The Amazing(?) Spider-Man 2
For my very first review on this blog, I want to discuss a movie that I just can't seem to get out of my head. Now
there are plenty of reviews out there about The Amazing Spider-Man 2,
but being a huge fan of Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and
Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer is my favorite rom com, if you can even
call it a rom com), I felt I needed to chime in to this debate. Especially after reading about 4 Yahoo Movies articles about how crappy this film was or how the original Spider-Man 2 was better, I needed to form a rebuttal. Before I
start, I just want to lay down a few ground rules and set some things
straight.
First, I have never read The Amazing Spider-Man comic book series. Aside from some Wikipedia surfing about the comics, my Spider-Man background is purely from the movies and occasional Internet articles. Second, what I am about to write are opinions ONLY. I respect that some of you may disagree with me, and that's totally cool. But that also means that you have to respect my differing opinion as well. It goes both ways here. Then of course there's the science aspect. I have no idea how accurate any of this is, but since we're here watching a movie about a man who has been genetically altered by a bite from a radioactive spider, let's just suspend our disbelief, shall we? Lastly, the remainder of this post has some major spoilers. If you have not seen the movie, read the comics, or read any online reviews and wish to preserve your innocence, stop reading now. For the rest of you, please proceed with caution.
***SPOILER ALERT***
I'm going to break down this review into three parts: what worked, what could have been improved, and my opinion of that one really big plot point we all kind of knew was coming.
What Worked
The Cast:
I have to say this was one celebrity packed cast. Andrew Garfield. Emma Stone. Sally Fields. Jamie Foxx. Chris Cooper. Yeah, crazy. But despite the fact that they are all huge stars on their own, they worked so well together. I want to send out nods specifically to Sally Fields and Jamie Foxx.
I mean, who doesn't love Sally Fields? I have loved her since the first time I saw Forrest Gump and have not stopped loving her since. She makes an extraordinary Aunt May, and that scene when she tells Peter he's her boy... Man, it was hard to keep it together. She and Garfield make a very believable family connection. Their dual secrecy, his being Spider-Man and hers being that she's taking night classes for nursing to help pay the rent, really struck a chord with me. They have great banter, but they are also a great example of the things we do to protect those we love. Prime examples also include Peter's parents Richard and Mary, and even to some extent Gwen and her late father Captain Stacy.
As
for Jamie Foxx... Wow. Just. Wow. I mean, I knew he was good. I could
tell when he expertly handled his third wheeling interview situations
with our two leads, but was he not just a heartbreaking Max Dillon? I
see the Spider-Man franchise is continuing with their use of sympathetic
villains. Following a very remorseful Dr. Curtis Connors, the sequel
brings in brilliant but ignored (evenly mildly tormented by BJ Novak)
Oscorp electrical engineer Max Dillon. All he wants in life is to be
seen, to be needed, to feel special. His borderline obsession with
Spidey hints at something very wrong beneath the surface, but until he
becomes Electro, he seems to be a rather harmless Spidey super-fan. Too
bad his pent up rage at being ignored for so long is brought about by a
series of rather unfortunate circumstances, including a crowd in Times
Square chanting for his defeat and a bullet that should never have been
fired. It's interesting to consider what Electro's path might have been
if Peter had the opportunity to reform him. Heck, maybe he could've used
his super awesome electricity powers for good. But either way, Jamie
Foxx does a fantastic transformation into Electro/Max Dillon. Also, if
you haven't seen his interview about his song for the character, you should.
And of course Stan Lee's cameo was great, as always. Though I think I liked his cameo in the first one a wee touch better though.
The Characters:
So I touched on this a little in my previous section, but I have to say, Spider-Man is a movie of characters. Not plot. Characters. For some reason, this franchise has come up with characters I can't help caring about. It might be that I relate a lot to Gwen Stacy (I'm a bit of a science nerd myself, and I absolutely love her outfits!), or that Peter Parker is a hero with as dark a background as Batman but as light a sense of humor and snark as Iron Man. Now that's a killer combo. Plus, every single villain so far has real reason to be a villain. Another argument for the fact that evil is made, not born - just like good. And Spider-Man is perhaps one of the most conflicted superheros I have seen (unlike Thor or Superman who are just a tad too perfect). He makes mistakes. He's real. Human. Despite having spider abilities. We like him because we can relate to him.
