed take on Dillon) was veering dangerously close to Schumacher-level camp. His whole subplot should have been dropped from the movie, but Foxx is too big a name for that to happen. Stupid, clichι, silly... all words I'd use to describe that character.

- I'd read more than a couple comments on these boards praising Dan Dehaan as a future star, but I found his take on Harry equally off-putting and one note. Just a sterotypical brooding villain with a contrived motivation for revenge. The guy looks like the bastard love child of Sam Neill and Meg Foster.

- Andrew Garfield does have chemistry with Emma Stone, but that's about all he brings to table. His Peter Parker is so bland and forgettable that I almost yearn for the days of Tobey Maguire strutting down the street and busting out disco moves.

- Stone is very attractive and her big blue eyes sparkle in her many close ups, which is about the best thing this film had to offer.

- Rhino (and the foreshadowed Vulture) originating as a stupid mechanical suit created by Oscorp was just icing on an already shitty cake.

- This one definitely killed any interest I had in seeing future installments. Mark Webb is clearly a director for hire... these movies have "made by committee" stamped all over them. At least we still have Marvel Studios putting out (mostly) quality product on a regular basis.
Old 05-03-14, 05:32 PM
  #73  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Daytona Beach, FL
Posts: 23,487
Received 195 Likes on 151 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Saw it. Good action and great chemistry between Stone and Garfield. That said, the movie really suffered from pacing issues, plot holes , and uneven tones. I don't mind it when comic adaptations do a storyline from the source, but it should never be shoe-horned like they did in this instance. Paul Giamatta was completely irrelevant to this movie. Both he and Chris Cooper must be laughing all the way to the bank for getting paid for such small amounts of work.

I did like the
Spoiler:
Sinister Six set-up. However, I don't think the death of Gwen Stacy really fit with this movie. They had a good set-up for her to go over seas and return and then die, more like it was in the comic. The way this movie played seemed out of left field and done simply to pay lip service to comic fans. Problem is, we know it's obviously lip service and are hence not impressed. What's worse is the scenes of Gwen and Peter are what kept these movies bearable, now that aspect is gone. Not a smart movie IMO.
Old 05-03-14, 06:19 PM
  #74  
Banned
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 6,584
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by Dr. DVD
Spoiler:
What's worse is the scenes of Gwen and Peter are what kept these movies bearable, now that aspect is gone. Not a smart movie IMO.
Spoiler:
They can keep Emma Stone if they do the Clone Saga in ASM3. I bet that's what they have planned if for no other reason than to keep Emma signed on.
Old 05-03-14, 06:57 PM
  #75  
DVD Talk Godfather
 
Giantrobo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Gateway Cities/Harbor Region
Posts: 63,126
Received 1,748 Likes on 1,093 Posts
Re: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Webb, 2014) — The Reviews Thread

I didnt like or dislike ASM. It was ok. I like ASM2 a lot more than I thought I would even though it started to drag after a while. I thought it was brave to kill off a certain character. Funny in fact....

I kept waiting for the rhino to show up and well....seriously?.

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.