The Amazing Spider-Man 2

I have been dreading seeing this film for a while, being a huge fan of Spider-Man as a character, I was let down by the 2012 reboot of the franchise that I had a lot of high hopes for. For the sequel I made sure I wasn’t going to be disappointed and I didn’t get too excited when Sony spewed out a dozen trailers or so for the film. However it still didn’t stop me from watching the sequel on day release to find out if they had dug an even bigger hole for my favourite superhero to climb out of. Thankfully with my expectations being quite low I left the cinema happy knowing that Spider-Man was on the right track once more in his surprisingly decent sequel. Read on to find out my whole verdict on the film that will be as usual SPOILER FREE.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 follows a now more experienced Spider-Man then what we saw in the first film. Like his new (excellent) suit this film has stripped away all the darkness and gloom from the first film to make this film more on tone with The Avengers rather than trying to be the next Batman Begins. We find Peter Parker as his busiest, mixing his superhero lifestyle with graduating and being in two minds as to whether to get together again with Gwen Stacy after he promised her dying father to keep away from her. Whilst this is all going on Max Dillon is on his way to becoming the villainous Electro whilst Harry Osborne is back in town facing a tough moment in his life. Thankfully Sony has learnt from their mistakes in Spider-Man 3 and this time juggle the many storylines well throughout the film.

One of the redeeming qualities of The Amazing Spider-Man was the casting and it has continued to get better in the sequel. Jamie Foxx as Electro is brilliant, he plays the character really well and truly looks and sounds awesome when in full blue mode, the visual effects crew did a lot better job with him then they did with The Lizard. Dane DeHann is one of the best new actors out there and the chemistry between him and Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker is great, I would have loved to have seen a lot more scenes with the two of them together. It was great to see Paul Giamatti take on role of Aleksei Sytsevich as he has wanted to play him for quite some while even if he was very stereotyped, but with him only playing a small part in the film it would be great to see him improve on that in the next one. Also the character of Dr Kafka from the comics has been awfully turned into stereotypical male German scientist, thankfully one of only a few stupid decisions in the film. As with the first film Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone steal the show with their brilliant performances and amazing on screen chemistry. They look and sound the parts even if this Spider-Man is taking more of his roots from the Ultimate Comics rather than the 616 Universe. Garfield gets Spidey perfectly with the way he moves and quips constantly during the action. Added with the perfect suit, this is definitely one of the best Spider-Man performances we have seen, though having no explanation for the change of suit does grind my gears a bit.

Visually this film looks great, when Spider-Man is swinging around New York it is exactly how I imagined he would and many of the scenes were pretty breath taking and gave me goose bumps throughout. Along with the great new score from Hans Zimmer who puts a new unique take on the generic superhero soundtrack, this Spider-Man feels like a breath of fresh air in a crowded market for comic book films. There is the odd scene where the music choice feels out of place but overall the film sounds great, especially the main themes for both Spider-Man and Electro.

Tonally every now and then a scene feels disjointed but not as much as some critics are saying. The film isn’t just a random bunch of scenes thrown together, there is a lot more care put into the editing of this film. The design of the characters may not be to every fans liking but I only had a problem with the look of The Rhino. In terms of faithfulness to the comic books there are certain aspects that are great but a lot of it is being rehashed into new scenarios but with a great sense of familiarity especially with some iconic scenes. I don’t mind this as much as I did in the first film but I am annoyed that character of Uncle Ben is more of an afterthought in this film rather than being strong icon in Peter’s life that ultimately makes him the person he is. Overall the script works pretty well even though there is the odd bad line throughout, Electo's 'It's my birthday, time to light some candles' springs to mind.

My favourite thing about this film though, that is a huge improvement on the first, is the fact that you get a sense of what Spider-Man means to people. He is just a good guy who thinks about other before himself, there is many a scene of him saving bystanders before taking on the main threat, he has a sense of responsibility even though the famous line has yet to be said. Spider-Man is a true hero and this is shown throughout the film, he saves lives in more ways then one. There are scenes involving kids that could easily come across as cheesy but in the end they are some of the best scenes that signify why Spider-Man means so much to so many people in and out of the film universe. People like myself, who is now happy that the Spider-Man I wanted to see on screen is back and stepping in the right direction. With the world building and foreshadowing to a Sinister Six showdown, bring on The Amazing Spider-Man 3!