The Chemistry:
Obviously
this was going to come up somewhere, but it's evident that Andrew
Garfield and Emma Stone have undeniable chemistry. And did I mention they are fantastic actors? Even Yahoo Movies admits that Stone and Garfield are better than their Sam Raimi counterparts, but I guess that is inconsequential in the face of all the other things Marc Webb did wrong, is it Yahoo Movies? Clearly they shouldn't have done a point for point system... some things are weighted more than others. Sorry, minor rant. Let's get back to Peter and Gwen. Their puppy dog
awkward high school love has blossomed in this film and even run into
some very adult problems. I'm glad they decided to focus so heavily on
Gwen and Peter's relationship. It is, obviously, one of the most
important in Peter's life and Gwen, second to perhaps only Uncle Ben
(and maybe Peter's parents), probably has one of the most influential
roles in Peter's life. She was, after all, the love of his life (notice
how I said was...), and that's a pretty big deal. It probably
helps that the two actors have an off-screen romance as well, but gosh I
just love Garfield and Stone together. They are beyond adorbs. Just perfect. Complete and total perfection. They complement each other. They help each other.
They make each other better. Just like Peter and Gwen (if it wasn't for
her his web shooters would've been fried for sure! Win for physics and
electromagnetism). I sure hope their real life ending is a happy one
because this is one celebrity couple I am most definitely invested in.
The Special Effects:
Someone has to talk about it. I mean it was just wicked. Times Square was really cool. I wonder how hard it was to shoot that scene on location.... I have to say those special effects made Electro's character look fucking awesome. Come on, the guy could disappear into electrons or whatever and reappear! That's just amazing. I also really liked the time slowing down thing they did to let us get into Spidey's mind while he's using his Spidey senses. You can really see him calculating out his moves. That was cool. Made me have a Sherlock flashback to when our dear Mr. Holmes gave us some insight into his thought process. I think Peter's was a little less complicated...
The Music:
Many of you may disagree with me on this one, but I liked it, especially the trumpeting of Spidey's theme. It wasn't too distracting from the film, but epic enough to bring emotion when needed. And I really liked how they did that scene with Peter, starting to listen to a song in his headphones and eventually having it become part of the soundtrack. Breaking the fourth wall... sort of.
The Story:
They did some pretty good things with the story here, decent continuity I would say. I'm glad they addressed Peter's guilt over breaking his promise to Captain Stacy. It would have been so unlike Spidey to just brush aside the dying wish of a man who just helped him defeat a giant lizard. I'm also glad they cut out Mary Jane's scenes. For one, Shailene Woodley is just a big no-no for the role. I can't see it. Well actually I have seen it thanks to those pictures online, but it makes me throw up in my mouth a little. She's just a bit too bland for the part. I think MJ, like Gwen, needs to be played by someone with a little spunk. You think they can bring Emma Stone back to play Mary Jane too?
I
also like the way we got to see Richard and Mary's story resolved.
Though again, I think they could do more with it, and I'm hoping to see
perhaps a few more flashback scenes in Spider-Man 3 or perhaps
recordings like the one Peter found at Roosevelt station of his parents.
The Setting:
It was just so NYC. Having lived there for 3 months over the summer and even witnessing them film a few scenes on location, I really liked how the city featured in the film. There is no New York without Spider-Man and there is no Spider-Man without New York. There's no way they would have let him move to England...
What Could Have Been Improved
Wow this is turning out to be much longer than I thought, so please just bare with me. I hope the visuals have helped to break it up a little...
The Music:
So I know I said this worked, but I think it could have also been a little better. The first soundtrack stuck much more in my head, so much so that I downloaded a few songs. This one requires a re-listen, something that I just happen to be doing right now.
