Reel Facts & Opinions: Everything You Need to Know About THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

 

This weekend, one of the biggest and heavily-promoted films of the year swings into theatres in the form of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2. Here is everything you need to know about Sony Pictures’ adaptation of the Marvel property.

Another Spider-man Movie? A certain amount of confusion is understandable at this point, as this is the fifth Spider-Man film by Sony Pictures since 2002. The first three films were directed by Sam Raimi with Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spidey. After a disappointing third film, Sony parted ways with Raimi and decided to wipe the slate clean. In what the industry now calls a “reboot”, Sony unleashed THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN in 2012 with a new cast and a do-over on the character’s origins. This film, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, is a direct sequel to that 2012 version.

Who’s behind this? Marc Webb, who directed the first (rebooted) film, returns to direct. Prior to becoming a webslinger, Webb’s other directing credit is the acclaimed 500 DAYS OF SUMMER in 2009.

Who’s in this? Andrew Garfield (THE SOCIAL NETWORK) returns as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Emma Stone (ZOMBIELAND) returns as his love interest Gwen Stacy, and Sally Field returns as Peter’s Aunt May. New cast members fill out a slew of villains. Paul Giamatti appears as The Rhino, Jamie Foxx charges in as Electro, and young Dane DeHaan (THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES) creeps in as The Green Goblin.

Why are there so many villains? Call it a direct response to the uber-success of THE AVENGERS with its superhero-teamup selling point. Sony Pictures doesn’t own the rights to any other Marvel properties which Spidey can team up with like his Marvel Studio-owned AVENGERS cousins. So in an attempt to capitalize on the public’s apparent appetite for many super-beings in one film, Sony is essentially pulling a reverse-AVENGERS by stacking the film with baddies.

What to look forward to THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN very much served as a set-up film for its sequel by introducing many storylines which were never concluded, so hopefully many of those loose ends can be tied up in a meaningful way which will justify the reboot. More importantly, this Blogger found that first film to be an intolerable bore; a joyless affair which slogged around in-between action sequences which went nowhere. A good sequel should always correct the mistakes made in the past, so hopefully Marc Webb and his friends have learned a few things and can put the amazing back in Spider-Man.

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THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 lands in theatres May 2^nd.