‘Too many crooks spoil the broth’ of webby hero action
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2: THE RISE OF ELECTRO. Director: Marc Webb. Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Embeth Davidtz, Campbell Scott. Showing at: Nu Metro Walmer Park and The Boardwalk; SterKinekor The Bridge; and Hemingways.
HOW amazing can Spider-Man be at this point? It’s a question we often ask during The Amazing Spider-Man 2, as our webby hero (Andrew Garfield) solves the mystery of his parents’ murder, tries to decide if dating Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) contravenes his promise to keep her out of danger, and takes on the scary voltage of a new baddie with electric eels up his gusset.
We all know Spider-Man can multitask – those wristmounted gizmos fling out the sticky stuff every which way. But can his director?
Marc Webb, returning after the last instalment, again shows a better feel for the relationships than he does for juggling all the overlapping story elements.
At times, with its many villains, this one veers perilously close to the overplotted trouble zone of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises: a case of too many crooks spoiling the broth.
Jamie Foxx’s Max Dillon is a particular problem. First seen with a gap tooth and greasy comb-over, this minor lackey in the Osborn Corporation is transformed into Electro, thanks to an on-cue accident in the boiler room. Disgruntled that no one gives a fig, he’s soon assailing Times Square with knockabout pyrotechnics in a large-scale, mid-movie sequence that slightly disappoints.
We want Spider-Man to inhabit a plausible reality, which he does, but only outside the action set pieces: the power-station finale, especially, is a wall-to-wall green-screen demolition derby in which mentally tuning out is all too easy. Meanwhile, minor villains such as Colm Feore’s conniving Osborn executor Donald Menken and Marton Csokas’s campy asylum boss Dr Kafka clutter up the works.
Norman Osborn passes the torch to Harry (Dane DeHaan), who must rekindle a friendship with Peter and stop himself from turning green. DeHaan, in a variation on the sardonic rich kid he always plays, makes a strong fist of the role, but any Spidey film reintroducing the Green Goblin only has itself to blame for a smoggy miasma of déjà vu.
The thing is, all the electricity Webb needs is right before him, in the continued perfect match of his leads.
Garfield’s killer timing is the least of his ideal Spidey qualities – he remains a rare combination of funny, sexy and awkwardly charming, nailing every part of Peter Parker’s clear agenda to be the coolest superhero ever.
He could hardly do better than Stone as his dream soulmate – she’s button-cute and smart enough to steal his heart. Peter and Gwen know they should break up, and keep trying to, but you can’t pretend away chemistry like theirs. They light the film up with a sparkle and sadness it couldn’t live without.