The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Review

Two years ago when I came out of the cinema after watching The Amazing Spider-Man, I was entertained, but not amazed. I was however, very excited to see where this new take on Spider-Man would lead, especially with the likeable Andrew Garfield at the helm as the prolific superhero himself. Now after almost two years, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has arrived, and it presents itself as one of the best examples of a mixed-bag if there ever was one. 

The film takes place not too long after it's predecessor, with Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) now dating Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). This goes directly against her late Father's wishes however, which frequently haunts Peter as he struggles with emotions and morality. During an early action-sequence in the film, Spider-Man saves an obsessive fan (Jamie Foxx) from certain death, which comes back to bite him once this particular fan is brutally injured and turned into sinister villain Electro. This is only the tip of the iceberg however, as many other twists involving the insidious corporation Oscorp come into play.

Electro (Jamie Foxx)

Now, before The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released, many feared that it was going to be a very cramped movie. It seemed like Sony were throwing too many Spider-Man antagonists in solely to create a franchise, but for a large period this isn't the case. Electro remains the antagonist for a large part of the film, and a sub-plot of the relationship between Peter & Gwen also plays a large role. In fact, the film features a lot less action scenes than you may expect, but this is no bad thing, as the romantic 'side-plot' is just as engrossing and relevant as any other aspect, if not more. 

This nice balance of action and drama doesn't remain for the entirety of the movie though, and this is when I began to lose interest slightly. The film runs for around 2 and a half hours, but I would've much rather it ran for two so that some of the content could be saved for a later, confirmed instalment. This will be treading in spoiler-territory a little, so read on at your own risk. The final 30 minutes or so of the movie introduces the Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan) as another villain for Spidey to fight, but after a single intense-sequence, he is dispatched and placed into prison in preparation for the next film. This is the same with The Rhino (Paul Giamatti), who only fully features in the very final scene of the movie. I can understand why Sony decided to do this, as it allows the set-up for The Amazing Spider-Man 3, but by incorporating these characters for such a brief period, it made the film feel more like an advertisement than a stand-alone movie. If the movie concluded with a small cliff-hanger hinting at a sequel, then it could have been much more effective than practically showing the first 20 minutes of another movie. It didn't completely detract from the film, and I still enjoyed Electro as an antagonist, but it made me leave the cinema feeling a bit cheated. 

Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield)

As mentioned earlier, the storyline which followed Gwen Stacy and her complicated relationship with Peter Parker took much more of a central role than I thought it would, but this turned out to work hugely in the film's favour. Despite the lack of constant action, I can't say that I ever felt bored during The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which is something I definitely can't say for it's predecessor. 

Verdict
Although not perfect, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is definitely one of the best Spider-Man movies I have seen. It confirms my opinion that Andrew Garfield is the best actor to play the character, as he presents him in such a charismatic and likeable light, and has a really nice balance of drama and action. I could quite happily do without the final few scenes of the film which drastically altered my opinion of it, but this doesn't ruin the rest of it. Yes, it's clear that Sony are just trying to franchise Spider-Man, but it's not so blatant that it makes this film any less enjoyable than it is. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Review

The first Captain America came out in 2011, but I only managed to watch it yesterday. This is probably for the best, as the newly-released sequel The Winter Soldier heavily references the original, but also does a good job of explaining aspects to anybody unfamiliar with the first.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier takes place after the events of The Avengers, and follows Captain Steven Rogers (Chris Evans) as he faces a modern threat with numerous ties to old antagonists. Rather than having a stereotypical 'save-the-world' plot however, this sequel decides to take the story in a much more interesting and enjoyable direction involving treachery, deception and back-stabbing. 

Captain America / Steven Rogers (Chris Evans)

The Winter Soldier occasionally feels more like a single chapter in a larger story, with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackon) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson) featuring heavily, but this is no bad thing. Although the main focus is often the Captain, the inclusion of these characters makes the plot feel much more connected to the Avengers storyline, which makes the wait for Age of Ultron in 2015 all the more agonising. 

