The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Review

While many thought that the first Amazing Spider-Man film was unnecessary and perhaps came too soon after the original Spider-Man trilogy, I felt that it was the best way to reintroduce the ‘wise-cracking web-slinger’ onto the big screen. It was a fantastic film that sewed the seeds for many more great movies to follow.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is one of those films. While not as enjoyable as its predecessor, this sequel is still a mostly successful continuation of Peter Parker’s story as New York’s most loved superhero. It’s important to mention that the overall plot of the film is still, at its heart, a love story and that the other plot elements slot in around it. This is the area in which The Amazing Spider-Man 2 finds most of its success. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone reprise their roles excellently as Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. Their scenes together are by far, the most enjoyable parts of the film. The two actors have great chemistry, and there are a couple of scenes where I felt as if I was intruding on an intimate moment between two real people. This is the sort of thing that Marc Webb does really well as a director.

Mark Webb at his best.

This is still a Spider-Man film though, which means two things: action scenes and super-villains. The former is done very well. The action in the film is engaging and exciting. Since the villains in Spider-Man’s rogues gallery are colourful and possess crazy super powers, there are quite a few action sequences in the film that require a lot of CGI, so don’t be disappointed when you are greeted by a rather obviously computer animated Spider-Man on multiple occasions. The latter on the other hand, is not done as well. While Dane DeHaan makes for a fantastically creepy Green Goblin (helped by really good costume design), Jamie Foxx’s Electro is forgettable. From the beginning of the film, his character is emphasized as sympathetic. However, he never comes across this way. This is in no way the fault of Foxx. It shows that the writers did not have a particularly good understanding of the character which is a shame.

Goblin looking creepy!

The other area in which the film falls a little flat is in the way it handles Peter’s parents’ story. The story is set up really well in the opening of the film. It gives a sense of intrigue that makes the viewer more than a little curious. The resolution of this plotline however is not done well. The way the writers handled it made the story feel like an afterthought despite how much they tried to stress its importance.

Thankfully the presentation of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is just as good, if not better than that of the first film. The soundtrack, by Hans Zimmer and Pharrell Williams’ “supergroup” was enjoyable and accompanied the film well. I especially enjoyed ‘Paranoia’, the Electro theme. Listening to it gives you the same creepy feeling you get from watching Dane DeHaan’s performance.

The Amazing Spider-Man two is an enjoyable follow up to 2012’s Spider-Man reboot. Whilst it does fall flat in a few places, the film is a great action movie and love story with an ending that elicited a sincere emotional response from its audience and still manages to provide a setup for the upcoming third film and Sinister Six spinoff.

7.9/10

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Review

I’ll admit I didn't like Captain America: the First Avenger very much at all. That film really put me off Steve Rogers as a character. Even The Avengers didn't help, despite how fantastic that film was. This meant that by the time the trailer for Winter Soldier was released, I had just about given up on Cap. And then I watched the trailer…

The second Captain America film is fantastic. It focuses on a far more interesting aspect of the character which allows the film to go to some much more dark and surprising places. Winter Soldier is first and foremost a political thriller. It has an incredibly well developed plot with plenty of twists, turns and paranoia without forgetting that it is still a Marvel movie with certain elements that it needs to include. I’d rather not go into the specifics of the plot as nearly every moment in the film is important and if you haven’t seen the film yet I could run the risk of ruining it. To put it vaguely, the film deals with Cap’s struggles with being a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative and following orders post – Avengers.

The acting in Winter Soldier is phenomenal. Of course, Chris Evans returns as Steve Rogers and does a good job. The stars of the show however, are Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. The character development for the two of them in the film is significant and complex. This makes their jobs as actors all the more difficult, which in turn makes their excellent performances even more impressive. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Evans. The film doesn't do all that much to develop his character which rather limits the quality of Evans’ portrayal of the Captain. Thankfully, even though Captain America is very much the central character in the film, he is not its main focus. The film introduces some new and exciting characters whilst also bringing back some old ones from the first film and the Avengers. Among the new faces is Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/The Falcon. Mackie plays a similar role to James Rhodes in the Iron Man films in the sense that he is Cap’s wing-man (literally) and is there to provide witty dialogue as well as some really epic action set pieces. Whilst his role is not huge in this film, I would keep an eye out for him in Avengers: Age of Ultron next summer. Another new character is Alexander Pierce played by Robert Redford. Redford brings experience from 70s political thrillers and really shows that Marvel were serious about the tone and themes of this film.

Anthony Mackie as Falcon.

What really helped Captain America this time around, was the spectacle of the film. It showcased the creative team at Marvel’s true intentions for the character, as for once, Captain America felt like a legitimate superhero with legitimate powers. The abilities that come with the super soldier serum are shown to be devastatingly powerful whilst at the same time being precise and efficient. The shield as well is successfully presented as an effective and impressive weapon. This boosted my confidence in Cap as a superhero and as a character in general. This new take on Cap’s abilities played in well with the film’s astoundingly cool action scenes, the most impressive of which being those that saw Cap engaged in close quarters combat with the films villain – the faceless Winter Soldier after whom the film is titled. The choreography for these scenes is very impressive.

Cap vs Winter Soldier

I had very few problems with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Unfortunately, there were a couple. Chief among them being the lack of character development for Cap. The other big issue was the importance of having already seen the first film prior to watching the fantastic sequel. Captain America: the First Avenger was not a great film and because of this, not that many people will have seen it. This creates a problem when many of Winter Soldier’s biggest plot points stem from the events of the first film. So, if you do intend on going to see the film, I recommend that you first watch The First Avenger.

Captain America: the Winter Soldier is amazing. It is definitely the best phase two Marvel movie by a long shot. This is a film full to the brim with a gripping plot, witty dialogue, engrossing actions scenes and throws in a plot twist that is going to have a huge effect on Avengers two and phase three. I honestly can’t think of a single reason to not go and see this film.

9.2/10