Pink Tiffany Magazine - Issue 3 Happiness

The Amazing Spiderman 2

Written by @KelseyA

One Sentence Summary: Peter Parker runs the gauntlet as the mysterious company Oscorp sends up a slew of supervillains against him, impacting on his life.

Quick Plot: We've always known that Spider-Man's most important battle has been within himself: the struggle between the ordinary obligations of Peter Parker and the extraordinary responsibilities of Spider-Man. It's great to be Spider-Man. For Peter Parker, there's no feeling quite like swinging between skyscrapers, embracing being the hero, and spending time with Gwen. But being Spider-Man comes at a price: only Spider-Man can protect his fellow New Yorkers from the formidable villains that threaten the city. With the emergence of Electro, Peter must confront a foe far more powerful than he. And as his old friend, Harry Osborn, returns, Peter comes to realize that all of his enemies have one thing in common: OsCorp.

Review:

At the start of the fifth installment of the series — after Sam Raimi’s origin trilogy (2002-2007) and the 2012 reboot — the parents of the protagonist perish in a plane hijack. The adolescent orphan who moonlights as an arachnoid vigilante (Garfield, reprising the role he took over from Tobey Maguire two years ago) is now determined to protect the people of Manhattan from the deathly designs of the vice brigade

In the midst of all the mayhem, Spidey also finds time to woo his sassy sweetheart (Stone) and investigate the mystery surrounding his parents’ death. 

There’s cracking chemistry between the young leads Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. As it happens, the couple is also romantically involved off-screen. 

Among the raft of new nemeses, count Jamie Foxx as the sad-sack engineer who falls into a vat of electric eels and transforms into an energy-sucking dynamo. It’s Dane DeHaan, however, who’s the standout as the wealthy childhood friend who shares a love-hate relationship with the crime-buster.

After a devastating turn of events towards the climax, the spectacle loses some of its snap. A coda seems tacked on only to introduce another thuggish megalomaniac (Paul Giamatti). There are to be two more sequels in the years 2016 and 2018

What truly works for the film is its emotional core. That's a strange thing to say for a superhero franchise, which is essentially telling you a story you already know. However, Garfield and Stone make the screen light up every time they are together and that's where the film's strength lies.

They go on a merry dance throughout the film: he cannot lose her but he can't let her come close to him, and she is sick of this attitude. They steal a few kisses and some banter and we wish there were more such scenes. 

The vulnerability that Garfield brings to the role is justifiably matched by Stone's delightful charm.

Every other film coming out of Hollywood is 3D or IMAX and mostly it is hard to justify why they are in that format. Not so with Spider-Man. He loves swinging around New York skyscrapers and the scenes are so spectacular that they will leave you dazzled. A stunning fight sequence between Electro and Spidey at Times Square is the piece de resistance of the sequel. 

Spider-Man loves his job of saving New York and that shows. He has a smart quote for every occasion and when he nets a criminal, this showman can't help but perform for the crowd.   

The first time Spidey introduces himself to Paul Giamatti (lowbrow scum-future villain), he goes "Hi Mr Criminal, I am Spider-Man, you can call me amazing."

When Electro tells him in the climactic sequence that he wants to become the new god of the city, his rejoinder is, "What, a god named Sparkles?"

When Gwen tells Parker that she is moving to Oxford to study, he says, "I can always move to London. I am sure there is tonnes of crime there."

Superhero leads are mostly damsels in perpetual distress. Gwen is not one of them. She is her own woman and nothing irritates her more than when others take her decisions for her. She also steps in to help Spidey every time he is over his head. 

She understands why Peter Parker has to be Spider-Man and is never whiny about lost time with him. You go, girl.  

Long Live Spiderman.