The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Review

0:00 This is a dyna Mic Network podcast. Hi, welcome to the Dynamic Dual Podcast, a Rotten Tomatoes approved show that reviews superhero films and series through the lens of the DC and Marvel fandoms. I'm Jonathan and I'm his twin brother Joseph, and in this episode, we are doing a throwback review to a film we never got to review back when this podcast was a weekly show, and that is Amazing Spider Man two. Yeah. I don't know how we never got around to this review.

0:42 We reviewed the first one with Zach and John are former executive producers, now the hosts of Senjo World and Console Combat. They were great guests, had a great time reviewing that first film. Didn't love the first film. But did I love Amazing Spider Man two? No? I didn't. I mean most people didn't. And honestly, the first time I walked out of the theater seeing it the first time, I actually really liked the Amazing Spider Man two. But on every subsequent rewatch I like it less because its faults. Are just more apparent. But you know, Jonathan, we did this show for ten years, reviewing films and giving spoilers. We've kind of changed up the format, so these are non spoiler reviews. But I have to ask you, given the new non spoiler format of these reviews, do you think Gwen Stacy constitutes as a spoiler for the purposes of this review, because I can pivot if necessary, Like I'm being purposely vague. But those who have a passing knowledge of Spider Man's Law, at least in the main six one six timeline, already know the defining moment that is Gwen Stacy, right. I mean, you and I do, because we've read comic books for decades now. But for newcomers who may not be familiar with the source material, which, let's be honest, is a majority of MCU fans, it's probably best to leave it as a spoiler. You don't even know that, I'm pretty confident.

1:58 Can you explain why you feel that fans don't read comics anecdotal evidence from ten years of running your comic book podcast and talking with Marvel fans. Okay, all right, that's fair. We'll go ahead and get into the review later on this episode, but first, are artificially intelligent former dual simulator Ajnik has a quick message for our listeners, so listen. Up Why Hello There? Be sure to tune into the other shows in the Dynamite podcast network, including the Console Combat podcast, where host John and Dean simulate battles between popular video game characters. Over on the Max Destruction podcast, hosts Scotti and Gilly pitch your favorite action heroes from film and television against each other, and on the Senjo World podcast, host Zachary Hepburn speculates on fights between fan favorite anime and manga characters. Visit Dynamic Podcasts dot com or click the link in our show notes to listen to all the shows in the Dynamite podcast network.

2:53 Pit Pip Cheerio, Thanks he J nine k now. In our last episode, we did a review of the nineteen eighty four film Supergirl, during which we discussed a lot of the characters in that film that appeared in the comic books and ask you who you thought might make a good matchup for some of those characters. The best response we got on our discord server was a fight between the Supergirl villain Silver Banshee and the X Men Banchie. I do have to say it is pretty heartbreaking that we never got to those characters in a duel. Back when this was a weekly show. Well, I did include Siren in the X Factor Battle Siren being Banchee's daughter, But you're right, Banshee is a quintessential X Men character.

3:36 He's just one of those ones that we never got around to. Silver Banci was not in the Supergirl movie, but she is a prominent Supergirl villain. I think this is a pretty good matchup. Both of the characters have sonic screams, they could both fly, they have additional effects with their voices. Silver Bancie, I think is pretty strong, Yeah, strong, durable, Chikugo tot toe with Superman essentially. But let's find out who won. Ag and nin ktheris ELTs please, hey, you are sir, Oh, this is surprising. The winner of the matchup between Silver Bancie and Bancie is Silver Bancie. Now that's not the surprising part. The surprising part is how much she won by. It was only five hundred and twenty six of the one thousand matches, or fifty two point six percent of the time, compared to Bancie, who won forty seven point four. I thought Silver Bancie was going to win by a lot more, honestly, Yeah, considering how strong she is, and that really is the reason she did win. Ultimately, her strengthen durability. But Bancie has a lot more going for him than I would have assumed.

4:39 He's more evasive, he's a better fighter, he's smarter, and he has greater perception. Yeah. Well, he's like a former policeman, so he's a trained fighter and he's really smart. And also he can do cool things with his voice, like hypnotize people and stun them. I really thought, because of his versatility, that Bancie was going to actually win this thing, But then I learned that Silver Banshee can throw fire. Yeah, so kind of stupid overpowered DC characters again again, I mean, are you surprised after ten years that DC characters are better? Come on? Better isn't the word I would use. I would use the word shitty. But before we get into the review, let's give a quick breakdown of the comic book histories of characters that appear in The Amazing Spider Man two in a segment called Who's Who?

