Amazing Spider-Man 2: So Much to Do and Say, Not Much to Really Love

It's a classic case: I want to truly love a comic book movie such as "The Amazing Spider-man 2." It's good. It's enjoyable. But I'm not hankering to rush to see it again. Running almost two and a half hours, "The Amazing Spider-man 2" is filled with exciting action sequences and impressive special effects. But the storylines are contrived, characterizations are rush, and practically everything feels like it's truncated in preparation for what lies ahead in The Amazing Spider-man movie franchise.

That's because Part 2 is deliberately stuffed with, well, stuff. Sony has committed to more Spider-man flicks and lots of ground to cover. Heck, secondary characters and images (eggs, if you will) seen in the sequel's climax and in the end credits clearly set up a universe in which we could see the Sinister Six.

In the meantime, we see Max Dillon, played by Jamie Foxx, turn into Electro in a rather unoriginal, uninspired way. It's not Foxx. He does well in portraying the lead villain, but Dillon/Electro's conversion is fast and a little lame, given Dillon's connection to Oscorp.

Ah yes, Oscorp, where we many more connections made in this rushed, overriding storyline. The link with Peter Parker's parents, one of many subplots in the movie. Here, Peter -- played again by Andrew Garfield in an exemplary manner-- goes full-on detective, connecting dots to discover the truth about his parents -- their scientific research and their fate. The reveals here are a tad disappointing to say the least.

Back at supposedly big bad mega-corporation Oscorp, we see a huge missed opportunity: Chris Cooper could have made a fantastic Norman Osborn to rival that of Willem Dafoe's portrayal in the Sam Raimi versions of Spider-man. Yet, Cooper's Norman is reduced considerably. He is the original, most well known Green Goblin.

Harry Osborn takes on the title of actual Green Goblin in this movie, rather late and in a convoluted manner. Don't get me wrong. Dane DeHaan had a polarizing presence in the movie "Chronicle," which I enjoyed, and in "The Amazing Spider-man 2," he seems well suited as Harry Osborn, the heir to the Oscorp empire. But his introduction and development is relatively brief and I almost don't care for it.

It's said that Harry is an old friend of Peter's, but the way director Marc Webb's Spider-man universe is set up, it doesn't seem like such a friendship genuinely exists. You could feel/see that in Raimi's Spider-man films, the dynamic between James Franco and Tobey Maguire. When DeHaan finally appears as Green Goblin, created that way by a serum, he's almost over the top in his performance. Again, not DeHaan's fault. He gets the short end of the stick here, but yes, this is a transitional sequel...meant to serve for more introductions, and sure enough we'll see more Harry Osborn/Green Goblin in "The Amazing Spider-man" cinematic universe.

At last there's Aleksei Sytsevich, or Rhino, played all too briefly yet with glee by Paul Giamatti. His appearances, exciting as they are, literally bookend the film. Giamatti is on record, saying Rhino has been one of his favorite Spider-man villains, and he'll get more chances to be Rhino in "The Amazing Spider-man" cinematic universe. Now, Rhino with automatic guns and missile launchers? That takes more getting used to.

Ultimately, what works for me in the sequel? Garfield as Spider-man/Pete and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. Webb and the writing teams give Garfield to insert his charm and wit into the Spidey we all know and love. Sure, he's a bit mopey and constantly wondering about trying to keep from harm's way those he cares about the most. But Peter Parker loves being Spider-man. It's fun. He loves helping people and carries a bit of a cocky attitude. That is on full display in this movie.

There's also no denying the chemistry between Garfield and Stone. (Of course, in my eyes, Stone can do absolute no wrong on the big screen. I'd have her babies if I could.) Stone inserts more confidence into Gwen this time around. Webb works best when it comes to romance, or the building up or collapse of it all. He demonstrated that clearly in "500 Days of Summer." The interaction between Stone's Gwen and Garfield's Peter demands your attention. Sometimes it brings a smile to your face, other times it's depressing. Their shared emotions run the gamut on screen.

In comic book movies these days, some editions are designed to give full introductions to allow for the expansion of crucial characterizations and storylines for upcoming sequels. I understand that. But it takes true talent to NOT make a film feel/look so hurried of saddled with subplots. This isn't Raimi "Spider-man 3" bad. Far from it. Webb and his team have learned from any mistakes Raimi and his team made from the previous movies and are doing their best to improve upon them. Still, "The Amazing Spider-man 2" falls short of amazing.