Harry Osborn:
Don't get me wrong, I like Dane DeHaan as Harry. A lot. I thought he is much better than James Franco. But I just wished there was more time for him. I mean, that scene with Harry and Peter reconnecting is just beyond cute. Talk about a bromance. I wanted more of that before Peter's childhood friend demanded stuff from him, turned on him, and then... did the unthinkable. Furthermore, from what I read about the comics, Harry also spends some time dating Gwen and Mary Jane. Having already been introduced in Goblin form, I guess any romance, or normal life for that matter, is off the table for Harry Osborn. Such a pity too, I would have liked to see DeHaan's portrayal of normal Harry. Don't get me wrong, he does a great disturbed young fellow (see his performance in Chronicle), but I have a feeling he's got some acting chops and can also do popular yet tortured billionaire playboy quite well.
Norman Osborn:
Also would have loved to see them do more with Norman, especially when he's played by an actor like Chris Cooper. It's such a pity that he just, well, dies. Maybe they'll bring him back. You've all heard about that deleted post-credits scene, right?
The Post-Credits Scene:
Speaking of the post-credits scene... Don't get me wrong, I'm just as excited for X-Men 2: Days of Future Past as you are, but that was just a little...weird. Rumor is, Marc Webb owed some directing time to 20th Century Fox, but they let him direct Spider-Man 2 instead on the condition that he add a little teaser into the end of Spidey's saga. Unrelated, but did anyone else notice that in the Avenger's battle of New York, Peter Parker was no where to be seen? I guess this is just a disadvantage to the whole copyright of comic book characters. The movie-verse is pretty complicated with all these companies getting in the way, but I must admit I do love what Sony has done with Spidey so far. Just don't let me down!
The Story:
Again this was something I enjoyed but also could have been improved. As I mentioned in Harry's section, a lot more could have been done with the Osborns. Also, did anyone else catch that Felicia Hardy seems to be Harry's assistant? Does this mean we'll see more of the Black Cat in later films? This little cameo was very reminiscent of Sharon Carter's role in Captain America. They never really mentioned her last name nor her potential importance to the series, but they introduced her, so I guess that's a first step?
Another small nitpicky story thing was how they explained Gwen's death to her family and the rest of the world. Don't get me wrong, that scene (see section below) was by far my favorite in the entire movie, and if you think it's a mistake to go see The Amazing Spider-Man 2, please go see it just for this scene. It's incredible. But I couldn't get over what her family thought. Like, oh, Gwen just happened to be out and about helping Spider-Man. It didn't given anyone a slight suspicion that her beau might be the vigilante? No one suspected Peter at all? Seemed a little weird. Plus, since they had a time lapse of many months, I doubt they will go back and show just how Gwen's demise was explained to her family without implicating Peter as Spidey. Minor plot-hole there...
Luckily, despite having so many characters and not enough time to tell the whole story, even if the movie was 2 hours and 21 minutes long, this did not turn into a remake of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3. Thank God. If I had to see Andrew Garfield going all emo on us and pelvic thrusting, I might have just died in that theater. I swear I could not take Tobey Maguire seriously until he redeemed himself in The Great Gatsby.
That One Really Big Plot Point We All Knew Was Coming
My First Suspicion:
Like many of you, I did some reading before going to see the movie. I knew that Gwen Stacy would meet her end at the hands of the Green Goblin and Spidey himself eventually. I highly suspected it would happen at the end of this film, and when the hype came out about the outfit with images of Gwen dangling from a bell tower, it reaffirmed my suspicions.
Gwen's Speech and Peter's Concern:
I'm not really sure how much foreshadowing actually took place in the movie but two things I noted that seemed to point to Gwen's death were her graduation speech and Peter's continual concern over her safety. If you listen to her graduation speech, she talks about how life is beautiful because it ends and that it's short. So we should really take the time to live our own life. Also, Peter continually reiterates his concern about Gwen getting caught in the middle of his Spidey battles. Early into the movie, Gwen even breaks up with him, citing that his conflict between wanting to be with her and wanting to keep her safe is a recurring thing. At some point it turns mildly stalkerish as he watches her from atop a building. But because it's Andrew Garfield, it's actually kind of cute.
