The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Coming exactly ten years after Spider-Man 2, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, is, as one can glean from the title, the second entry in the new Spider-Man series starring Andrew Garfield. Right away I have to ask a simple question; if Peter Parker, and his girlfriend Gwen Stacy are supposed to be high school seniors/college freshmen, why do they look like they are in their thirties? And Peter Parker, he is supposed to be an awkward geek, right? So why does he come off as a cross between a preteen girl's dreamboy, and a Calvin Klein underwear model? Pressing questions. At least, unlike the recent DC movies, Marvel has enough sense not to try and make their films "gritty", or "realistic". Can you imagine what Spider-Man would be like if it were "gritty", and "realistic"? The thing that works aout this movie is that it feels like an actual comic book, replete with the bombast and color. This is a silly movie, a very silly movie, and it works. More than once it crosses the line into schmaltz territory, but that is okay, because it is such a breath of fresh air after all of the Nolan style superhero movies. Spidey has his angst, but it is never made out to be this kind of profound philosophical drama. The cast and crew understand that this is Spider-Man, not Dostoevsky, and that Spider-Man can only be taken so seriously before it becomes silly. Honestly, my favorite thing about this movie was Harry Osborne, with his shit-eating grin, and slick-backed hair, Dane DeHaan delivers every line fully cognizant that he looks and sounds absolutely, one-hundred percent ridiculous. Seeing him throw a hissy-fit at being denied Spidey's blood is nothing short of classic. The plot is all over the place, and a certain villain is introduced rather quickly (I wish this villain had his pumpkin bombs and latex costume as opposed to what we get, but it is all good), and at times this feels more like a video game than a movie, but again, at least it is not taking itself seriously, and is refreshingly devoid of politics (aside from a slight glorification of everyone's favorite paramilitary, the NYPD). The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is not a good movie, but it is a lot better than some of the other films currently playing in theaters, and is mostly enjoyable and good-natured.