THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (C-)

Bottom Line: This tangled, web-woven tale is a less than stellar outing for the spandex-clad hero that, admittedly, does have a few shining moments…  Technically sound, the action rises to the explosive, big budget occasion and the feistily funny essence of Spidey is captured in all of its wise-cracking glory.  It’s fun to see our hero having a blast when he dons his red and blue jumper.  I also enjoyed what Garfield and Stone brought to the table in terms of their characters and relationship (not hard to do, I would guess, when you’re dating in real life).  …and that’s also, sort of the problem here – because what works so well in terms of chemistry is exploited and emphasized to a point where it weighs down much of the movie.  There’s tons of dull, emotional baggage in play here.  Now, couple that with an uninteresting main villain, a rushed best-friend-turned-villain subplot (which should have at least been setup in the last movie), a much-teased villain that barely gets any screen time, poorly written dialogue that’ll cause unintentional laughter, a 20-minutes-too-long premise that fails to fully engage (seriously, I almost dozed off somewhere in the middle) and a wildly erratic vibe that, tonally, swings all over the map…  For me, this will more aptly be remembered as The Amazing Spider-MEH (accompanied by an unimpressed, it-is-what-it-is shoulder shrug).  Some may find what they’re looking for in this superhero movie – but it’s bloated, overwritten and flat – and that ultimately outweighs the exciting action.  This being the case, it’ll never be accused of setting this year’s summer blockbuster bar too high… 

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Sally Field, Chris Cooper and Paul Giamatti)

Directed by: Marc Webb (500 DAYS OF SUMMER and THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN)

Running time: 142 minutes

Studio description: We've always known that Spider-Man's most important battle has been within himself: the struggle between the ordinary obligations of Peter Parker and the extraordinary responsibilities of Spider-Man. But in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker finds that a greater conflict lies ahead. It's great to be Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield). For Peter Parker, there's no feeling quite like swinging between skyscrapers, embracing being the hero, and spending time with Gwen (Emma Stone). But being Spider-Man comes at a price: only Spider-Man can protect his fellow New Yorkers from the formidable villains that threaten the city. With the emergence of Electro (Jamie Foxx), Peter must confront a foe far more powerful than he. And as his old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, Peter comes to realize that all of his enemies have one thing in common: OsCorp. (c) Columbia

Official site: www.theamazingspiderman.com