The Amazing Spider-Man 2

MPAA/Content PG-13 (AC, AL, V)

Distributor Columbia Pics. [2014]

Technical 2.35:1 35mm

Genres  FAN ADV SCI

Runtime 142 mins.

Cntry./Lang. USA [English]

Budget $200M

 

 

CAST

Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Embeth Davidtz, Campbell Scott, Marton Csokas, Louis Cancelmi, Max Charles, B.J. Novak, Michael Massee & Denis Leary

 

CREDITS

Director: Mark Webb; Screenwriters: Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci & Jeff Pinkner; Producers: Avi Arad & Matt Tolmach; Director Of Photography: Dan Mindel; Production Designer: Mark Friedberg; Editor: Pietro Scalia; Costume Designer: Deborah L. Scott; Music Composers: Hans Zimmer and The Magnificent Six Featuring Pharrell Williams and Johnny Marr

 

THE SYNOPSIS

NYC. Running late for his high school graduation, Spider-Man—aka Peter Parker (Garfield)—foils the theft of radioactive vials by Russian criminal Aleksei Sytsevich (Giamatti). A call from his girlfriend/valedictorian Gwen Stacy (Stone) prompts Spidey to quickly foil Aleksei after saving the life of Max Dillon (Foxx)—a brilliant, introverted OsCorp electrical engineer who idolizes the web-slinger. After the graduation—attended by Aunt May (Field)—Peter breaks up with Gwen as he promised her father, Capt. Stacy (Leary) before his death. Seeing Stacy’s ghost everywhere reminds Peter that being Spider-Man can cause much pain to his daughter.

Elsewhere, the dying OsCorp CEO Dr. Norman Osborne (Cooper) is visited by his estranged son Harry (DeHaan), whom he informs will eventually die of the same hereditary disease. Before passing, Norman hands him a computer key to access all OsCorp files in an effort to beat this disease. Hearing of Osborn’s death, Peter visits his childhood friend to reconnect. Peter’s deceased scientist parents Richard (Scott) & Mary (Davidtz) worked for Norman Osborn, so the history is there; as is the mystery behind their deaths…

Harry humiliates the OsCorp Board—including VP Donald Menken (Feore)—and takes control to explore his father’s scientific projects…one of which involves harvesting energy from genetically enhanced electric eels. Max discovers them when he accidentally falls into a water tank during routine repairs. The eels bite him, causing their energy to mutate Max into a human electrical generator! Stumbling over to Time Square, the cops and Spidey appear when he reacts with hostile force. Spidey subdues Max—who promises revenge as the cops take him away…

Menken has Harry expelled from OsCorp, blaming the new CEO for a cover-up of Max’s “death”. Harry begs Spider-Man to do a blood transfusion in an effort to cure Harry’s disease, but Spidey vetoes the notion…fearing that the side effects may be too dangerous to his friend. Enraged, Harry vows revenge and breaks into the Ravencroft Institute to free Electro.  Sneaking into OsCorp, they kill Menken and access—with help of Harry’s loyal assistant Felicia (Jones)—the top secret advanced weaponry and armor suits that his father had designed and built. Vials of genetically altered spiders that made Peter Spider-Man are also there. Harry ingests a vial but mutates into something green and scary…

Having been accepted to England’s Oxford University, Gwen informs Peter that she is leaving New York. Realizing how much he loves her, Peter decides to go with her. Before they can head for the airport, however, Electro has knocked out most of the power grids in the city as Harry commandeers his father’s green armor suit and glider machine to cause mischief. A final battle is brewing as Peter/Spidey and Gwen take on the villains, but victory comes at a cost…

 

THE CRITIQUE

As far as sequels go, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 is enjoyable superhero entertainment that won’t tax the brain. It is an ambitious continuation to the preceding The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)—itself a “reboot” (ugh…I hate that word) of the popular Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy (2002-2007) starring Tobey Maguire, himself a descent actor who did a nice job sling those CGI webs around CGI New York City.

