When The Amazing Spider-Man hit theatres last year, fans were… underwhelmed. Most didn’t think it was particularly bad, they just expected something more from the reboot (especially coming so quickly on the heels of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3). With today’s release of the trailer for Amazing Spider-Man 2, it looks like those fans are going to get the something more they were looking for, perhaps a bit too much of it.
It almost seems like Amazing Spider-Man 2 is taking the issues of its predecessor and going in the opposite direction. It doesn’t look bad, exactly, but man does it look overstuffed. This time Andrew Garfield’s Spidey’s got to face Jamie Foxx’s Electro, apparently Dane DeHaan’s Harry Osborn as the Green Goblin and Paul Giamatti in some sort of Rhino mech suit. Add to that the foundation being laid for the Sinister Six in the next film and you’ve either got one very ambitious or very overstuffed franchise.
Let’s hope director Marc Webb knows what he’s doing (even if history tends to show that adding villains leads to diminishing returns). The official plot description implies he’s got an overarching plan, which is always interesting.
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.
I wonder, at what point after Peter has that realization, will he also remember that’s how he got his powers?
