The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (released with the subtitle Rise of Electro in some markets) is a 2014 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, directed by Marc Webb and released by Columbia Pictures. It serves as a sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and was announced in 2011. The studio hired James Vanderbilt to write the screenplay and Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to rewrite it. Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti, and Sally Field star.
Development of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 began after the success of The Amazing Spider-Man. DeHaan, Giamatti, Jones, and Cooper were cast between December 2012 and February 2013. Filming took place in New York City from February to June 2013. The film was released in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D on May 2, 2014, in the United States. The film received mixed reviews; some critics highlighted Garfield and Stone's performances and the engaging visual style, while others criticized the overuse of characters and subplots. The film grossed $709 million worldwide, becoming the lowest grossing film in the series. It is also currently the 6th highest grossing film of 2014.
Plot
Scientist Richard Parker records a video message to explain his disappearance to his only son, Peter, and leaves it in his briefcase before departing with Mary, with no explanations, and leaving Peter to Ben and May. While Richard and Mary are on the plane heading for Switzerland, Richard transmits a secret file known as "Project Roosevelt". However, a co-pilot steps out, reveals himself as an assassin, and tries to kill both Richard and Mary and shut down the upload. However, Richard fights him, and the assassin shoots Mary. Richard shoots the glass, creating an explosive decompression. In his last moments, he completes the transmission of the project on his laptop as the plane crashes into the sea.
In the present, Peter fights crime as Spider-Man. He apprehends Aleksei Sytsevich, who attempted to steal a truck containing plutonium vials, and rescues Oscorp employee Max Dillon. While speaking by phone with Gwen Stacy, Peter sees a vision of her deceased father, police captain George Stacy, reminding him to leave Gwen out of his affairs as Spider-Man. After their high school graduation, Peter meets with Gwen at a restaurant outside, insisting he needs to keep his vow to her father by staying away from her, and the two break up.
Peter's childhood friend, Harry Osborn, returns to Manhattan to see his terminally ill father, Norman, CEO of Oscorp. Norman explains his illness is hereditary and Harry is at the age where it first develops. He gives Harry a small device he claims contains his life's work. The next day, Norman dies and Harry is appointed the new Oscorp CEO. He accuses the Oscorp board of trying to wrest control from the Osborns, as they have been privy to Norman's secret biogenetic projects for foreign military powers.
Max, an isolated loner, is inspired by Spider-Man's words of encouragement shortly after rescuing him and starts to idolize him, fantasising about their becoming best friends and holding long pretend conversations as he goes about his daily routine and celebrates his birthday. While tending to maintenance in an Oscorp laboratory, he gets electrocuted and falls into a tank of genetically modified electric eels. They mutate him into a living electric generator. Meanwhile, Peter attempts to maintain a friendship with Gwen, but, as she reveals that an opportunity for a scholarship at Oxford University means that she may move to the United Kingdom, Max wanders into Times Square and accidentally causes a blackout. Remembering his earlier encounter with Max and realising that he is merely in distress, Spider-Man attempts to calm him down, but the police fire at Max, and Spider-Man's resulting rescue of the endangered citizens draws media attention away from him, making him lose his temper and attack. Spider-Man eventually stops him, and Max is taken to Ravencroft Institute.
Harry's illness begins to show, and he deduces Spider-Man's blood will save him, later asking Peter to find Spider-Man. Peter attempts to dissuade him, unsure of what effects the transfusion would have, and, although he does come to Harry as Spider-Man, he still refuses; Harry begins to hate Spider-Man. The Oscorp board members frame Harry for covering up Max's accident, and remove him as CEO. Harry's assistant informs him of equipment that could help him; he works with Max to get him back inside the Oscorp building and, there, finds a suit of armor made by Norman, and venom from genetically altered spiders. The venom accelerates his illness and transforms him into a goblin-like creature, but the suit's built-in emergency protocol restores his health.
Peter uses information left by his father to find a video message in a hidden lab; Richard explains that he had to leave because he refused to cooperate with Norman's biogenetic weaponization plans. Peter gets a voicemail from Gwen, telling him she got the scholarship at Oxford and is leaving for the UK earlier than expected. Before she leaves, he catches her and professes his love. When Max causes another blackout, Peter and Gwen go to confront him. They restore power and overload Max's body, killing him. Harry arrives equipped with Norman's armor and weaponry; he deduces Spider-Man's true identity and kidnaps Gwen. He fights Spider-Man at the top of a clock tower. Spider-Man subdues Harry, but despite his attempts to save Gwen, she falls to her death.. A distraught Peter gives up being Spider-Man and he spends several days throughout the year at Gwen's grave.