While the new Spidey movies lack the dark Wagnerian scope of Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece Batman/Dark Knight trilogy (2005-2012), the snark of the well-oiled Iron-Man series (2008-Present) or the operatic chaos of the infinitely expanding X-Men saga (2000-Present—including spin-offs and origin movies), they do feature an immensely likable (but wise-ass) teenage superhero we can all relate to…almost. Most of our heads lack the prominent spiky pompadour adorning the head of the current Spidey, Andrew Garfield. Just saying…

The newest Spidey movie was written by prolific scribe team Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci & Jeff Pinkner (the three men responsible for TV’s Alias & Fringe; Kurtzman & Orici are also responsible for writing such movies as Mission: Impossible III, Transformers & Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen, Star Trek [2009] & Star Trek Into Darkness) —and I can only say that they stuffed everything into this one except the kitchen sink (which was probably shattered during the epic battle in The Avengers movie, a MARVEL movie like this one).

One of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 screenplay’s glaring problems is the lack of focus. Why do these movies insist on throwing in 300 freakin’ name villains into one movie? Batman Forever (1995), a fun movie in its own right, did the same thing. Pick a villain! The Green Goblin is Spider-Man’s scariest foe—go with it!! Here, they throw in Electro and The Rhino (to almost no effect) and leave GG to pick up the pieces. I can only assume that GG will return in the next movie, but I cannot focus on that one right now. Is it me? Just saying…

Another issue is throwing in a prologue involving a sub-plot involving Peter Parker’s deceased parents and their involvement with OsCorp. While I understand that it is probably essential to the overall multi-movie arc, this one seems thrown in just because. On the other hand, the Sally Field/Aunt May character gets some mileage out of this plot element during her BIG SCENE. Add in the likable romance between Peter and Gwen—and their amiable personalities—and the screenplay earns back some of its points.

Speaking of the cast, the likable Andrew Garfield reprises his role as Spidey, bringing charm and humility to a role that also requires him to be a New Yawk wise-ass—so much so that my Queens-born/bred actor friend Matthew found his interpretation to be a tad excessive. Three hours of arguing about it with dear Matt confirms (to me anyway) that Garfield is right on the money. Then again, I’m Jersey-born/bred…so wise-ass is a natural prerequisite for growing up in the NYC metropolitan area! Just saying…

Bringing balance to the fore is the lovely Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. Smart, spunky, hot—wow, I’m jealous of Spidey—the young lass holds up her end of the chemistry quotient with Andy. Sally Field, one of the great actresses of her generation, does her part to bring stability to the Parker household—even earning her own aforementioned BIG SCENE.

The villains on the other hand…meh. I was intrigued with Jamie Foxx’s casting as Electro, but was disappointed with his interpretation. Same with Dane DeHaan, an interesting actor who was a much better antagonist in the underrated sci-fi thriller Chronicle (2012). So much attention is given to Foxx’s Electro and Feore’s villainous Menken (another great character actor who can always play a heavy)—among other matters—that DeHaan’s conversion into the new Green Goblin is so anti-climactic. Again, an issue with the screenplay more than the actors involved.

In fact, the only villain that I really liked was the underused Paul Giamatti as the Russian criminal Aleksei Sytsevich, aka The Rhino. We only see him causing bedlam at the beginning and then suiting up as The Rhino at the end to take on Spider-Man. Giamatti is a talented actor who gives it his all here—and I’ll assume that we’ll see him again in one of the forthcoming sequels. But still, why add him in at all? Just saying…