5:26 All right, there are a. Lot of characters from the comic books that appear in The Amazing Spider Man two. We'll start off with Spider Man of course, whose real name is Peter Parker. He's the orphaned son of CIA agents and was raised by his aunt May and uncle. Ben in Queen's. At age fifteen, he was bitten by a radioactive spider, gaining spider abilities. Initially using these powers for profit, Peter allowed a thief to escape, only to learn that say Man later killed his uncle Ben. The tragedy taught him that with great power comes great responsibility, leading him to become Spider Man. As Spider Man, Peter balanced heroism with personal hardship, including the loss of loved ones, his on again off again marriage to Mary Jane Watson, and the personal torment caused by his rogues gallery powers. Wise, he possesses superhuman strength, agility, speed, and durability. He can stick to nearly any surface and is warrant of incoming danger by a precognitative spider sense. Using webshooters of his own design, he can shoot webs to swing through the city and restrain enemies, and you can learn more about him in our dual episode against Blue Beetle. Then there's Electro, whose real name is Max Dillon. He was alignment from Endicott, New York, and he grew up in poverty after his father abandoned his family. Denied a chance at higher education, Max worked for an electric company, where desperation led him to risk his life during a rescue. Struck by lightning while in contact with high voltage lines, Max's body was transformed into a living electrical generator. Discovering his ability to

6:57 produce and control massive amounts of electricity, he became Electro and turned to crime, clashing repeatedly with Spider Man. Now I should note that the version of Electro that appears in The Amazing Spider Man two is based more off of Ultimate Electro, who appears in Marvel's Ultimate Universe of comic books, wherein he was a genetically altered weapon created by Justin Hammer, turned into living lightning who had to be contained within a special containment suit, and in the Ultimate Comics he is blue in color. Interesting Electro can generate, store, and discharge millions of volts firing lightning blasts, or channel link energy through conductive materials. His body is constantly electrified, making physical contact dangerous.

7:40 He can absorb. External electricity to increase his power, manipulate others bioelectricity to paralyze them and enhance his own strength and reflexes. He can also travel along electrical currents and levitate by writing electromagnetic fields. You can learn more about electro in his dual episode against Jay Garrick The Flash. In the movie. He is also Harry Osborne, who was the son of Norman Osborne, the founder of Oscorp, who once enhanced himself with an experimental serum that increased his strength and intelligence, but fractured his mind, creating the Green Goblin persona. After Norman's apparent death during a battle with Spider Man, Harry Osborne discovered the truth about his father and became the second Green Goblin, seeking to continue Norman's legacy and torment Peter Parker. Struggling with addiction and psychological instability, Harry tried to recreate the Goblin formula, but its instability caused progressive physical deterioration. Despite periods of recovery and reconciliation with Peter, Harry ultimately succumbed to the serreum's effects and died from toxic degeneration. As the Green Goblin, Harry wielded advanced weaponry and enhancements. He wore armored gear for protection and wrote a high speed Goblin gladder capable of rapid aerial maneuvering.

8:52 His arsenal included explosive pumpkin bombs, hallucinogenic gas weapons, razor edged projectiles, and electrified gloves. While not as refined as Norman's, Harry's Goblin formula granted him enhanced strength, durability, and intelligence, and you can learn more about the Green Goblin in his dual episode against the Joker. Also in the film was. Gwen Stacy, who was Peter Parker's first true love the two men at Empire State University, where she played a pivotal moment in Spider Man's tragic history. That version of Gwen Stacy had no powers, but in an alternate universe called Earth sixty five, she became Spider Woman after being bit by a genetically engineered Spider, eventually finding her way to the mainstream Marble timeline, and you can learn more about Spider Gwen in our dual episode where we pit her against Rocket. Finally, the final character i'll discuss that is in Spider Man two is the Rhino real name Alexei Sistovich, who was a poor Russian immigrant in New York who turned to crime due to limited opportunities. Recruited by former Soviet scientists, he underwent gamma radiation experiments that enhanced his strength and speed, while a durable polymer suit was bonded permanently to his skin, forming him into the Rhino, an armored enforcer built for brute force. Initially used as a super assassin, he broke free and pursued his own criminal path, frequently clashing with Spider Man. He possesses immense superhuman strength, capable of lifting around one hundred tons, along with extreme durability that renders him nearly impervious to physical harm.

