The worry for many fans with the sequel was that it would repeat the mistake of 2007's Spider-Man 3, where including three antagonists diluted the narrative. Previews made it clear that this installment would also include three, count them, three super-villains, a move sure to spark controversy.So, how does it rate? We've had this year's opening salvo from Marvel Studios in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, another financial success from what has become the de facto model for productions of its ilk. Does Sony's latest effort deserve a seat at the table, or has the "more is better" bug bitten once again? Sadly, it's more like the latter...but not exactly.
The Good: Garfield and Stone, in their respective roles as Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, are perfect. Much ado has been made of their off-screen romance, but their on-screen familiarity is palpable, especially in the out-of-costume moments between them. Foxx does a passable job, lending credence to a set of not-so-convincing character motivations. DeHaan, as Harry, is a welcome addition as well. Given only scant screen time to establish the Harry/Peter (hur hur) friendship, he manages a natural-feeling connection. Even Giamatti, with the least screen time of all, hams it up perfectly for the material he's given.
As far as over-crowding is concerned, I don't think it was the problem. At least, not the main problem. More on that later. Distilled to its essence, the movie had a decent rhythm: The battle sequences were staggered throughout, and out-of-costume time was peppered in with enough opportunity to keep the plot moving and the character motivators in focus. On balance, characters are given as much or as little screen time necessary to flesh out the plot. Rather than share screen time equally, Goblin and Rhino are (correctly) regulated to the back burner for much of the film. Editing was accomplished pretty well, too, especially in the action sequences. Special effects varied wildly in quality, but on balance, character animations were incredible, even for a movie awash in Sony dollars. The way Spider-Man moves is a revelation that the Rami movies don't have the monopoly on animating or choreographing one of the toughest characters to get right.
The Bad: Hmmm...where to start? Tone. At times, it's a love story, with Peter and Gwen hashing out a direction for their lives in the midst of some incredible opportunities for Gwen's career as a student. Then, it's a quick gear-change to an over-the-top Electro origin story in an overtly funny-book style that might have worked well in another movie. Then, another grinding of gears while Harry enters Peter's life once again, and the two wax nostalgic for off-screen times gone by. Then, back to the Peter/Gwen thing for more tortured romance. And so on. Throw in Peter's parents, some tension between May and Peter, and the whole Goblin arc, and you've got a full plate.
The battle scenes, in particular, make several mistakes with dialogue and action for Spider-Man. Audiences can expect an over-dose of ham from what should be weighty encounters, with pageantry normally reserved for character appearances at conventions and birthday parties. I'm all for a s***-talking but kid-friendly Spider-Man, and I understand fully that he needs to connect with his city in a unique way. But folks, you gotta pepper that stuff in. At one point, Spidey dons a fire helmet and joins a hook-and-ladder crew to the delight of a cheering crowd, because, you know, they're the real heroes of 9/11 and whatnot. This, during a scene that called for tension as the hero squared off with his nemesis for the first time. Instead, Spidey plays to the Times Square crowd like he's guesting on Good Morning America, and it sucks the tension right out.
Electro having the majority of screen time spent on villains, you'd think he'd be a cornerstone of tone for the film, but not so: Although his origins are tied into the same Oscorp research projects as all the other hero/villain characters in the franchise, his motivations are right out of the Electric Company Super-Villain Origin Story Handbook, and the deep commitment brought by Foxx to the role only drives it home. Design-wise, he's the star of the movie, with his every vein, nerve and muscle lit from within as his power over electricity asserts itself. He LOOKS amazing, but his every line of dialogue is right out of Schumaker Batman. Oh, and while we're at it, his theme in the score is full of 80's-sounding synth and wailing electric guitar (you know, because the villain Electro is all about electricity and...never mind). Although the score knows what it's about in terms of mood, it only tends to drive home how these scenes just aren't crafted like they should relate. The movie wants you to take Electro seriously as a threat, but it's tough when he's set to a tune better suited for 80's action television, expressing all the depth available to a kid's show parody of the character, and combating a Spider-Man who's tap-dancing for the New York crowd.
Harry Osborne's character arc differs wildly in tone from Electro's. His connection to Peter is handled in a reunion scene where the actors successfully play to each other's strengths, but there just aren't enough of these. Although the reasons for the Harry/Peter conflict are fairly valid, and their exchanges well-handled individually, the character gets short shrift in terms of screen time. His arc completes in a forced manner better suited for exploration in a sequel. It would have been just fine to leave it for next time, but instead, he swoops in (pun intended) at the end as a sort of reverse deus ex machina.
The toughest character arc to watch conclude, hands down, is Gwen Stacy's. (SPOILERS AHEAD - skip this paragraph if you plan to see it) For what it's worth, Stone smashes it out of the park for much of the film, giving us a convincing, lovable Stacy that's devoted to Peter, but hangs onto her own priorities. Nevertheless, the final act is all about tying Stacy to the tracks so Spider-Man can agonize over her death. The excuses to even have her in the same scenes as Spider-Man, at this point, sound bovine. Something about "resetting The Grid" and being "the only one who knows how." Nevertheless, Spider-Man begrudgingly drags her to the scene of her own demise at the hands of the Green Goblin, a character whose own 'arc' only exists to kill Gwen in time for end credits. Both Goblin and Stacy are cheapened as a result of this ham-fisted rush to conclusion. I'd have thought there was ample time for some Sony bobble-head to remark, "Hey, that Stone/Garfield thing is killing it on and off screen, why don't we keep her around for a while longer?", but apparently keeping a good thing going and fixing your movie are business practices lost somewhere in the giant movie-making structure. There's also an entirely unnecessary story line involving Spidey's web-shooters that provides, transparently, an opportunity for Gwen to chime in with a fractured science solution right out of the Insane Clown Posse School Of Physics. Thus begins Gwen's completely contrived ride to vengeance-fueled heaven, all so we can provide the second of the film's three endings, and get her out the way for the third installment. 'Because next time, it's personal!' and all that.
Lurking behind the scenes, only to jump out and crap all over tone and gravitas when you least expect it, is the sound track, where the latest in pre-fab music announces itself like an over-loud 80's K-Tel commercial. Now available on Sony records and tapes, folks! I thought we got past musical montages as a movie-making culture (outside of Disney) somewhere around Rocky IV. I was almost certain Sony as an organism would be self-conscious about Peter Parker and musical montages after the fiasco witnessed in Spider-Man 3, but I digress.
The last of the film's transgressions I'll list is the poor CGI set design and opaque story mechanics. "The Grid" is as The Grid does, being an electrical fairy-land tied into one of the loosest excuses for a "threat to the city" in recent memory. It's very mention early in the film suggests that it will host the climactic battle sequence at the end, and it does. As a device, we're told it generates all the power for Manhattan, but it really exists to provide a fantastic setting for Spider-Man to battle in, and later, to endanger Gwen via her expertise in all this 'science'. It's realized in cartoony, sterile CGI without the detail touches that anchor such things in the name of suspension of disbelief. If the Times Square scenes come off like a musical or a talk-show appearance, then the CGI-laden Grid is most akin to a video-game cut sequence. One minute, we're on figurative Broadway, the next, we're stuck in Tron.
It's a mess of a movie, but often highlights the skill of a cast that manages, at times, to rise above it all. 5 out of 10.
It suffers from too many plot points, even though the main story of the film far surpasses the original. Good review Jim.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a real mess. I can wait for Redbox to see this one. never saw Spidey 1 with Garfield and just bought it for under $10. Still. I may regret that .
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