Part of the blame goes to director Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man, 500 Days Of Summer) for not streamlining the screenplay more. Really—did the theatrical cut of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 need to be 142 minutes? That’s 18 minutes shorter than it took for the Titanic to sink way back in 1912! Still, it’s not bad news for Webb, whose strength as the director of this movie is in the human aspects of the story (Peter & Gwen; Aunt May & Peter; etc.). Also, Webb manages to helm the complete package with a growing sense of craft and entertainment value—because let’s face it: this isn’t the visually-operatic retelling of a Dostoyevsky novel or the existential tomes of Kierkegaard. It’s Spider-friggin’-Man…entertain me without giving me a headache!! Comparing Part 1 to Part 2, the latter is more ambitious while the former is better focused. I’m not sure if director Marc Webb is returning for Part 3 (and he should, for the sake of parity)—but I’m pretty sure that he’ll hit his stride—as will the series.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 earns top marks for production values for the estimated $200+ million endeavor (imdb.com). The film was shot entirely in New York State, with a majority of the production occurring within the New York City area—with the exception of an extended chase sequence filmed in Rochester, NY. It has been said that this movie is the largest production ever filmed in New York State.

Wait, did I say “filmed”? Yes! Lensed on 35mm film in the classic PANAVISION^® scope format by ace South African cinematographer Dan Mindel (Spy Game, Star Trek [2009], Mission: Impossible III, Star Trek Into Darkness), this movie looks fantastic. I say this with amazement because Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man was shot in HD by veteran cinematographer John Schwartzman (Armageddon, Seabiscuit, The Green Hornet) and the look of the two movies cannot be more different. Not to knock Schwartzman—he’s one of my favorite cinematographers—but Mindel actually convinced Webb to go for the film/anamorphic package—and to terrific results. I am so very happy to see that film is not yet on its way to the morgue.

Unnecessarily-long running time excluded, the movie’s cutting is an exercise in elegance by veteran Sicilian editor Pietro Scalia (Oscar^®-winner for JFK & Black Hawk Down; also cut Ridley Scott’s Hannibal, Gladiator, American Gangster, The Counselor). And speaking of elegant, the musical score by Hans Zimmer (Oscar^®-winner for The Lion King; also composed Ridley Scott’s Black Rain, Gladiator, Hannibal, Matchstick Men as well as Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy) with The Magnificent Six supergroup earns kudos as well. To read more about them, click here.

I’d also like to extol the grandiose production design by New Yawker Mark Friedberg (The Ice Storm, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, Across The Universe, Noah)—who beside creating a cool lair design within OsCorp—actually created a great mock-up of Times Square for the Electro vs. Spider-Man sequence—aided in VFX by the artisans at Sony Picture Imageworks. Easily the best set-piece in the movie, one day of shooting on location in the real Times Square—in addition to capturing all visual references for later studio work (per the production notes)—gets props for intricate detail orientation.

The cool Electro VFX make-up was designed by prolific house KNB EFX Group while the new Spidey costume was designed by veteran Deborah L. Scott Oscar^®-winner for Titanic; also costumed Back To The Future, 2000’s The Patriot, Transformers 1-3) in an effort to harken the MARVEL comic book incarnation’s original design—including the white eyepieces…heretofore never done for any Spider-Man movie.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

With everything but the kitchen sink thrown in, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 manages to score as overall entertainment—but sputters in its individual minutiae (unfocused screenplay, excessive villains, etc.)—hence the ½ star reduction. However, a strong cast, handsome production values, nifty VFX and that classic New York state-of-mind vibe slings this flick forward into the future with the next movie already on the horizon. You keep slinging, Spidey baby…just saying!!

 

 

 

IMDB:                    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1872181/

Wikipedia:             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_Spider-Man_2

Official Site:          http://www.theamazingspiderman.com/site/

Rush (2013)

MPAA/Content R [AC, AL, V]

Distributor Universal Pictures

Technical HD 2.40:1

Genres DRA SPO HIS

Runtime 122 mins.

