The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Although it’s perfectly fine as a vehicle for the human story in the world of Peter Parker, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is something of a late ’70s station wagon when it comes to the action scenes. The only moments that consistently move the needle here are Peter (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) figuring out their relationship in a post-Spidey world. The comic book villainy—including Jamie Foxx as the shocking Electro—is lukewarm all the way around. That doesn’t help matters when the fan base has already seen enough of Spider-Man when Tobey Maguire was still under the mask, so this franchise could be on the ropes. The love story, although presented well, may not be enough to win people over. It lacks the fun of the Iron Man series and the heaviness of Batman, so the spider is caught in a web of mediocrity.