Despite the film being named after him, the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) rarely appears in comparison to some of the other characters. At first this may seem like a bit of a let-down, as he is such a menacing character thanks to his metallic arm and obscured face, but this absence means any on-screen time he does receive is well-worth the wait. The action-scenes in particular are incredibly well-done and enjoyable, and feature fully rather than the previous movie which used a montage-structure to present some of the coolest fights. The best moments in the film by far were those where Captain America fought the Winter Soldier, although these don't entirely outshine the surprisingly dramatic moments littered throughout. 

The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan)

The only main gripe I had with the film was the heavy use of shaky-cam when presenting some of the fighting, which seems to be commonplace for numerous recent action movies. I really don't see the point of it, as it makes it incredibly hard to see what's going on more than anything, but thankfully the camera calms down slightly towards the end. Unfortunately, I couldn't always focus on the movie as an incredibly obnoxious family were also present in the cinema, but this is no fault of the film of course. 

Verdict
Captain America: The Winter Soldier feels far less like an advert for other Marvel films (which the first did), and is instead an incredibly enjoyable film for fans of action and superheroes alike. The villain of the Winter Soldier may be slightly under-used, but this isn't quite as noticeable thanks to the engrossing and unique storyline. I'd easily recommend this to anybody, just make sure to stay behind until the credits finish rolling...

"Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists. 

The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier" 

Remembering Breaking Bad

The phenomenon of Breaking Bad ended well over 5 months ago, and yet I still find myself thinking about it on an almost daily basis. Ever since, I have tried to find something which I could enjoy just as much, but to no avail. February's new season of House of Cards came close to being just as addictive, but couldn't quite grip me like Breaking Bad did. And I'm sure anybody who has seen it would agree. 

The most memorable aspect by far however, are the final 8 episodes. The final three in particular contain so much action, emotion and edge-of-your-seat intensity that they make up for any episode which somebody may have found dull. Ozymandias specifically had my jaw consistently dropping, but every episode prior amped up the pressure to an unbearable level. I wanted to find out how everything ended...but never truly wanted BrBa to end. 

Hank Schrader (Dean Norris)

Which brings me to the utterly unforgettable final episode: Felina. A name consisting of several meanings, the primary one being that it's a simple anagram of 'finale', these final 60 minutes were potentially the most bitter-sweet that I've experienced in a very long time. It's surprising how slowly the episode builds when compared to the previous instalments, but the final pay-off is definitely satisfying. Watching the camera climb whilst Baby Blue by Badfinger played held a certain melancholy which I won't forget for a long time, especially due to the insane events which occurred mere moments before. The truly great thing was that the audience had been shown the jigsaw pieces that would fit together to create this final scene many episodes prior, such as the huge machine gun, but I doubt anybody anticipated quite how the closing moments of Breaking Bad would play out. 

Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul)

Something that may have been lacking in the final season however was a truly terrifying villain, but season 4's Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) more than made up for this...especially with the 'explosive' ending to that particular season. One thing Breaking Bad never lacked was memorable characters, and Gus is definitely amongst the most iconic. 

When talking about iconic characters though, it's literally impossible to not mention Walter Hartwell White (Bryan Cranston). Every single episode of this 62-part masterpiece is spearheaded by the main man himself, and I cannot imagine the show being nearly as good without Bryan at the helm. I'm not saying his accomplice Jesse (Aaron Paul) is any less of an icon however, as the majority of the incredibly hard-hitting emotional moments are thanks to Aaron Paul's incredible acting and ability. Somebody who is currently making their way through Breaking Bad keeps mentioning how scenes with Jesse make them cry, which shows testament to just how accomplished he is as an actor. I really do hope we'll see a lot more of Aaron Paul in the years to come. 

Walter White (Bryan Cranston)

I suppose the point of all this is just to say to anybody who hasn't seen Breaking Bad: watch it. I doubt you'll come across anything quite as impacting afterwards, but you're doing yourself a disservice by not checking it out. Every single episode is entertaining and enjoyable, and I regret nothing about watching all of them. Just don't expect to make it through the final few without welling up just a little. 

"I am not in danger, I AM the danger."