10:20 His armor is resistant to most attacks, and it features a horn capable of piercing steel. Despite his size, he can reach speeds approaching one hundred miles per hour in a straight charge, though his momentum makes turning difficult. You could learn more about the Rhino in his dual episode against Cheetah. And those are all the characters. That appear in The Amazing Spider Man two, And in case it's not clear, there are way too many characters in The Amazing Spider Man too. Don't get me started, don't even get me started, except actually I will because we have to start the review now, okay, Well, le's move on to our main event then, where we review the twenty fourteen film The Amazing spider Man two.

11:21 Okay. The Amazing spider Man two was released in twenty fourteen. It was directed by Mark Webb and starred Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane Dehon, and Jamie Fox. The story follows Peter Parker aka Spider Man, as he juggles several strenuous relationships, including but not limited to, his parents, who mysteriously disappeared when he was a boy, his girlfriend Gwen Stacey, who was potentially leaving New York for Oxford, his best friend Harry Osborne, who is dying of a rare disease, and his stalker fan Max Dillon, who becomes the villain Electro. Now. I gave the First Amazing Spider Man movie three stars, saying that while the cast was great, the story needlessly retreaded Spider Man's origin, which was done to better effect in the Toby Maguire franchise. I didn't love the First Amazing Spider Man movie, but I remember going into the second one really excited because I knew that it wouldn't have the origin story issues of the first one, and little did I know, Amazing Spider Man two would create its own story issues by losing itself to its own desperate franchise building. For those who may not remember, the First Amazing Spider Man movie came out just a few months after the Avengers movie in twenty twelve, and those before studios realized the true crossover potential that cinematic universes could have. The First Amazing Spider Man movie wasn't as focused on world building as it was trying to put a new spin on a familiar tail. But after Avengers came out, Sony decided it was gonna mine the Spider Man ip by introducing plot threads in the sequel for

12:53 a whole myriad of potential future film projects. That means that not only did Amazing Spider Man two try to pick up threat from the first film and introduce a new villain in Electro, it also shoehorned Harry Osborne's Green Goblin and a potential Sinister six franchise into the mix, and maybe even a Black Cat spin off. Right. Yeah, The film tries to do a lot, and I would admire it for its ambition where not for the very clumsy way it handled most of it. The multiple plot threads that we use were so disconnected from each other, without any thematic through lines or interpersonal relationships. The movie could be described as almost quasi episodic in that it'll jump from arc to arc with little to no connective tissue.

13:36 I mean, you'll have one scene where Peter Parker and Harry state that they've been lifelong friends, which is surprised to me. But it'll be followed up by a romantic meetup with Gwen, followed up by an action scene fight with Electro, followed by Peter researching his parents. All of those scenes happen at one point within twenty minutes of each other, each scene having nothing to do with each other. It's insanity. It's too much. I would have cut Electro. I would have cut well, actually, maybe just Electro. I mean, yeah, you'd have to cut something, right. But Electro was the most novel element of this film in that we had never seen him as a Spider Man villain on film before. And Jamie Fox, of course, is an A list actor, so it's strange that he ended up being one of the more superfluous parts of the plot.

14:23 That's very true. I guess if you didn't have Electro on the film, you would just be retreading the first Spider Man films with the Goblin arc right. All the plot hopping, though, is nothing compared to what happens at the end of the film, which is some of the laziest world building I've ever seen outside of the DCEU of course. But like the DCEU is very much guilty of the same rushed approach to getting a cinematic universe going as this film is in that it tries to introduce too many elements too soon, lacking the MCU's methodical approach of giving characters they're due with substantial enough backstory in screen time shoehorn a cinematic universe into existence. You have to build that shit brick by brick for it to pay off, unless your name is James Gunn, in which case he's just dive into the deep end with a quasi reboot.

15:12 It did strike me the audacity of trying to introduce some of these characters in this film at the very end, Like I had secondhand embarrassment from what they did. It's pretty cringe. How do you feel about my James gun comment where he's just throwing in every character like you're already supposed to know them into his films. Well, I mean I know all the characters, so I don't mind. Okay, but yeah, fuck everyone else. I guess. Despite all the negativity that I've been heaping gone The Amazing Spider Man two, I will say that there are some things that the film gets very right. As we mentioned in our review of the first movie, I think Andrew Garfield is my favorite cinematic Spider Man, and it's in this film that we get our most fully realized version of the non high school, mature, confident and capable comic book Peter Parker. And hopefully that doesn't make Tom Holland Spider Man fans defensive, because you know, he's amazing.