The Actual Scene:
I must say, I loved this scene. It was one of the saddest things I have witnessed in film history, but it was done so well. First, Gwen hitting Electro with the police car was AWESOME. This just adds to the list of why Gwen Stacy is amazing and way better than Mary Jane. Second, we get a brief moment of success after the Peter/Gwen power couple defeats Electro. You think that there might just be a chance that the two will make it to England... until we hear the Goblin's cackle.
Gwen falls multiple times in this scene and each time Peter is able to catch her and place her somewhere safe. There are a few moments when you think she might actually come out ok. Up until the very end, I still held on to the hope that maybe, just maybe, Gwen would survive the night. And as she dangles precariously by a single spider thread, the gears moving closer together, Peter struggling to keep them from severing the tie that's holding Gwen to this life, I know it's coming. The gears turn, the thread cuts, Gwen falls, slowly into oblivion.
Time
slows down, Peter calculates, he shoots the web... that web... the
hope... And just as it catches her, her head smacks the ground. Audibly.
And the audience gasps. Audibly. It was perhaps one of the most united
moments I will ever feel in a movie theater. You could hear the silence.
The horror. The sorrow. When the camera pans up to Peter jumping down
to check on Gwen, we know already that she's dead. Gwen Stacy is gone.
Just like that. And as I watched Peter cry over her body, asking her to
stay with him, I kept hoping that maybe, just maybe, she'll open her
eyes. Maybe she'll wake up. Even for just a second. Even just to say
goodbye. But she doesn't. She lies still and dead. In his arms. The
funeral comes and reality hits even harder. It's so sad, I can't even
cry.
The Repercussions:
For the 4 days after I saw this movie, I kept replaying this scene over and over again in my head. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Just when these two had finally reconciled. When they had decided to start their life together. It was all taken away. It seems so unfair. For Peter, he has already lost so many people in his life. His parents. His uncle. And now Gwen, the love of his life. Talk about tragic. For Gwen, she was in the prime of her youth. 19 years old, about to start her college career at Oxford. She was so brilliant. So young. So much potential. All lost. And while a part of me wishes that they could bring Gwen back as they have brought back so many others, a larger part of me doesn't want that. Her death is so instrumental, so monumental in Spider-Man's career. I mean, after her funeral, we see Peter by her grave in all four seasons (Like Bella in Twilight when Edward leaves her. But Gwen DIED. I mean she's dead. She didn't just leave. It's not even close).
He
hangs up his Spidey suit. He's not himself. But he gets brought back,
by none other than Gwen Stacy herself in video form giving her
graduation speech. It's about hope. Having hope even in the darkest of
times. And eventually, becoming hope for those who need it most. Peter
even said it to Harry earlier in the film. He likes to think that
Spider-Man inspires hope. And indeed he does. To bring Gwen back to life
would be to undo the significance of her death. It would take away from
the impact that it made. It would demean everything she stood for
because Gwen Stacy lived a life of her own choices. She chose to be with
Peter, knowing the dangers. She chose to help him, and if she hadn't
Electro might have won. She helped save an entire city and sacrificed
her life doing it, like her father. But as she said in her speech, we
only have a limited amount of time on this Earth, so we should be out
there doing the things we want to do. We should be living our life, not
the one that someone else wants us to live. And in a way, I like to
think that if Gwen could do it all over again, she wouldn't change a
thing. If she had to go, this is the way she would have wanted to go. So
no Sony, Marc Webb, and co. Whatever you do, DO NOT bring Gwen Stacy
back to life. No matter how much I love her. It would be an insult to
her memory. You did the right thing.
To
some extent I think I wrote this review to mourn for Gwen as well.