Country USA UK

Budget $38M

 

CAST

Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara & Pierfrancesco Favino

 

CREDITS

Director: Ron Howard;  Screenwriter: Peter Morgan;  Producers: Andrew Eaton, Eric Fellner, Brian Oliver, Peter Morgan, Brian Grazer & Ron Howard;  Director Of Photography: Anthony Dod Mantle;  Production Designer: Mark Digby;  Editors: Dan Hanley & Mike Hill;  Costume Designer: Julian Day;  Music Composer: Hans Zimmer

 

THE SYNOPSIS

England, 1970.  A fierce rivalry is born between Formula Three racers James Hunt (Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Brühl) when the flamboyant English racer beats out the focused, calculating Austrian.  By the start of the 1976 Formula One season, the rivalry has reached epic proportions—on the course as well as off.

Hunt has married supermodel Suzy Miller (Wilde)—although divorce is now imminent, thanks to Hunt’s wandering eye and excesses—and her dalliances with actor Richard Burton.  Lauda, the 1975 Grand Champion, has married socialite Marlene Knaus (Lara)—and maintains stability in his professional life, winning races (like the Spanish Grand Prix) as well losing them to Hunt.

Near-tragedy occurs during the German Grand Prix when, during a torrential downpour of rain, a suspension arm in Lauda’s car breaks—causing a severe crash and burn.  Lauda is pulled out of the wreckage alive, but burned.  The only thing he focuses on his healing so that he may re-enter the races.  Hunt wins most of them—further enraging Lauda into competing in the Italian Grand Prix.  Both men fail to win that one.

Throughout the remaining races (16 in all)—and culminating in the Japanese Grand Prix—Lauda and Hunt form a grudging respect for one another.  Hunt has the balls and Lauda has the brains.  The rainy day in Japan proves that Hunt is a winner (top racer of 1976) and Lauda is wise enough to retire from racing—realizing that he already is a champion.

POSTSCRIPT: James Hunt—who retired in 1979 and became a race broadcaster—unexpectedly died of a heart attack in 1993.  It is said that Niki Lauda—who himself became a successful entrepreneur on the racecourse as well as outside of it—was saddened by Hunt’s death, as he considered the Englishman a real friend.

 

THE CRITIQUE

Following in the footsteps of great racecar movie of yore (e.g. 1966’s Grand Prix, 1969’s Winning, 1971’s Le Mans, 1990’s Days Of Thunder), RUSH breathes new life into the sports sub-genre by powering its way into a great finish thanks to top-notch talent in front of—and behind—the wheel and camera!

Based on true events and people—and using the exciting & tumultuous 1976 Formula One Season as its literary impetus (a time when sex was safe and racing was dangerous)—the movie was written by prolific British screenwriter Peter Morgan (The Last King Of Scotland, The Queen, Frost/Nixon)—who infuses RUSH with an intelligent structure and an equal sense of dichotomy (Hunt vs. Lauda… masters of their domain).  The exploits of these drivers were exciting enough in real life—and here is no exception, as Morgan’s story flows in naturalistic fashion toward its checkered flag denouement.  For more on the real story, check out this great article at the HISTORY VS. HOLLYWOOD website.

Directed with balls and visual acumen by the great Ron Howard (Oscar^®-winner for A Beautiful Mind; also helmed The Da Vinci Code, Apollo 13, Splash), the movie is a clinic in how to make a sports themed motion picture that kicks ass.  Growing up and watching Howard as he went from a decent actor (1973’s American Graffiti, TV’s Happy Days) to a budding director (the aforementioned films) of various genres has been a treat.  Speeding through Oliver Stone territory, Howard’s handling of RUSH further impresses on me that ol’ Ronnie can do anything.  It doesn’t hurt that he (and Morgan) consulted the real Niki Lauda on the finer points of the sport, the rivalry and the 1976 F1 season.  Hence, the naturalism of the movie’s flow of energy.  Which brings me to the next lap…acting.

The actors bring the right amount of charisma, knowledge, brains, balls and photogenics—all of which make this movie an easy watch.  Portraying the tall, blonde English racer/playboy James Hunt is the tall, blonde Australian hunk Chris Hemsworth—better known by his other signature role, Thor (“hunk” being the adjective that both my girlfriend & sister refer to him as, by the way).  As in the feted Marvel Universe, Hemsworth shines brightly as the late, flamboyant racer—although as I understand it, the real Hunt’s persona was even more amplified that Hemsworth portrays him as.  Still, it is a great role for a young actor who will continue to progress through roles in the future—hammer or no hammer!

