ASM2 Thoughts

10 Comments

1. I like the helpful info you supply to your articles.

   I’ll bookmark your blog and check again here frequently.
   I’m slightly sure I will be told many new stuff proper right here!
   Good luck for the next!

2. Easily my favorite Spidey film.

3. Thanks Brad! Not to say gifs were a bad thing haha. Those were simpler times. I remember visiting the Crawlspace (and Sam Ruby.com) all throughout elementary and middle school. Just never really posted (And then college came). Maybe that’ll change now that I’ve got a bit more time on my hands!

4. WebForBrains,
   Thanks for returning. I loved your comment about how the site was just gifs in the 1990s. lol

5. Hey guys,

   Long time lurker (been listening to the podcast since the Stella days, and was actually browsing the site back in the ’90s when it was still gifs and just plain text!)

   This is my take on TASM 2. It’s kind of frustrating to hear the divisive stance viewers have had about the new movie, because I thought it was very good, if not my favourite Spidey movie thus far (or neck in neck with Raimi’s 2). Obviously not 2001 A Space Oddyssey good or anything, but a great superhero film, and very true to Spidey’s core character. Here is a summary of what I liked about the movie and Webb’s interpretation of Spidey as a whole, along with commentary on a lot of the recurring complaints I’ve been seeing on the internet (not necessarily here). One thing to note is that I’m sort of posting this in a rush and haven’t had time to read the rest of the messageboard thread, so if I repeat something someone else has already said, or say something that somebody else has already sorta dismissed, sorry about that. Anyway, here goes:

   SPOILERS ABOUND

   It had quips, struggling with the double-life, a likeable female lead, personal conflict, great webslinging, relatability and an exploration and continuation of the untold story from the first film. For anyone that said the backstory of Peter’s parents weren’t necessary, what are you talking about? That was the main crux of this new interpretation/iteration of Spidey: Peter dealing with his being orphaned/abandoned, and finding out about his past. It’s something new that hasn’t been dealt with very much in other media (besides the comics) and is a new angle for cinematic Spidey. It’s very much integral to the story this iteration of Spidey is trying to tell, and I think it does it well. The parent plot line is also integral to the plot in the current day, not just for the completion of Peter’s character arc, but for Harry’s story arc. It’s revealed that Richard Parker sabotaged the spiders to work only with his DNA, which is why all other human trials failed, and is the explanation for why the spider venom caused Harry’s condition to worsen and ultimately have him need the self-healing mechanism of the military flight prototype (glider/suit) and transform into the Green Goblin.

   Oh, and about Harry becoming the Goblin instead of Norman. Well, though I still think maybe we won’t see the last of Norman in this universe (his “death” might’ve been a red herring), I think having Harry become the Goblin instead was very apt. 1) We’ve already seen Norman as the Goblin on the big screen, which more or less did that arc justice, we haven’t seen Harry properly depicted as the Goblin besides surfer Goblin in Spidey 3. 2) It makes more sense, at least in this iteration, for Peter’s arch nemesis to be Harry. We don’t have a longer time to tease out the relationship between Peter and Norman. Two best friends who turn foes narratively makes sense. And not just two best friends, but kind of mirror images of each other: 1) Peter’s middle class struggling to pay bills, Harry’s a trustfund baby who’s head of a major corporation, 2) Both face the loss of their father figures, but while Peter uses Ben’s loss as inspiration to save others, Norman’s loss motivates Harry to solely focus on saving himself, 3) It’s a generational thing. It’s hinted at and shown briefly that Norman Osborn worked extensively with Richard Parker and were “best friends” before Norman’s less than ethical actions caused friction between the two and eventually got Richard killed, and the same thing has passed down to their sons. It just makes much more narrative sense and is cleaner to do in this interpretation.

   Peter and Gwen’s dynamic came off as organic, the two seemed to genuinely like each other, and their banter was a joy to watch, which paid off very well in the end I think. Without those scenes, the poignancy of the last part of the movie would not have come through.

   Aunt May’s character had some depth to her instead of playing just the doting old mother figure or providing some words of wisdom. Her trying to make ends meet by getting a new career at her age was very relatable to me particularly because it’s the same thing that’s going on with my mom, and I feel that it’s the same thing going on with a lot of people in today’s economy. Her insecurity about being less than an ideal mother figure to Peter in relation to his “perfect, scientific” parents was also a nice touch and was a unique emotional beat that I don’t think was dealt with ever in cinematic Spidey. Also, it was kind of cool to me to see Aunt May going from always being in the hospital from heart attacks and fainting spells in the comicbooks, to WORKING at a hospital in this contemporary interpretation. It’s kinda funny in a “look how far we’ve come” sorta way.

   Rhino’s inclusion in the story was great. I mean, people complaining about Rhino’s hammyness or that he was used as comic relief. Really guys? This isn’t Lex Luthor here. It’s the Rhino. I think he was used in the only way he could have been in this movie, a nice callout to the fans, and to move the plot forward. His appearance at the end of the film mirrored his appearance at the beginning, forming a nice narrative symmetry. Also, the brief fight at the end drove home that Spidey had bounced back from the tragedy and it’s another day in NYC crime fighting. It showcased Spidey’s trademark resilience and not giving up in the face of adversity, which I think we all like about the character.