She's just such an amazing character, and I hope she will be remembered
forever in comic book, film, and Emma Stone movie history. RIP Gwen
Stacy. You will be missed.
I would like to end on a lighter note, so let's talk about that little bookend with the Rhino AKA Aleksei Sytsevitch. Loved that. Not sure if they meant to do this or not, but it's a great way to contrast Peter pre-Gwen's death and post-Gwen's death as he fights the same person under different circumstances. It also shows how the world has changed since Gwen's death with the formation of the Sinister Six, and how New York has suffered from Spidey's disappearance. What a nice little set-up to go into The Amazing Spider-Man 3. It's a good thing I have so many superhero movies to tide me over while I wait. Plus the little kid in the Spidey suit is just plain awesome.
First, I have never read The Amazing Spider-Man comic book series. Aside from some Wikipedia surfing about the comics, my Spider-Man background is purely from the movies and occasional Internet articles. Second, what I am about to write are opinions ONLY. I respect that some of you may disagree with me, and that's totally cool. But that also means that you have to respect my differing opinion as well. It goes both ways here. Then of course there's the science aspect. I have no idea how accurate any of this is, but since we're here watching a movie about a man who has been genetically altered by a bite from a radioactive spider, let's just suspend our disbelief, shall we? Lastly, the remainder of this post has some major spoilers. If you have not seen the movie, read the comics, or read any online reviews and wish to preserve your innocence, stop reading now. For the rest of you, please proceed with caution.
***SPOILER ALERT***
I'm going to break down this review into three parts: what worked, what could have been improved, and my opinion of that one really big plot point we all kind of knew was coming.
What Worked
The Cast:
I have to say this was one celebrity packed cast. Andrew Garfield. Emma Stone. Sally Fields. Jamie Foxx. Chris Cooper. Yeah, crazy. But despite the fact that they are all huge stars on their own, they worked so well together. I want to send out nods specifically to Sally Fields and Jamie Foxx.
I mean, who doesn't love Sally Fields? I have loved her since the first time I saw Forrest Gump and have not stopped loving her since. She makes an extraordinary Aunt May, and that scene when she tells Peter he's her boy... Man, it was hard to keep it together. She and Garfield make a very believable family connection. Their dual secrecy, his being Spider-Man and hers being that she's taking night classes for nursing to help pay the rent, really struck a chord with me. They have great banter, but they are also a great example of the things we do to protect those we love. Prime examples also include Peter's parents Richard and Mary, and even to some extent Gwen and her late father Captain Stacy.
And of course Stan Lee's cameo was great, as always. Though I think I liked his cameo in the first one a wee touch better though.
The Characters:
So I touched on this a little in my previous section, but I have to say, Spider-Man is a movie of characters. Not plot. Characters. For some reason, this franchise has come up with characters I can't help caring about. It might be that I relate a lot to Gwen Stacy (I'm a bit of a science nerd myself, and I absolutely love her outfits!), or that Peter Parker is a hero with as dark a background as Batman but as light a sense of humor and snark as Iron Man. Now that's a killer combo. Plus, every single villain so far has real reason to be a villain. Another argument for the fact that evil is made, not born - just like good. And Spider-Man is perhaps one of the most conflicted superheros I have seen (unlike Thor or Superman who are just a tad too perfect). He makes mistakes. He's real. Human. Despite having spider abilities. We like him because we can relate to him.
The Chemistry:
The Special Effects:
Someone has to talk about it. I mean it was just wicked. Times Square was really cool. I wonder how hard it was to shoot that scene on location.... I have to say those special effects made Electro's character look fucking awesome. Come on, the guy could disappear into electrons or whatever and reappear! That's just amazing. I also really liked the time slowing down thing they did to let us get into Spidey's mind while he's using his Spidey senses. You can really see him calculating out his moves. That was cool. Made me have a Sherlock flashback to when our dear Mr. Holmes gave us some insight into his thought process. I think Peter's was a little less complicated...