On the flipside is talented German/Spaniard Daniel Brühl—embodying the intelligent, driven Niki Lauda, so much so that the real Lauda has publicly stated his appreciation in the portrayal.  If Hemsworth is the sexy, robust spirit of the RUSHverse, than Brühl is its brains and moral compass.  To make Lauda a cold, rather unlikable character who eventually earns not just Hunt’s respect—but ours as well, is saying something about Brühl’s performance.  Between this role and his other one in the solid The Fifth Estate, young Daniel is another developing talent to watch for.

In smaller, but pivotal roles are the women of RUSH—embodied by the lovely actress Olivia Wilde as the brief Mrs. Hunt, real-life model Suzy Miller—who divorced Hunt to marry the great Richard Burton (to be portrayed in cameo by Russell Crowe, but that never materialized) and Romanian-German actress Alexandra Maria Lara as the future Mrs. Lauda, socialite/model Marlene Knaus.  Both actresses bring needed estrogen to the testosterone party—with Lara coming off more sympathetic as Lauda’s “stand-by-my-man” paramour than the shallow, carnal relationship the Hunts may have had.  Still, I just like looking at Olivia Wilde—so it’s all good!

Production values for the modestly-budgeted $38 million movie (boxofficemojo.com) are top-shelf across the board.  It was shot in England and Germany—standing in for those venues, as well as Spain

Kudos are in order for veteran British cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (Oscar^®-winner for Slumdog Millionaire; also lensed 28 Days Later, Dredd & Trance) for his superlative widescreen HD-lensing schema (using the ARRI Alexa Plus camera system)—mixing ‘70s-style photography (courtesy of trusty old Cooke lenses) with edgy, faded palettes for the various race sequences.  While I am impressed with the lensing schema, it does bother me that film was not used in this production—as it would have perfectly encapsulated the time period.  All told, however, 9 different camera systems were used for the production.  For a complete list, check out the IMDB Technical Specifications page here.

Also due for some kudos are Ron Howard’s long-time editing team of Daniel P. Hanley & Mike Hill (both Oscar^®-winners for Apollo 13; also cut Howard’s movies since 1982!)—whose kinetic cutting underscores the intensity of the F1 races while juxtapositioning smoother editing in non-race sequences.  The editing truly does amplify the racing in conjunction with the sound editing & mixing elements.  A nice job indeed.

Per the production notes, Production Designer Mark Digby (Slumdog Millionaire, The American, Dredd) worked with limited resources in creating the various racing tracks in the different nation venues.  Basically, he (and the production) had use of one or two tracks that were dressed accordingly.  Using classic photos and video/film footage of the actual races, Digby (and crew) were able to create individual venues that each had its own character.

The appropriate period costuming rings true—courtesy of designer Julian Day (Salmon Fishing In Yemen, Diana)—while veteran composer Hans Zimmer’s (Oscar^®-winner for The Lion King; also scored Howard’s The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons & Frost/Nixon) bombastic score pumps up the energy splayed on screen.

As aforementioned, RUSH is an exciting motion picture.  My words resonate for one reason: I am totally not a fan of car racing!  The event bores me—hey, here’s a thought: why not put land mines in the track to spice up things ala Death Race 2000 (1975)…but that’s just my twisted Jersey humor.  Seriously, the Formula races definitely possess a sexy, Continental factor that NASCAR cannot replicate—and this movie shows us why.

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

As far as racing movies go, RUSH ranks as one of the best.  Strong direction, terrific cinematography, kinetic editing, energetic race choreography and good acting elevates this sports movie way above the mundane.  The checkered flag comes down proudly on this winner!

 

IMDB:                    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1979320/

Wikipedia:             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_(2013_film)

Official Site:          N/A