This is one of the most expected blockbusters of this first part of 2014. Ten years ago came out the second film of Spider-Man directed by Sam Raimi and now the reboot by Mark Webb is finally released.
Spidey is in town! Since he is the Marvel hero I like the most, I had to make a review on the human spider.
Although Tobey Maguire was the only one Spider-man for me, the superhero costume suits Andrew Garfield very well. Younger, funnier and more boisterous, he remains endearing and closer to the people he saves. But Spider-Man is above all Peter Parker, a human being with his troubles and complicated romance even as a superhero. The comedy is great and well used. It is also the time when Peter questions himself and has a dilemma about his choices and his promises. It is still looking for the truth about his parents too. The truth that will find out.
This second part faces two villains brilliantly performed by Jamie Foxx (Max Dillon/Electro) and Dane DeHaan (Harry Osborn/The Green Goblin). Like most of the villains in Spider-man, these characters are the result of a chemical accident. The first one is invisible to everyone and the other one is about to die. But they both have the same thing in common with Peter which is being involuntarily dismissed or abandoned by their parents or by society.
Let’s talk about the female characters with this simple question: Who do we prefer? Mary Jane Watson in Sam Raimi’s trilogy or Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) in Mark Webb’s one? After watching the first trilogy one more time, I had to say that the damsel in distress side of Mary Jane, constantly in the villain’s hands and always screaming started to really become unbearable. Whereas Gwen Stacy remains a damsel in distress too but she has the brainpower to be able to act by herself thanks to her knowledge learning during her school years. But there is obviously a cost to be a damsel in distress with a brain… The choice is quickly made for me – Gwen Stacy by Mark Webb remains much more interesting than Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy by Sam Raimi.
I need to say that I had some reluctance about the special effects when I saw the trailer. I was afraid that it might be too much “digital” and not fun to watch. Actually, these are special effects that I really appreciated. I cannot deny the fact that they were a lot (because of Electro) but it did not make the movie hard to follow: on the contrary! It paradoxically made it more real on screen and also in a perfect harmony between action and the soundtrack (composed by Hans Zimmer). And for once, the 3D does not ruin anything.
I advise you to stay until the end, even if the lights come on. Firstly, to watch the credits and listen to an extract from the Original Soundtrack composed by Pharrell Williams, sung by Alicia Keys but also because the end is actually… “mystique”!
Actors Performance
Directing
Screenplay
Soundtrack
Final Note
Is it #DudeChick certified ?
According to some aficionados of the spider-man comics, Mark Webb’s reboot is supposed to be more faithful to the comics than the Sam Raimi trilogy. Go and check for yourself if it is true.
#Dudechick, what’s that ?