The Music:
Many of you may disagree with me on this one, but I liked it, especially the trumpeting of Spidey's theme. It wasn't too distracting from the film, but epic enough to bring emotion when needed. And I really liked how they did that scene with Peter, starting to listen to a song in his headphones and eventually having it become part of the soundtrack. Breaking the fourth wall... sort of.
The Story:
They did some pretty good things with the story here, decent continuity I would say. I'm glad they addressed Peter's guilt over breaking his promise to Captain Stacy. It would have been so unlike Spidey to just brush aside the dying wish of a man who just helped him defeat a giant lizard. I'm also glad they cut out Mary Jane's scenes. For one, Shailene Woodley is just a big no-no for the role. I can't see it. Well actually I have seen it thanks to those pictures online, but it makes me throw up in my mouth a little. She's just a bit too bland for the part. I think MJ, like Gwen, needs to be played by someone with a little spunk. You think they can bring Emma Stone back to play Mary Jane too?
The Setting:
It was just so NYC. Having lived there for 3 months over the summer and even witnessing them film a few scenes on location, I really liked how the city featured in the film. There is no New York without Spider-Man and there is no Spider-Man without New York. There's no way they would have let him move to England...
What Could Have Been Improved
Wow this is turning out to be much longer than I thought, so please just bare with me. I hope the visuals have helped to break it up a little...
The Music:
So I know I said this worked, but I think it could have also been a little better. The first soundtrack stuck much more in my head, so much so that I downloaded a few songs. This one requires a re-listen, something that I just happen to be doing right now.
Harry Osborn:
Don't get me wrong, I like Dane DeHaan as Harry. A lot. I thought he is much better than James Franco. But I just wished there was more time for him. I mean, that scene with Harry and Peter reconnecting is just beyond cute. Talk about a bromance. I wanted more of that before Peter's childhood friend demanded stuff from him, turned on him, and then... did the unthinkable. Furthermore, from what I read about the comics, Harry also spends some time dating Gwen and Mary Jane. Having already been introduced in Goblin form, I guess any romance, or normal life for that matter, is off the table for Harry Osborn. Such a pity too, I would have liked to see DeHaan's portrayal of normal Harry. Don't get me wrong, he does a great disturbed young fellow (see his performance in Chronicle), but I have a feeling he's got some acting chops and can also do popular yet tortured billionaire playboy quite well.
Norman Osborn:
Also would have loved to see them do more with Norman, especially when he's played by an actor like Chris Cooper. It's such a pity that he just, well, dies. Maybe they'll bring him back. You've all heard about that deleted post-credits scene, right?
The Post-Credits Scene:
Speaking of the post-credits scene... Don't get me wrong, I'm just as excited for X-Men 2: Days of Future Past as you are, but that was just a little...weird. Rumor is, Marc Webb owed some directing time to 20th Century Fox, but they let him direct Spider-Man 2 instead on the condition that he add a little teaser into the end of Spidey's saga. Unrelated, but did anyone else notice that in the Avenger's battle of New York, Peter Parker was no where to be seen? I guess this is just a disadvantage to the whole copyright of comic book characters. The movie-verse is pretty complicated with all these companies getting in the way, but I must admit I do love what Sony has done with Spidey so far. Just don't let me down!
The Story:
Again this was something I enjoyed but also could have been improved. As I mentioned in Harry's section, a lot more could have been done with the Osborns. Also, did anyone else catch that Felicia Hardy seems to be Harry's assistant? Does this mean we'll see more of the Black Cat in later films? This little cameo was very reminiscent of Sharon Carter's role in Captain America. They never really mentioned her last name nor her potential importance to the series, but they introduced her, so I guess that's a first step?
Another small nitpicky story thing was how they explained Gwen's death to her family and the rest of the world. Don't get me wrong, that scene (see section below) was by far my favorite in the entire movie, and if you think it's a mistake to go see The Amazing Spider-Man 2, please go see it just for this scene. It's incredible. But I couldn't get over what her family thought. Like, oh, Gwen just happened to be out and about helping Spider-Man. It didn't given anyone a slight suspicion that her beau might be the vigilante? No one suspected Peter at all? Seemed a little weird. Plus, since they had a time lapse of many months, I doubt they will go back and show just how Gwen's demise was explained to her family without implicating Peter as Spidey. Minor plot-hole there...
