The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

4.5 of 10

Personal Bias Alert:  Haven’t read the comics, haven’t seen “The Amazing Spider-Man,” likes the cast

            “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” feels like a film battling between what it wants to be and what it’s expected to be.  Modern superhero movies have become dark, character driven affairs with interspersed explosions.  Even the relatively lighthearted Avengers universe is rough around the edges, making their characters prickly and troubled.  Gone are the days when a superhero traded quips with a villain, vanquished him, and went home happily ever after.  The problem is that’s exactly what “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” wants to be, but it exists in a world where audiences would be disappointed by such a simplistic story.

            This lighter tone is especially prevalent in the filmmaker’s interpretation of the Spider-Man/Peter Parker character.  He’s a laidback, friendly hero, which is refreshing in this era.  Other modern superheroes are cool loner types that audiences admire from afar, but this Spider-Man is someone you could fist bump, trade jokes with, and, if he was older, have a beer with.  Andrew Garfield is the perfect choice for this version of Spider-Man.  He’s good at being breezily affable, and it’s hard not to like him.  The other characters are old-school superhero stock:  either sweet, good people or crazy bad guys.  Dane DeHaan’s Harry Osborn is the only one with any sort of arc, but even he’s pretty messed up from the beginning.

            The main baddie is a goofy, derivative character named Max/Electro played by Jamie Foxx.  As Max, he was a lonely, underappreciated Oscorp employee with a crazy obsession with Spider-Man.  As Electro, he’s a glowing blue humanoid with power over electricity.  After an accident turns him into Electro, he stumbles around in a black hoodie trying to figure out what has happened to him, occasionally send out bolts of electricity from his hands.  This I referred to as his “Blue Emperor” faze, because he greatly resembles the Emperor from “Star Wars.”  His obsession with Spider-Man survived the accident, and when he first encounters Spider-Man as Electro, the needy fellow thinks they will be close friends.  Unfortunately, the encounter goes south, and Electro’s love turns to vengeful hate.  His power and control increases, and from then on he becomes a needy version of Dr. Manhattan from “Watchmen.”  All of this would have been fine if there was something about him that was menacing, but ultimately he just felt like a whiny annoyance there to distract Spider-Man from his other more pressing issues.

            These other issues are where the movie falters, overcomplicating the plot and trying to mix in some broody elements that never fit with the rest of the film.  Peter, you see, is having relationship troubles with girlfriend Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and best friend Harry Osborn.  He’s also still confused about why his parents abandoned him with his aunt and uncle.  These subplots seem to be there to add in those dark tones audiences have come to expect, but they play out at such different speeds that the tone of the film changes back and forth from scene to scene.  One minute Spidey is bantering with a bad guy, and then two minutes later he’s having a heart-to-heart with his dying best friend.  The shifts started giving me tonal whiplash, and it undercuts what I think the film’s main goal is:  to be a fun Spider-Man movie.

            Considering I’ve spent most of this review complaining about tone, it should come as no surprise that the writing gets pretty shaky.  Writers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Jeff Pinkner, all alums of J. J. Abram’s various television series, get the story across clearly, but sacrifice quality in order to do so.  Some of the plot points are simply absurd (Harry supposedly never looked up his father’s illness?), some of the dialogue is pedestrian (“I’m really excited about England!”), and the tone issues have already been discussed ad nauseam.  These guy’s careers have been shaky, but this is among their worst work.

            “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” battles with itself throughout, and the end product is a messy, unsatisfying affair.  It’s neither a fun Spidey film nor a modern superhero epic. Hopefully, the filmmakers pick one direction over the other for the inevitable Spider-Man 3, or they will end up with another waste of good talent.

            Other Notes:

Ø  Let’s break down the absurdity of the Harry Osborn subplot even more:  When Harry’s dying father tells him of his hereditary fatal illness, he says that Harry should start showing symptoms soon.  When he does, Harry goes off the deep end and thinks he needs treatment immediately.  Harry’s father made it into his 60s, so I think Harry had some time to come up with a cure.

Ø  Harry’s assistant tells him about a secret department of Oscorp that is off the books.  Harry finds out more about this secret department by pulling up files about it.  Not so off the books, huh?

Ø  Gwen thinks she has this special knowledge about the backup power grid when all she has to do to turn it on is flip the labeled switch.