16:06 He's great. I'm really looking forward to brand New Day. It's just that it's taken Tom Holland's character three plus films or so to get out of that child like framing and get to the point where Andrew Garfield is in this movie. Yeah, watching this film, I did wonder why Kevin Faigey didn't use Andrew Garfield, because I would agree, in my opinion, he is the best he's definitely the best actor. I think they made so many mistakes in the world building with the amazing Spider Man franchise that they needed to get away from that and wanted to make sure that the MCU Spider Man character would I have that baggage. I will admit though, that Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker is a little bit too wishy washy, like the dude needs to fucking pick a lane in regards to his relationship with Gwen Stacy. But despite that, I think Andrew Garfield compensates by being such a charismatic Peter Parker. And it also doesn't hurt that he is the best Spider Man movie costume to date, Like the design is straight out of the comics with a darker shading, and the eyes are perfect, and when he swings through the city, it looks better than it ever has so far, you know, brand New Day notwithstanding, because that looks like it's going to be incredible. Oh yeah, his lenses, we're so cool in this movie, way better than the first film. Another thing I would say Andrew has going for him is the best chemistry for a love interest out of for sure Spider Man films.

17:23 I absolutely agree. Yeah, his chemistry with Gwen Stacy's Emma Stone was off the charts. Speaking of her, I remember being very nervous because I wanted the film to treat the emotional aspect of her story with respect, and I'll say that the film absolutely delivered in that aspect. Like, the film generates so much goodwill for me personally just by how mature and heartfelt. The Gwen Stacy arc was handled here. Yeah. Honestly, if I was the studio, I would have been really hesitant to go all in the way that they did. But yeah, absolutely respect them for being true to the source material. The ending moment regarding Gwen Stacy is definitely a case of tonal whiplash. However, considering how campy a majority of the movie is, Like I thought Jamie Foxx was inspired casting for Electro, but Electro's characterization here is like a nerdy, schizophrenic electrical engineer who has an unfortunate incident with a vat of genetically altered electric eels.

18:23 What like fuck Man, it was cringe inducing. His motivation in this film is to be seen, and he develops a vendetta against Spider Man for like I guess, taking the spotlight from him in a seeming betrayal, like it doesn't work, or it only works if you perceive Electro as having this like childlike mentality. But dumb villains aren't very interesting, at least to me now. The motivation of this villain has to be one of the most awkward of any superhero villain in cinema history. He wants to be seen Oh okay, like, what does that mean? It's weird. At least they redeemed Jamie Foxx's character in Spider Man No Way Home, Oh Man. The characterization the look of the character was so well done by the MCU is just one more aspect of how embarrassing amazing Spider Man two is when it comes to things like Electro and everything else they failed to do better than other Spider Man films like Harry Osbourne, Right right. I think Dane de Han does his best as Harry Osbourne, but his arc, which involves finding a cure to a fatal genetic disease that he has, only serves to distract from the main story, or maybe it is the main story.

19:34 Who knows. Really, He's only included here as a means to get to the film's climax, I think, but splitting the antagonist role with Electro is a disservice to both villains ultimately, because Goblin doesn't get enough screen time and he feels tacked on, and Electro essentially gets his thunder stolen from him. I think Dane de Han is a good Harry Osbourne. He had a fantastic look in the film, and it seems like he really gave his all in the perform It's just that the writing was terrible. Speaking of tact on, the Rhino was in this film, played by Paul Giamatti also played extremely campy. I would say that calling him a villain is arguable in this movie because it was a cameo at best. And the same could be said for Chris Cooper, who played Norman Osbourne, and I think he would have made an incredible Green Goblin if we actually got to see him in the role in any sort of substantial way. Yeah, if you're going to follow up Willem Dafoe with another actor, Chris Cooper is not a bad choice. The guy is a terrific actor. He was very menacing in the scene that he was in.

20:36 It's just unfortunate we didn't get to see more from him now. The First Amazing Spider Man movie's main selling point was revealing the mystery behind Peter Parker's parents. We got a hint to the end of the first film. It's somewhat solved in the second one, but the story arc itself was always a fool's errand because Peter's parents aren't supposed to play a substantial part of his story other than giving him the tragic backdrop of being an orphan. So once again, just another distraction from the main story. But also there is no real main story, so it's a good thing that the filmmakers decided to spend so much time in trying to sell us on the next installment of the franchise, which of course would never come because the franchise was rebooted into the MCU just two years later with Tom Holland Spider Man Apparents in Captain America's Civil War, and then of course he had his own film one year later in Spider Man Homecoming. Do you think that that was the right call? Like, do you think that this franchise was unsalvagible?

