The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (3 stars out of 4)

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the first superhero movie in a few years that honestly doesn't seem to take itself seriously. Spider-Man makes puns about dabbling in "web design". The main villain is introduced as bumbling cartoon version of a nerdy human being. A major fight involves Spidey being slammed into columns that somehow play "Itsy Bitsy Spider". There are screaming Russian gangsters, evil scientists, and little kids who are protected from bullies by their friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. It seems that every superhero movie needs to be grittier and darker than the last one. It is nice for a movie to just admit it is about a high schooler dressed as a spider flying around fighting a villain who is made of electricity. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the fun and mostly light-hearted superhero movie that we forgot we missed.

Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) has finally gotten the hang of being Spider-Man. He is actively loved by most of the community and is seemingly everywhere at once. The only thing that is holding him back is the promise he had made to the dying father (Denis Leary) of his girlfriend Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone). He had promised that he would leave Gwen alone because of the potential danger being associated with Spider-Man could bring into her life. Even when he is fighting villains, he sees visions of father seemingly there to remind him of the promise he is breaking. To make matters all the worse, he is facing Electro (Jamie Foxx), a new villain who grows stronger when he comes into contact with any form of electricity. When Peter isn't battling Electro or his conscience, Peter is reconnecting with his good friend Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan). Harry is the billionaire son heir of the scientific company Oscorp. Osborn has all the power in the world but can't fight a crippling family genetic disease that has already started to manifest. Harry starts to theorize that the only cure for his disease is the same substance that created Spider-Man. Peter must deal with his power's potential strengths (saving Harry) and its weaknesses (putting Gwen in danger) and still save New York City.

As mentioned above, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a silly movie. With the exception of the last act and a few passing moments, it doesn't take itself seriously. It even goes out of the way to point out the silliness and down-right stupidity of the first film (in one scene they seem to acknowledge how ridiculous it was to have a villain who is giant lizard-man who plans to turn the population into lizards). The fun thing is that Spider-Man seems to actively enjoy his job. He cracks jokes, defends the weak, and still wants to do his own laundry when he gets home. Sure there are the scenes of Parker questioning the danger he could potentially put Gwen in but those don't limit the enjoyment. In a world where our super-heroes are predominantly depressed millionaires (Batman, Iron Man, the "human" known as George Clooney), it is nice to have a hero who simply enjoys saving people.

Director Mark Webb has finally blended his indie sensibilities with the superhero genre. Webb received attention by directing 2009's (500) Days of Summer, one of the best received romantic films of the last decade. When he was given the reigns (web shooters?) to the rebooted Spider-Man franchise the only thing that seemed to fit about the decision was the puns that people would create using his last name. While the first The Amazing Spider-Man was a quick-and-dirty origin picture with an awkward villain and last act, Webb gives The Amazing Spider-Man 2 some much needed lightness. The relationship between Gwen and Peter is fleshed out much more than the first film. There are some scenes between the two with such adorable banter that you could easily see it coming out of an early draft of (500) Days. It really helps to sell their relationship and why it is important to them both. In the first film, their relationship didn't seem to be fleshed out beyond "Well... yeah, man... she's Emma Stone. Of course you are going to want to be with her!" Here we honestly think they should be together and are rooting for Parker's romantic life as much (if not more) than his battles with villains.

The major problem with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is that it is far too long. There is rarely an excuse for a movie like this movie to be 142 minutes long. There is a tight, fun two-hour movie hidden in this bloated picture. It comes down to a similar problem that Spider-Man 3 had where there are just too many villains. Without giving too much away, Foxx's Electro is not the only villain that appears. This raises the question of why movie studios are so quick to throw in as many conflicts as possible. Wouldn't it make more sense to pace them out over the course of a few films? Although there are hints at future villains in the foreground of a laboratory setting, you still are most likely going to do a disservice to your villains if you jam as many as you can into one picture. The length also weighs down a good section of the second act. While it is nice to get some more back story about Richard Parker (Campbell Scott), Peter's father, it isn't entirely necessary. We don't walk away with any new feeling for any of the characters and it is debatable if Peter even does. Superhero movies certainly don't need to be strictly action-packed (some of the very best moments in this film are the understated moments mentioned above) but they should move at a faster clip than Amazing Spider-Man 2 does.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a large step in the right direction after the haphazard and disappointing first film. Webb has started to show that he is the right choice for the production. He has brought some much-needed levity to a genre that had seemed to be driven into the ground with darkness. Hopefully he will continue this light touch and maybe be more liberal in the editing room when he directs The Amazing Spider-Man 3. Until then, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is an entertaining and somewhat surprising start to the 2014 summer movie season.