Finally a step in the right direction for the web head, I am rating The Amazing Spider-Man 2 a 3/5.

What are your thoughts on the Spider-Man sequel? Are you as happy with it as I am? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

My Most Anticipated Films of 2014

It's that time of the year where we can look to the future of films in 2014 and see which ones will be on our 'must watch' list. So before I go back and review this year, take a look at the films I am anticipating the most in 2014. And to make this list more approachable for American audiences I have not included films that came out this month in the states. If I had, Her and The Wolf of Wall Street would be at the top of my list! 

10. The Hobbit: There and Back Again (December)

Although I disliked the second outing in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy, I am still cautiously optomistic about the third and final outing. It's going to be an epic spectacle with the showdown with Smaug and The Battle of Five Armies about to commence. I look forward to seeing a trailer for this one but I am still not going to get my hopes too high.

9. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (November)

I was pleasantly surprised at how good Catching Fire was, which has made Mockingjay, the first part of a two part finale of The Hunger Games, go up on my list. It will be interesting to see what the first film contains after the studio have split the book into two films. As a reader of the books I know there are a lot more twists and turns in place that I cannot wait to see on the big screen. 

8. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May)

Spider-Man is my favourite superhero but after 2012's disappointing first film I am being cautious about how excited I get for this one. The trailer looks awesome but they seem to have gotten rid of a lot of ideas and themes of the first film making this look like it could be just another Raimi esque film instead of taking a completely new direction. Sony have faith in the franchise now as they have just announced they are opening up the universe with spin off films for Venom and The Sinister Six, I won't know how I feel about this news until I see the latest instalment in May. Fingers crossed it doesn't disappoint. 

7. Muppets Most Wanted (March)

The Muppets reboot with Jason Segal turned out to be one of my favourite films, it was fun to watch and very, very funny. Although we are missing our human lead in the sequel I have no doubt that it will be great. I only need to leave the cinema half as happy as I did last time for this one to be great! 

6. Godzilla (May)

Any film starring Bryan Cranston and Elizabeth Olsen will have my money but if that film also happens to star Godzilla well then thats just a bonus. Wait, the film is also directed by Monsters director, Gareth Edwards? I want. I want now. This film has the potential blow your mind, just check out the trailer. This is definitely one to watch!

5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (April)

The Avengers made Captain America cool and now he just seems to be in his element after the new trailer for his second film came out earlier this year. It looks to be a lot of fun and no trailer has got me so excited for a new film like this one. I can't wait to see where they take Cap next!
4. Tusk (TBD)

Anything coming out of the weird and wonderful mind that is Kevin Smith's will put my bum in a cinema seat, unless of course it's a sequel to Cop Out. His latest film is based on an idea he had from one of his podcasts when he saw an advert on GumTree from a man asking for somebody to be his human walrus. Smith then turned this advert into an idea for a creepy messed up horror film that will see him re-teaming up with Micheal Parks to create a human walrus hybrid suit thing. It's going to weird but no doubt awesome.

3. Interstellar (November)

Any film from Christopher Nolan has my money. Any film starring Mathew Mcconaughey has my money. Well then Interstellar is a no brainer then because it has both! I think it's about space and black holes but who cares, it will no doubt be exceptional. 

2. X-Men: Days of Future Past (May)

With Bryan Singer back at the helm tackling the X-Mens biggest story yet, we will no doubt get excellence. Crossing over between the future and the past this could be an epic adventure that nothing can top. Oh wait, they just announced X-Men: Apocalypse for 2016!? The X-Men franchise is going to big places, I for one cannot wait!

1. Guardians of the Galaxy (August)

I want to see how Marvel handle this film because it's something a bit different to what we've seen before. It has a walking, talking, gun holding Raccoon. It could be awful but I have faith, especially with the leaked Comic Con footage from earlier this year looking very, very good. It tops my list because I can't picture how its going to look in my head but I have no doubt that Marvel wouldn't have invested in this risky project if it wasn't going to be amazing. I can't wait to see how Guardians of the Galaxy turns out!

