‘Spider-Man 2’ Spins Electrifying Action, Tangled Subplots
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Sir Walter Scott coined the expression “Oh, what a tangled web we weave,” which—pun intended—could best describe the predicament of Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
The superhero tentpole, which officially kicked off the summer box-office season, picks up where the first film in this rebooted series ended.
Parker, aka Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield), is still upset that his father left him with Aunt May (Sally Field) when he was just a boy.
Parker is also torn between dating Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and keeping her from harm’s way due to his Spider-Man alter ego. He is even haunted by images of Gwen’s dead father, Captain Stacy (Denis Leary), who made Parker promise to stay away from his daughter to protect her.
On top of all that, the plot gets itself tangled up in several villain strands. Spider-Man must stop Max Dillon/Electro (Jamie Foxx), an electrical engineer who gets supercharged with electrical powers. He also must fight a childhood friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), who turns evil as the Green Goblin. Additionally, Spidey must confront the maniacal Aleksei Sytsevich (Paul Giamatti) as the Rhino.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s script is somewhat convoluted, but everything is tied up neatly at the end, with an electrifying, action-packed climax. Non-comic book fans, though, will be caught off guard by the surprise ending.
Far from a faith-based flick, the movie promotes many biblical virtues and moral lessons, including hope, goodness, the importance of being a hero and a positive role model for children, self-sacrifice, standing up against evil, and keeping your word.
“My wish for you is to become hope. People need that, and even if we fail, what better way is there to live?” Gwen Stacy implores fellow students in her high school graduation speech.
Meanwhile, Parker tells a friend, “I like to think Spider-Man gives people hope.”
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 features lots of action violence, plus some scary moments, so it’s not appropriate for young children.
Content Watch: Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action/violence, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 only has a light amount of mild foul language. Although there is passionate romance between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, the film is arguably one of the cleanest recent superhero movies. The fight scenes between Electro and Spidey are pretty intense, and Electro’s appearance and voice are rather frightening. One character’s death is shocking and very emotional. Also, somebody falls from a great height and, in spite of Spider-Man’s last-minute rescue attempt, the character dies from the fall. (We see a trickle of blood.) The tone becomes progressively dark after Electro and Green Goblin are introduced. In a tense sequence, two aircrafts head toward each other on a collision path. Their crash seems imminent, as there is a total communication breakdown in the city due to a blackout caused by Electro.
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