21:32 No? I don't think it was unsalvagable, And I think they did a good job of revisiting it in the spider Man No Way Home Movie that said, just because a franchise is salvagible doesn't mean it should or needs to be kind of like the DCEU. Like the DCEU is totally salvagible, but they're going a different route, and as a fan you just have to kind of move on. I will say, this is only my second time watching this film. I did not watch it in theaters, and I didn't hate it, I think as much as other people do. I will acknowledge that in many ways it is like the Batman Forever of Spider Man. Films, absolutely, but it's also in. Some ways like the most Dark Knight version of Spider Man films.

22:14 So it's like this. Weird juxtaposition of tone that is unfortunate. Yeah, I mean, making a movie that's part Dark Knight in part Batman Forever, it just sounds like a horrible movie. Or I shouldn't say horrible. You know, the emotional ending of this film. The spectacular visual effects, they're great, but they don't fully save the movie from being weigh down by shoehorn storylines, campy villains, and it's desperate franchise building I'm going to rate The Amazing Spider Man two three stars out of five, a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, just barely. I mean, the film is uneven. I would be remiss to say, though, that I didn't love the characterization of Spidery, and of course the film's treatment of Gwen Stacy.

22:56 Both of those. Things bump up the score a little bit for me. Three stars again is the same score that I gave the first Amazing Spider Man film. To me, the first one was a more focused film despite being a retread, whereas Part two had more to like about it, but it was also all over the place. So in the end, I don't think either Amazing Spider Man film was significantly better than the other. That said, I would recommend the second film and not the first one. I think that's the best way to treat this uneven franchise. I would agree. Actually, Yeah, the acting is just way too good, the cinematography is just way too good to pass this up. It definitely has a villain problem, definitely has a story problem. But if you're a Spider Man fan, it's not the worst Spider Man film. Yeah, it definitely hits that middle ground that's our non spoiler review. But Joseph, could you give us a few spoilers, even out of context? Uh?

23:48 Absolutely? Okay. So in the Amazing Spider Man. Two you learn that Richard Parker put his DNA into some spiders. I think you know what that means. Amazing Spider Man two you can see Gwen Stacy get a nosebleed too soon. And in the Amazing Spider Man two you hear Electro play a Dubstep remix of the Itsy Bitsy Spider I'm glad Dubstep is dead. That's our review. Guys, AJ and i K help close us out. Thanks for listening to Dynamic Duel. Visit the show's website at Dynamic Duel dot com and follow us on Instagram at Dynamic Duel Podcast. Don't forget to listen to the other shows in the Dynamic podcast network, including Max Destruction, Sendjo World, and Console Combat.

24:38 So, Jonathan, what are you looking forward to that's coming up for DC? Well, I have to say the latest Supergirl trailer that came out was a lot better than the first trailer. In my opinion, looks like it's going to be an emotional rollercoaster in the same vein that James Gun likes to deliver. This looks very very James Gun. It's not directed by him, of course, it's directed by Craig Gillespie, but it looks like he's going to deliver a solid Supergirl film. Yeah, that movie comes out in just a couple months now. We'll be reviewing that as it comes out. The Supergirl trailer was good. It was not as good as the Spider Man Brand New Day trailer. That thing fucking blew me away. The trailer alone for that film was better than the amazing Spider Man two. I'm really impressed by Destin Daniel Krechtin's directing, like he's getting some amazing shots that I'm surprised we haven't seen in a Spider Man film yet where you have like upside down angles and everything like that. I don't know who the main villain of the movie is gonna be, but we see characters like Scorpion and Boomerang, Tarantula, the hand you know, punishers in the.

25:37 Movie, Hulk. It's gonna be really damn incredible. It looked like in the trailer that they were doing the man Spider storyline from the comics where he gets like six arms. If they do that, I would be thrilled, and kudos to them on finding a really awesome storyline for the character that we haven't seen on screen yet. For sure, for sure. You know the best part about getting this amazing Spider Man to repe out of the way is that I can now start watching Daredevil Born Again season two, which has already started. I definitely need to catch up on it, and I'm also really looking forward to the special presentation at the end of the season for the Punisher, which is called One Last Kill. Yeah, because of the way they're releasing this special presentation with the Daredevil show, we will be reviewing both of them simultaneously in next month's episode.

26:24 So look forward to that. And thank you guys so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Up, Up and Away, True Believers. They tiptoed around Emmastone's story, but everybody already knows what happens. She makes Ryan Gosling play flock of seagulls and becomes a prostitute in Victorian era a Paris