The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Theatrical Release Date: 2014 05 02 (USA - 3D) / 2014 05 02 (USA)

UPC: 043396439573

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Sci-Fi Violence]

Summary: The web-slingin' wall-crawler hits the screens once again in this follow-up to Marc Webb's 2012 reboot of the series. Andrew Garfield returns as Peter Parker, who squares off against the villainous Electro, played by Jamie Foxx.

As the film opens, we find Richard (Campbell Scott) and Mary Parker (Embeth Davitz) stealing away with some crucial Oscorp files while leaving young Peter in the care of Aunt May (Sally Field) and Uncle Ben. Flash forward about a decade, and Peter (Garfield) is swinging into action as Spider-Man; having successfully thwarted the hijacking of an Oscorp truck by notorious Russian criminal Aleksei Sytsevich (Paul Giamatti), Peter ditches the costume just in time to meet up with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) at their high school graduation. Despite his deep love for Emma, however, Peter remains haunted by his promise to her late father not to get emotionally involved with her for fear that she could be targeted by Spider-Man's enemies.

Meanwhile, young Harry Osborne (Dane DeHaan) inherits OsCorp and a deadly retrovirus from his father Norman (Chris Cooper), and brilliant but timid OsCorp scientist Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) gets infused with a powerful dose of electricity while attempting to fix a faulty power circuit in the lab. Upon regaining consciousness, Max discovers that he has the power to harness electrical currents - the higher the voltage the more powerful he becomes. When a battle with Max in Times Square shorts out Spidey's web-shooters, Peter goes to work on developing a more reliable model of his signature weapon while Harry grows convinced that Spider-Man's blood is the key to his survival. Later, villainous OsCorp chairman Donald Menken (Colm Feore) steals the company out right out from under Harry, driving the vengeful youth to break Max -- now Electro -- out of the heavily-guarded Ravencroft Institute for a two-pronged attack on Menken and Spider-Man. The stage for that battle is set when New York City goes dark just as Peter declares his love to Gwen, plunging the wise-cracking web-slinger into a fight that could forever alter the course of his life. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Category: Action

Features: Blu-ray exclusives
9 additional deleted scenes with Commentary by Director Marc Webb
The wages of heroism: making "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"-over 100 minutes of immersive featurettes detailing the heroic efforts to bring "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" to life
Also includes filmmaker's Commentary
4 deleted scenes with Commentary
Alicia Keys "It's On Again" music video

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Release Date: 08/19/2014

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 2.40:1

Audio: DHMA, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 141 Minutes

Sides: 3

Number of Discs: 3

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Chapters: Disc #1 -- The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 3D
1. Scene 1 [:35]
2. Scene 2 [:35]
3. Scene 3 [6:29]
4. Scene 4 [7:22]
5. Scene 5 [5:45]
6. Scene 6 [9:12]
7. Scene 7 [9:35]
8. Scene 8 [11:53]
9. Scene 9 [8:55]
10. Scene 10 [8:59]
11. Scene 11 [7:26]
12. Scene 12 [:02]
13. Scene 13 [9:04]
14. Scene 14 [9:54]
15. Scene 15 [6:06]
16. Scene 16 [1:56]

Jason Buchanan

Director Marc Webb swings out from under Sam Raimi's shadow with The Amazing Spider-Man 2, an intoxicatingly kinetic sequel that scores high marks for action and characterization, but stumbles in its attempt to give high-voltage villain Electro a spark of motivation. Fortunately, despite the somewhat bloated 142-minute running time, Webb and screenwriters Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Jeff Pinkner manage to keep the story moving along for the most part, although not even the voltaic climactic battle can live up to the inventive action that kicks the story into motion.

As the film opens, we find Richard (Campbell Scott) and Mary Parker (Embeth Davidtz) stealing away with some crucial Oscorp files while leaving young Peter in the care of Aunt May (Sally Field) and Uncle Ben. Flash forward about a decade, and Peter is swinging into action as Spider-Man; having successfully thwarted the hijacking of an Oscorp truck by notorious Russian criminal Aleksei Sytsevich (Paul Giamatti), Peter ditches the costume just in time to meet up with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) at their high-school graduation. Yet in spite of his deep love for Gwen, Peter remains haunted by his promise to her late father not to get emotionally involved with her, for fear that she could be targeted by Spider-Man's enemies.

Meanwhile, young Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) inherits control of Oscorp, as well as a deadly retrovirus, from his father Norman (Chris Cooper), and brilliant but timid Oscorp scientist Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) gets infused with a large dose of electricity while attempting to fix a faulty power circuit in the lab. Upon regaining consciousness, Max discovers that he has the ability to harness electrical currents -- and the higher the voltage, the more powerful he becomes. When a battle with Max in Times Square shorts out Spidey's web shooters, Peter goes to work developing a more reliable model of his signature weapon. Elsewhere, Harry grows convinced that Spider-Man's blood is the key to his survival. Later, villainous Oscorp chairman Donald Menken (Colm Feore) steals the company right out from under Harry, driving the vengeful youth to break Max -- now Electro -- out of the heavily guarded Ravencroft Institute for a two-pronged attack on Menken and Spider-Man. The stage for that battle is set when New York City goes dark just as Peter declares his love to Gwen, plunging the wisecracking web slinger into a fight that could forever alter the course of his life.