What are you're most anticipated films for 2014? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

SDCC 2013 Thoughts #3

More news straight out of Comic Con from The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

So here's a 4 minute trailer for season 4 of The Walking Dead.

If you were like me then you were left disappointed at the end of season 3 of the show. However as they have strayed quite far away from the comics, it's anyones guess as to what could happen! Now the trailer gives you a bit of insight but leaves enough out to crave for more. It does also show some badass hammer action from fan favourite Tyreese who I cannot wait to see in action. The trailer looks promising and I just hope new showrunner Scott Gimple has thing back under control.

As Game of Thrones season 4 is so far off not much was released at the convention. However we did get to see a heartbreaking video of all we have lost on the show so far. If you haven't seen the show do not watch!!

Last of all more Spidey news! Now we haven't seen a trailer just of yet but here is a description of some of the footage shown to audiences at the panel.

Starts with the city. A truck coming down the street. Cops following. Truck plows through barricade. Spider-Man jumping on cop cars. Jumps onto the hood of the truck. Lets himself in. Cut to Peter arguing with his [Aunt May] about doing laundry. Back to the truck. Spider-Man flies down and saves someone. It's Max! Max says he's nobody. Spider-Man assures him that he's not a nobody. He's a somebody. Then he webs the trucker to the center of the street. Max watches Spider-Man in awe. He seems awkward and insecure. He wishes he was like Spider-Man. Gwen says she loves Peter Parker more than Spider-Man. Max climbs into a tube. Gets electrocuted and then falls into a tank full of something swimming. The tank bursts. Next time we see his face, it's glowing under a hood. "You will never be invisible again," Harry (pretty sure) tells him. Max says he wants people to feel what it feels like to live in his world. A world without power. We see him floating and zapping people with his hands. All the lights in Times Square go out and then everything explodes. Spider-Man catches a cop car just before it lands on someone.

Read more at http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=83673#gfMEB8ugRgD2KqbW.99 

Sounds awesome right! Fans were also treated to Andrew Garfield all dressed up and in character as Spider-Man addressing questions and talking about his recently considered sexuality. Here is a link to where you can see the video: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/comic-con/news/?a=83699

Last of all, fans were treated to the first full showing of the pilot to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D a spin off from the MArvel Cinematic Universe and all first reviews of the episode are extremely positive and exciting!

Check back later for more on SDCC!

SDCC 2013 Thoughts #2

So here's some more thoughts from myself on some of the news straight out of Comic Con. This time looking at news from X-Men Days of Future Past, Sherlock, Batman Arkham Origins and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

So people at the convention were treated to a surprise from the upcoming X-Men Days of Future Past. The reveal was a look at the head of a Sentinel, one of the X-Men's greatest foes that will feature in the new film. Take a look at the pictures here:

Now in the comics the Sentinels are massive, so I am hoping this is just a scaled down model of the real thing. Either way it's looking pretty cool! We were also treated to the first official photos from the film that include some pretty awesome costumes!

Now in the widely popular BBC show made its way to Comic Con but unfortunately the two main stars weren't there to answer questions, instead they pre-recorded quite a comedic video which you can check out by clicking on this link: http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/07/18/sherlock-comic-con-benedict-cumberbatch/

Now for some gaming new, villain Copperhead has been revealed as a villain in the new Batman game Arkham Origins. Check out the trailer below:

Although there is no more gameplay footage in this one, it still looks pretty cool. However I am still unsure as to whether this game can stand up against the two previous games. Only time will tell.

Now for some more Spider-Man news. Although the panel hasn't been yet, Marc Webb still let the world in on a few tidbits of information including the composer for the film. The composer will apparently be Hans Zimmer! The man behind the incredible Dark Knight and Man of Steel soundtracks. I for one am very happy with this news! Webb also told us that we will get a trailer in the panel although it won't show Paul Giamatti's full suited Rhino as the VFX aren't ready yet. 

 Check back in later for more of my thoughts on the latest news from SDCC! 

SDCC 2013 Thoughts #1

So as the 2013 San Diego Comic Con kicked off today I thought I would post my thoughts and opinions on some of the news that comes out of the event. Now unfortunately I am not at the event but like most of the Internet, I am still having a lot of fun at home sitting patiently for the next big piece of news from Comic Con. So this is the first of what could be many SDCC posts over the weekend.

