Movie Review Rant: Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
I’ve only recently decided to watch the new iterations of the (in)famous web-crawler. Originally, I had no intention of ever doing so, in part because of a misplaced loyalty to the Raimi renditions (2002, 2004, and 2007). The real kicker, for me, was the fact that these films came hot off the heels of a preceding adaptation, and they were not a continuation of the original story, but a reboot. Something about that rubbed me the wrong way. But then I broke down and watched Amazing Spider-Man (2012; I’ll talk about this movie another time) and liked it well enough that I wanted to see how the character would progress. And so here I am — reviewing Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)(ASM2 from now on). (There will be some spoilers in this review. I have, however, refrained from spoiling major plot elements that you wouldn’t have learned about from the trailers. I will discuss some of these elements in the footnotes, though, as they need to be discussed in the context of my rant.) ASM2 is about a lot of things. Peter Parker’s relationship with Gwen Stacy and his conflict with her now-dead father’s last request (stay away from her). The truth behind Peter’s parents’ deaths — what they were doing when they disappeared, etc. Harry Osborn’s desperation to live. Spider-Man. Angst. Honestly, the more I think about this movie, the less coherent its plot seems. There are so many things going on here that it is actually hard to determine what actually matters for the overarching narrative. Is this about Peter Parker and his parents? The film wants us to think so…for a while. Is it about Peter and Gwen? Ditto. Is it about Harry and his daddy issues? Apparently. Max Dillon (a.k.a. Electro)? Yup. There are at least two new origin stories in this film, most of which draw attention away from the more interesting personal elements — Peter’s parents and Gwen. In fact, if this had been a film about one villain, one parental issue, and one romance, with each tied together into a cohesive whole, this might have been on par with Captain American: the Winter Soldier (2014). Alas, it was not to be. If it’s not clear, I’m going to tear this film a new one. But to make you feel better, I’ll start with some things that I liked about the film. First, though I know there are some problematic gender-related issues with regards to Peter and Gwen’s relationship, I can’t help but admire the dedication to the complexity of their relationship. There’s a sense here that their relationship is real, based on a mutual interest in what one another is feeling or desires (in life or a relationship). This contrast with the Spider-Man elements is needed to humanize the character and remind us that, yes, Peter Parker really is just a young dude. One of the things I loved about ASM2 was its brief focus on Gwen’s career and the decisions she makes (a reminder that Gwen is actually a young professional on her way to bigger things than just “graduating high school” — this film, in a way, is as much about her as it is Spider-Man, or at least feels that way). This is not a movie where the woman is asked to give everything up for the guy; instead, Gwen and Peter both understand that Gwen’s opportunities abroad are one-of-a-kind, and that it would be unfair for him to ask her to stay simply for a high school romance. In the end, it’s Peter who offers a solution that involves neither of them giving anything up at all: he’ll move with her. I don’t know how often we see compromise of this sort in film; regardless, it was an element that gave the film a bit of life. There’s a lot more I could say about Gwen, too. For a film that essentially sidelines the female characters for the male hero (it’s Spider-Man, after all), it does at least give Gwen something to do other than play the damsel in distress. True, she’s rather limited in that she’s got the brains to out-think Spider-Man’s superpowered opponents but not the physical prowess. But she does help Spider-Man by giving him information for his tech and by participating as an active agent in the climactic fight scene. In fact, probably the strongest bit of characterization in the entire movie takes place in that fight scene. This scene condenses the overarching narrative that defines Peter and Gwen’s relationship into two important thematic components. First, Peter’s attempts to stop Gwen from participating — to control her — when he webs her to a car so she won’t follow him on his way to face Electro. Second, Gwen’s assertion of her own agency, and Peter’s relinquishment to the reality that his powers do not give him the right to control her decisions. This is shown when Gwen frees herself and reappears on the scene (I won’t ruin this whole scene; just know that her involvement is important), accusing Peter of being “a caveman,” to which Peter responds: “You can’t be here right now. I’m not messing around.” Gwen’s response puts Peter’s perhaps unintentional patriarchal paternalism in its place: “OK, guess what. Nobody makes my decisions for me. OK? Nobody. This is my choice. K? My choice. This is mine.” The contrast is almost beautiful. If there’s something to be said about the character development here, it’s that Peter is actually pushed into becoming more feminist by the conclusion — a man who listens to his significant other, who takes her choices seriously and respects them. This is, unfortunately, undercut by the concluding moments of the film.[1] Visually, the film is quite beautiful. I particularly liked the look of Electro and the incorporation of sounds (like a giant, walking tesla coil) into his lightning-style powers.[2] His final fight with Spider-Man perfectly captures the flexibility and dexterity of Spider-Man and the raw, emotional fury of Electro. This is obviously