Ø  Peter refers to Harry as his best friend.  They haven’t seen each other in eight years.  Peter needs better friends.

Ø  This movie would have gotten a much lower score if not for the ending twist.  It’s effective, but probably not good for the rest of the series.

Boy A (2007)

6 of 10

Personal Bias Alert:  likes a good character study, dislikes people who kill children (duh)

            “You’re entitled to some happiness, Jack,” claims a character in “Boy A.”  That certainly isn’t asking for much.  Most people wish that for everyone but a select few, excluding only the monsters that lurk on the edges of our society.  Jack is uncertain about this right because he may in fact be one of those monsters.  It’s hard, though, once you really get to know someone, to write them off so completely.  That’s what “Boy A” tries to accomplish, to give us a full portrait of some who has committed a terrible act but still deserves a second chance.

            The film opens with Jack (Andrew Garfield) talking to his rehabilitation worker Terry (Peter Mullan) about his upcoming release.  He is brimming with energy, exuding a boyish glee even as they discuss the complications of his new life.  He is assuming a new identity as Jack, which must become second nature both for his own safety and to protect his chances at starting over.  This is where the cracks start to show.  There’s doubt in Jack that runs simultaneous to his optimism, and the whole scene is a balancing act for Garfield.  He must show someone acutely aware of the crossroads he is standing at, where his life can go in one direction and be disastrous or in another direction and be better than he could imagine.  Garfield excels at doing just that, and he maintains this emotional complexity throughout the film.  Seemingly immersed in the role, Garfield never showing a hint of artifice, and is the prime reason to see the film.

            The crime Jack committed is slowly revealed through a series of flashbacks.  We find out that when Jack was a boy, he and a friend murdered a young girl.  It’s a horrific act, seemingly incongruous with the bashful twenty-something we see for most of the movie.  The filmmakers are acutely aware that they must elicit enough compassion for Jack so that the audience will be willing to forgive him.  This leads them to lay it on thick, going out of their way to show the young Jack as a victim of circumstance and the older Jack as a reformed fellow.  This thick slathering pushes the audience so far to Jack’s side that any intellectual debate on the complicated issue of reformation is lost.  Worse yet, it undercuts Garfield’s conflicted performance.

            The focal point of the story, wherein Jack is trying to assimilate into society again, is burdened with repeated contrivances that aim to show how much Jack has changed.  He gets a job, befriends his coworkers, and even falls in love.  The screenwriters bring in Terry’s indolent son as contrast, in case you couldn’t see how well Jack was doing.  Strong characters save the day again, making the sagging middle section watchable.  His friends, played by Jeremy Swift and Shaun Evans, show the macho delicacy that can exist between young men.  They wheedle Jack for intimate information on his relationship, but also stop using a less than respectful nickname for his girlfriend.  The three are genuinely close, and the importance of their relationship becomes clear by the end.

            “Boy A” is based on the book of the same name, which I haven’t read.  Many of my problems with the plot may stem from the book, so I can’t outright blame the filmmakers for these issues.  The issue that does clearly stem from them is the bland style in which the film was made.  Director John Crowley and screenwriter Mark O’Rowe both work primarily in theater and haven’t seemed to grasp the differences between the mediums.  The script could easily be made into a play, and Crowley shot the movie in a very basic way.  Camera movements are minimal while interesting shot compositions are nonexistent.  These things don’t require a large budget (which the film didn’t have), but are indicative of the inexperience behind the camera.

            The film works as a character study, but it fails to explore the complicated issues it brings up.  Themes of reformation, second chances, and societal acceptance play large parts, and by only skimming the surface of them the film feels like a missed opportunity.

            Other Notes:

Ø  If you want something that explorers these themes more deeply, I recommend the Danish film “The Hunt.”

Ø  Andrew Garfield has only been working in film since 2007, but the variety of roles he has done is impressive.

Ø  They never say what the boys catch under the bridge, but after some research I’m pretty sure it is an eel from the family Anguillidae.  You can clearly see the pelvic fins in one shot, and the dorsal, caudal, and anal fins are connected.  Plus, it just looks like an eel.

Ø  Did anyone else immediately recognize the bully as Pyp from “Game of Thrones?”