Luckily, despite having so many characters and not enough time to tell the whole story, even if the movie was 2 hours and 21 minutes long, this did not turn into a remake of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3. Thank God. If I had to see Andrew Garfield going all emo on us and pelvic thrusting, I might have just died in that theater. I swear I could not take Tobey Maguire seriously until he redeemed himself in The Great Gatsby.
That One Really Big Plot Point We All Knew Was Coming
My First Suspicion:
Like many of you, I did some reading before going to see the movie. I knew that Gwen Stacy would meet her end at the hands of the Green Goblin and Spidey himself eventually. I highly suspected it would happen at the end of this film, and when the hype came out about the outfit with images of Gwen dangling from a bell tower, it reaffirmed my suspicions.
Gwen's Speech and Peter's Concern:
I'm not really sure how much foreshadowing actually took place in the movie but two things I noted that seemed to point to Gwen's death were her graduation speech and Peter's continual concern over her safety. If you listen to her graduation speech, she talks about how life is beautiful because it ends and that it's short. So we should really take the time to live our own life. Also, Peter continually reiterates his concern about Gwen getting caught in the middle of his Spidey battles. Early into the movie, Gwen even breaks up with him, citing that his conflict between wanting to be with her and wanting to keep her safe is a recurring thing. At some point it turns mildly stalkerish as he watches her from atop a building. But because it's Andrew Garfield, it's actually kind of cute.
The Actual Scene:
I must say, I loved this scene. It was one of the saddest things I have witnessed in film history, but it was done so well. First, Gwen hitting Electro with the police car was AWESOME. This just adds to the list of why Gwen Stacy is amazing and way better than Mary Jane. Second, we get a brief moment of success after the Peter/Gwen power couple defeats Electro. You think that there might just be a chance that the two will make it to England... until we hear the Goblin's cackle.
Gwen falls multiple times in this scene and each time Peter is able to catch her and place her somewhere safe. There are a few moments when you think she might actually come out ok. Up until the very end, I still held on to the hope that maybe, just maybe, Gwen would survive the night. And as she dangles precariously by a single spider thread, the gears moving closer together, Peter struggling to keep them from severing the tie that's holding Gwen to this life, I know it's coming. The gears turn, the thread cuts, Gwen falls, slowly into oblivion.
The Repercussions:
For the 4 days after I saw this movie, I kept replaying this scene over and over again in my head. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Just when these two had finally reconciled. When they had decided to start their life together. It was all taken away. It seems so unfair. For Peter, he has already lost so many people in his life. His parents. His uncle. And now Gwen, the love of his life. Talk about tragic. For Gwen, she was in the prime of her youth. 19 years old, about to start her college career at Oxford. She was so brilliant. So young. So much potential. All lost. And while a part of me wishes that they could bring Gwen back as they have brought back so many others, a larger part of me doesn't want that. Her death is so instrumental, so monumental in Spider-Man's career. I mean, after her funeral, we see Peter by her grave in all four seasons (Like Bella in Twilight when Edward leaves her. But Gwen DIED. I mean she's dead. She didn't just leave. It's not even close).
I would like to end on a lighter note, so let's talk about that little bookend with the Rhino AKA Aleksei Sytsevitch. Loved that. Not sure if they meant to do this or not, but it's a great way to contrast Peter pre-Gwen's death and post-Gwen's death as he fights the same person under different circumstances. It also shows how the world has changed since Gwen's death with the formation of the Sinister Six, and how New York has suffered from Spidey's disappearance. What a nice little set-up to go into The Amazing Spider-Man 3. It's a good thing I have so many superhero movies to tide me over while I wait. Plus the little kid in the Spidey suit is just plain awesome.
Comments
Post a Comment