So to kick things off, here is the teaser for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Hall H panel, which also happens to reveal Jamie Foxx's villain Electro.

Now although it isn't much, it's still enough to create some hype for Spider-Man sequel. Now although I was a bit disappointed with last years film, I am hoping that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 could be Spidey's best outing yet. Now I don't want to get my hopes to high but how cool does Electro look! Now we should be getting a full teaser trailer for the film in the next couple of days but for now this will do to wet fanboys appetites. I am still hoping that they change the title to something more original but unfortunately it looks like the only new addition is the number 2 at the end.

The second thing on this list is the reveal of the Comic Con poster for the remake of Godzilla.

This poster really shows off the epic scale of Godzilla and looks very cool! With Monsters director Gareth Edwards at the helm, this film promises to be one of the biggest of 2013, literally! There have also been other reveals of Godzilla that tease at a more faithful design to the Japanese original film. Again we should be seeing a teaser trailer for this one in the next couple of days! After seeing Pacific Rim the other day I cannot wait to see more giant monsters on the big screen!

Thanks for reading and keeping coming back for more of my thoughts on the latest news from Comic Con!

A Big Week For The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Wow, what a week it has been for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. A new costume and a new cast member who will be taking the form of Norman Osborn! As you guys know I'm a big Spider-Man fan blah blah blah... you've heard it all before. Got my hopes up a bit too much for the first film only to be let down, so this time round I have tried not to get too excited. However that is quite hard when the new suit looks like this!

Now compared to the first ASM this has changed quite drastically. And as the internet pointed out, it looks a lot like the suit from the Raimi films. I wouldn't mind this if it wasn't for the studios determination to make these films different from the original and so far not doing a great job at that. I however cannot stop looking at this! It look... well amazing. This is the suit I have been wanting from Spider-Man films since the start. Just look at those eyes, I like those the most. Hopefully our hero will leave his mask on long enough for us to get a good look at them in action this time. So most of all this looks like a good decision from ASM 2 so far. I do hope that the film gives a good explanation for this change in costume that looks more comic book style compared to the more realistic approach in the first film. I don't want them just to change him like this and give no reason why. 

We have also had the first set pics that show us Shailene Woodley as the new Mary Jane Watson next to the brilliant Andrew Garfield who looks like he has given Peter Parker some fashion sense, for better or worse. I for one am unsure about the obvious red and blue clothes situation. Yes we get it, he's Spider-Man.

Looks like we are going to get a more 'Ultimate Spider-Man' take on Mary Jane this time round, which I am happy with. Not many women look like MJ from the original comics, though apparently not everyone knows this as so far there has been a lot of negativity over Woodley being cast in the role. I for one look forward to her portrayal, she has hard work ahead after Emma Stone's incredible performance as Gwen Stacy. Looks like Spidey's love life is about to get a bit complicated. 

It has also just been confirmed that Chris Cooper is going to be playing Spider-Man's arch nemesis Norman Osborn. I doubt he will don the Green Goblin costume until the threequel, but I am pretty happy with this casting, however it may take some time to take him seriously after his turn as the villain in The Muppets. 

I'm just kidding, he is a solid actor and I am sure he will do a great job.

So that is yet another villain added to the cast that already sees Jamie Foxx as Electro and Paul Giamatti possibly as The Rhino. We also have Dane DeHann joining as Harry Osborn. Looks like Spidey is going to have his work cut out for him. I just hope that this is just a starting point for the Green Goblin and The Rhino as if not we could end up with another Spider-Man 3 on our hands and nobody wants that. Hopefully if the reports are true, director Marc Webb might be setting up a Spider-Man universe that could one day see The Sinister Six be brought to the big screen. Here is the official synopsis for the film:

“In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), life is busy,” begins the official blurb. “Between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen (Emma Stone), high school graduation can’t come quickly enough.

“Peter hasn’t forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen’s father to protect her by staying away - but that’s a promise he just can’t keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro (Jamie Foxx), emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past.”

I sure am hoping this film will be good and deserved of it's title. Though I'm guessing that could change any day now!

What do you guys think about all these updates on ASM 2? Are you looking forward to it?

Please comment below and thank you for reading!