   There are also some great thematic continuations, parallels and motifs from the first movie: Peter listening to Gwen’s speech at the end was a nice callback to Peter listening to Uncle Ben’s voicemail at the end of ASM1, to cohesively tie up the narrative’s themes and have Peter learn from his losses.

   Also, to anyone that says Tobey is a better Peter than Andrew, I suspect they grew up with the Raimi trilogy and have a case of rose-colored glasses. Not to say those films weren’t great in their own right (Spidey 2’s still my favourite Spidey movie and one of my favourite superhero movies), but to say that was a better depiction of Peter Parker is kind of crazy. Here, Peter is self-deprecatory but witty and kind of a wiseass, he’s an everyman without being an outdated archetype of a nerd, and he experiments, researches and actually uses science against his opponents. I seriously think it’s a shame that maybe a lot of these reviewers (not all) have maybe been exposed only to the Raimi films and so think that interpretation of Spidey represents what he is, and can only see these new interpretations in relation to that frame of reference, because they’re missing a really solid interpretation of the character. I think this interpretation of Peter deals with things that the Raimi interpretation never had the emotional depth to have dealt with, and handles it like a champ, bouncing back stronger than before.

   Lastly, I’ve been hearing everywhere that the film’s plot or themes were muddled and there were too many villains. Although I can see people’s perspectives on this, I think that the multiple villains were all written in to have a role in a cohesive story, unlike in 3 where it felt like, say, Venom was a last minute add-on to appease fans. And the film did have a singular theme: it was time; From Gwen’s valedictorian speech, to Harry racing against his disease’s spread, to Gwen and Peter seemingly drifting away due to her impending Oxford acceptance, the singular motif presented itself clearly I think, and everything else stemmed from that (The first shot being Richard Parker’s stopwatch, the climax of the story taking place in a clock tower). It’s the short time we have, choices, what to do with that time, and dealing with the frailty of that.

   To summarize, I very much enjoyed the film, and can’t wait for the continuation of this universe. With that said, there are some things that threw me off and completely messed with the tone of the film in some cases:
   1) Some of the villain dialogue
   2) Doctor Kafka. Seriously. For a movie with much of the characters being grounded, real interpretations, you have this classical music listening scientist with a thick german accent in the middle of the movie that came straight out of a saturday morning cartoon. Also, why was he trying to restrain Electro, a man comprised of free flowing electricity, with electric shocks. What the hell.
   3) The marketing. If they kept more of this film a secret, several things would’ve been nice surprises for fans, instead of just “Oh. It’s that scene from the trailer.” For instance, why did they market Rhino to be one of the main adversaries of the movie? Well I know why. To get fans excited to the theaters. But seriously. If they kept his appearance secret and it was just a thing that happened in the movie, it would’ve been a nice little easter egg and surprise, and fans wouldn’t have expected anything more from it.

6. I did not like the first Amazing Spider-Man movie, so I wasn’t expecting much…but I actually enjoyed this movie quite a lot. Easily right up there with the first two Raimi films. They captured Spidey’s speed and agility very well. And they FINALLY got his trademarked sense of humor right…something that has been sorely missing from the Spider-Man movies.

   I’d give the movie a B+…probably going to see it again soon!

7. I loved it!!!! The scene with Gwen actually made me cry, even though i knew it was coming… My favorite Spidey movie so far!!!

8. I have one thing to say about the ultimate fate of gwen stacy in the raimi days we were givrn the immortal Mary Jane Watson. No matter what Harm may befall her raimi would make sure his spidey would overcome all the adversity to save mj she was tossed off a bridge by the green goblin. Almost Struck by a flyin car, nearly sucked into a mini sun, bitch slap back handed By peter and toyed with by venom she is immortal. And you knew she was never really in any danger. But with gwen i applaud them for letting her die. There was Point where i kept thinking she was going go wake up and the film would just cop out but what makes it So poignant is that she did die she isnt immortal gwen has a fate and marc webb gave her due. This made the film for me people will chastise this movie and they should but peter must be allowed to fail and aside from ben gwen is his ultimate failure im glad webb had the balls to pull the trigger on the gun thats already been fired. Look at how other mediums have ignored gwen due to her fate the 90s show didnt use her because she wad dedtined to die raimi off handed her using her a aweak plot setting. Say whatbu want asm2 was to me 2nd only to spider-man 2. Peace

9. Between finally getting into Miles Morales Spidey and ASM 2, this is the most I’ve loved Spidey since pre OMD. Is ASM 2 perfect? Nope, but it may be my favorite of the 5 films so far. Spidey actually feels the most in character to me.

10. My thoughts? Well if this is the best they can do with the main character, I don’t have a lot of faith for a Sinister Six movie.

    Which isn’t saying much considering I didn’t have a lot of faith in that idea from the start.