Having previously been hampered by Spidey's origin story in The Amazing Spider-Man, Webb hits the ground running here. With Orci, Kurtzman, and Pinkner taking over for the previous installment's scribes (Alvin Sargent, Steve Kloves, and James Vanderbilt), the screenplay offers a satisfying mix of action and exposition early on, especially with regards to Peter's relationship with Gwen. Together, Garfield and Stone share a chemistry that gives the two characters' relationship substance -- both in lighthearted scenes and more dramatic ones as well. Likewise, the writing trio take their time in fleshing out Peter's relationship with Harry (no doubt a crucial component to the mythology), but therein also lies the problem that many viewers will have with the film -- the secondary villain is much more compelling than the primary one. Try as the writers might to give Max a motivation for unleashing his fury once he becomes Electro, they leave the audience to make a questionable leap in logic regarding his vendetta against Spider-Man. For that reason, despite Electro's impressive appearance and abilities (and a clever personal arc), he ultimately rings somewhat hollow as a true adversary. Thankfully, the writers have a bit more up their sleeves than will be revealed here, though that particular imbalance does seem like a sore oversight in a script that doesn't skimp on characterization.

Then there's the action. The special effects in The Amazing Spider-Man were a noticeable improvement over those in the final entry of Raimi's trilogy (which came out just five years earlier). Here, the more realistic rendering and added fluidity suggest that Webb has grown more comfortable working with effects than he was in the previous installment, and that familiarity allows him to inject an impressive amount of style into the mix as well. There are moments, especially during our hero's initial confrontation with Electro in Times Square, that allow the audience to glimpse the "Spidey sense" that has gone on to become a part of the public lexicon, even outside of comic-book shops. It's those little flourishes that help keep the action from feeling redundant, and the audience from growing restless.

Also more apparent this time out is Spidey's penchant for cracking wise while busting skulls. Those occasionally corny one-liners are a crucial component of his colorful personality, and though the zingers here could have packed a bit more wit, Garfield's confident delivery still manages to earn a chuckle or two on sheer enthusiasm alone. And though few are likely to be laughing during the somber scenes that follow the final battle, the future for this series looks promising if Webb and company build on the emotional core of the story while pitting the web slinger against foes that have as much substance as style. Should they, unlike Raimi, manage to avoid stumbling in the final stretch, this team have a shot at delivering a series that could give that faulty trilogy a run for its money, despite the undisputed mastery of the latter's middle installment. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Stan Lee  Executive Producer 
Johnny Marr  Composer (Music Score) 
Hans Zimmer  Composer (Music Score) 
E. Bennett Walsh  Executive Producer 
Avi Arad  Producer 
Jeff Pinkner  Screenwriter 
Marc Webb  Director 
Alex Kurtzman  Screenwriter 
Roberto Orci  Screenwriter 
Pharrell Williams  Composer (Music Score) 
Matt Tolmach  Producer 
Magnificent Six  Composer (Music Score) 
Andrew Garfield  Actor 
Emma Stone  Actor 
Jamie Foxx  Actor 
Dane DeHaan  Actor 
Chris Cooper  Actor 
Paul Giamatti  Actor 
Felicity Jones  Actor 
B.J. Novak  Actor 
Colm Feore  Actor 
Sally Field  Actor 
Embeth Davidtz  Actor 
Campbell Scott  Actor 
Marton Csokas  Actor 
Louis Cancelmi  Actor 
Max Charles  Actor 
Sarah Gadon  Actor 
Michael Massee  Actor 
Jorge Vega  Actor 
Bill Heck  Actor 
Teddy Coluca  Actor 
Helen Stern  Actor 
Aidy Bryant  Actor 
Cal McCrystal  Actor 
Anslem Richardson  Actor 
Mark Doherty  Actor 
James Colby  Actor 
Kari Coleman  Actor 
Skyler Gisondo  Actor 
Charlie DePew  Actor 
Robert Newman  Actor 
Adrian Martinez  Actor 
Thaddeus Phillips  Actor 
James McCauley  Actor 
Rachael McOwen  Actor 
David Shabtai  Actor 
Greg Connolly  Actor 
Timothy James Adams  Actor 
Tug Coker  Actor 
Jabari Gray  Actor 
Jamie Lynn Concepcion  Actor 
Pat Kiernan  Actor 
Jessica Abo  Actor 
Clem Cheung  Actor 
Dusan Hyska  Actor 
Andrei Runtso  Actor 
Brennan Taylor  Actor 
Slate Holmgren  Actor 
Drew Beasley  Actor 
Matthew Tronieri  Actor 
Dario Barosso  Actor 
Paul Urcioli  Actor 
David Shih  Actor 
Daniel Gerroll  Actor 
Brian McElhaney  Actor 
Jonathan Braylock  Actor 
Steven Hauck  Actor 
JD Walsh  Actor 
Stan Lee  Actor 

Country: USA