Films for Thoughts on Thursday: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

This is a weekly meme that I am hosting here at Reviews from a Bookworm. All you have to do is share a movie review once a week and link back to here.



This weeks movie review will be for: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

I really enjoyed The Amazing Spider-Man, I thought it was a great reboot of the Spider-Man franchise. I had quite enjoyed the first Spider-Man movie, back when it was Tobey Maguire; but I thought films 2 and 3 weren't all that great. I was really happy with the casting for the new reboot. I thought Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone were both perfect for their roles, and I adore Emma Stone anyway so I'm happy to see anything she is in. I enjoyed the first movie, it had a great balance of fun, laughs, action and serious bit. So, I was very excited to see what they did with the sequel.

The first poster that I saw for it, which is the one I used above, is a bit deceptive. It shows the Rhino, and he doesn't even really appear in the movie. He is literally in it for about five minutes; which was a good thing as three baddies would have been way too much to handle. But we do get to see a fair bit of Electro and the great development of Harry Osborne into Green Goblin.

If you want my honest, honest, honest opinion; I was really disappointed in the movie. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't all that great either. I still really recommend you go see it if you loved the first film, it is still worth a watch and I don't think this is a series to give up on yet. I just want to explain my problems with it and then the things that I really loved. 

Electro was a problem for me, a pretty big one actually. He just wasn't that great a villain, and I think villains are very important when it comes to these types of films. You need a brilliant villain to go up against the superhero, it's what makes it interesting. But Electro wasn't that. His character was just a little too pathetic and unbelievable before he gains his powers. People in the cinema actually laughed at him. It would have worked better if they hadn't pushed it so hard, if they could have shown how alone and unnoticed he was, without making him seem so unbelievably pathetic. But they portray him as a really over the top, crazy loner guy who has conversations with Spider-Man when he is by himself. I just felt like as a villain he lacked character. The best villains I can think of, off the top of my head, would be Loki and the Joker. They have such big personalities, and they have great comedic timing and are so bad that you have to love them. That is needed in a baddie, I found Electro lacking as a villain.

Harry Osborn, I kinda love him. I hope he will be sticking around for a lot of these films because he definitely makes up for all the personality that Electro is missing. He was fantastic, I loved how he was introduced and how we got to see him change over time. He was hilariously funny, brooding, emotionally broken, with serious daddy issues and I loved him. I hope we are going to be seeing a lot more of his character. 

We finally get to find out more about Peter's parents and why they left him at his Aunt May's all those years ago. I was very excited to find out more about that, because it had been bugging me for the longest time. That plot point gave us some really great flashback scenes, a lot of action and I really enjoyed them. As someone who hasn't read the comics, it also provided me with some great surprises.

If I was judging this on Peter and Gwen alone, then it would probably be a much higher rating. I think they are both great characters, and I really love Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. I kind of wish they had cast her as Mary Jane though, because we all know what needs to happen to Gwen eventually. I think Stone and Garfield work so well together, they have great comedic moments. Their real life romance works well when it comes to their on screen chemistry. I didn't have a problem with either portrayals or characters in this, I really enjoyed them and want to see so much more of them together.

Visually this was stunning too. It had a lot of action sequences and I loved how good it all looked. The special effects were really brilliant and there were quite a few scenes that stick out in my mind. There's a scene where Peter is crossing the road, which is really well done, as he is on his way to meet Gwen. Another scene happens right near the end of the movie, I can't say more without spoiling something, but it just looks so visually stunning. I hope when you see the movie you will understand which scene, it had amazing special effects too.

3.5/5 Butterflies

Overall, I was disappointed. The first film was definitely more enjoyable. I still adore Stone and Garfield's portrayals of Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy. I would watch a movie that was just about those two characters, no baddies necessary. I just found Electro to be lacking a lot and he wasn't a convincing villain for me. The movie destroyed me a little, but I won't be giving up on the series. 

I have been meaning to take part in both of the following memes for a while now, so it's nice to finally be able to get them done. I will be taking part in Reading is Fun Again's Thoughtful Thursday Feature & Okay, Let's Read's Thursday Thoughts feature. 

Reading is Fun Again's topic was: What is one of the best changes in the literary/book world that you have noticed, since you started reading? What makes that change so great to you?

If I am honest, I have been noticing a lot more changes that are not great to me. A lot of things that I don't like and wish they weren't becoming so commonplace in fiction. So I will flip it around and talk about those instead. 

I think the thing that has been bugging me for most of the week is my anger at books that portray abusive relationships as desirable and romantic. I covered this in my discussion post: Why do readers and books glorify abusive relationships? and don't have much else to add to it.

I just really want to see less books showing these kinds of relationships as okay. I want to see less women proclaiming how they love these characters and want to find their very own Travis Maddox or similar character. I want more romances that are based on mutual love and respect for one another. Abuse is never okay, it doesn't matter if the guy is really hot. And just because he doesn't hit the woman, that doesn't mean what he is doing isn't abuse. 

I want to see less weak female characters, who just seem to allow these kinds of men to control their lives. This guy actually demands she change her clothes, and she does it. He drags her from a car because she is dating someone he doesn't like, and she goes with him. He is a vile excuse for a man, and yet she marries him. And readers find that appealing, why?

I also want to see romance play a smaller role in books. It used to be a plot point, not the point of the plot. You get a lot of books nowadays and remove the romance and you aren't left with much of a story. I want to see more books where the romance is just an afterthought, it's there but it's not the most important thing. I'm fed up of seeing all these female characters get completely consumed by romance, boys and love. Go kick some ass like Katniss and worry about choosing a guy later.

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Discussion: Why Do Books & Readers Glorify Abusive Relationships?

Exile by Kevin Emerson: 2.5/5 Review

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