Five months later, Harry has healed from his transformation at Ravencroft. Harry's associate, Gustav Fiers, visits him, and tells him that he is forming a group and he needs access to the Oscorp Tower's "special room". Harry agrees, and Gustav breaks Sytsevich out of prison. Equipped with a mechanical suit of armor provided by Harry, Sytsevich calls himself the "Rhino" and rampages through the streets. Peter, inspired by Gwen's graduation speech, returns to battle him as Spider-Man.
Cast
- Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man / Peter Parker: An orphaned teenage boy who received spider-powers after being bitten by a genetically altered spider. Peter first uses his powers to try to hunt down the killer of his uncle in The Amazing Spider-Man but soon decides to use his powers to fight crime as the vigilante known as Spider-Man. Garfield explained that the suit that he would wear in the film would undergo a new design. Garfield hoped to bring back the theme of him being an orphan stating, "I wanna keep exploring that theme of being fatherless, being motherless, searching for purpose and finding a purpose within himself". He felt that it was a responsibility to take on the role and that he does not take it lightly.
- Max Charles also reprises his role as Young Peter Parker.
- Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy: A high school student and Peter's love interest. When asked about Peter and Gwen's relationship in the sequel, Stone said, "She saves him more than he saves her. She's incredibly helpful to Spider-Man... He's the muscle, she's the brains."
- Jamie Foxx as Electro / Max Dillon: An electrical engineer who works for Oscorp Industries. Foxx described the character as "a nobody" who initially idolizes Spider-Man. He develops an obsession with Spider-Man after being saved by him and obtains his powers through an accident at Oscorp involving electric eels.
- Dane DeHaan as Green Goblin / Harry Osborn: An old friend of Peter and son of Norman Osborn. He was sent away to boarding school around the same time Peter's parents disappeared, and meets him for the first time since then in the film. He eventually assumes the role of the Green Goblin.
- Colm Feore as Donald Menken: A member of the Oscorp board, and Vice President.
- Felicity Jones as Felicia: Norman's assistant at Oscorp, and later Harry's. In a marketing video for the film releasing on digital HD formats, it was confirmed that Harry's assistant was called Felicia Hardy.
- Paul Giamatti as Rhino / Aleksei Sytsevich: Giamatti said of his character, "He’s a Russian mobster. Russians are always good villains. I have an ability to just destroy things,†he said. "My accent is pretty hammy. I loved doing it. It seemed to me like an opportunity to be as over-the-top hammy as possible. It was really fun."
- Sally Field as Aunt May: Peter's aunt.
- Campbell Scott as Richard Parker: Peter's father.
- Embeth Davidtz as Mary Parker: Peter's mother.
- Marton Csokas as Dr. Kafka: The head of Ravencroft Institute.
Chris Cooper portrays Norman Osborn, the president of Oscorp and Harry Osborn's father, while B. J. Novak portrays Alistair Smythe. Denis Leary reprises his role as George Stacy from the first film. Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee has a cameo appearance as a guest at Peter and Gwen's graduation ceremony. Michael Massee reprises his role as the "Man in the Shadows" from the first film, with the character now credited as "Gustav Fiers (The Gentleman)." Aidy Bryant appears as a woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty.
Production
Development
The sequel's villain was teased in the 2012 film. Webb stated that the origin story would further unfold in the second installment. In June 2012, Webb said he was unsure whether he would return, though it was confirmed on September 28, 2012, that he would return to direct the sequel. He stated that he "wanted to create a universe that not only can withstand but anticipate future storylines" while also "working in and of itself for one movie." Andrew Garfield had also expressed hope to reprise his role, and in September 2012, it was confirmed that he would do so. Emma Stone was later confirmed to be reprising her role as Gwen Stacy, having signed a contract for two Amazing Spider-Man sequels. The original costume and mask from The Amazing Spider-Man was altered and has lens in the mask, making the eyes bigger. The web shooters were also modified.
Actor J. K. Simmons expressed interest in reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy should the studio offer it to him. In October 2012 Electro was rumored as the next villain. Jamie Foxx was given the role. That December, Foxx confirmed that he was cast as the character, and during an interview with MTV, he explained that the redesign of the character would be more grounded along with details of his depiction. On December 3, 2012, Marc Webb revealed that Dane DeHaan was chosen to play Harry Osborn. Paul Giamatti was confirmed as a cast member in February 2013. Felicity Jones confirmed her involvement with the movie under an undisclosed role. Giamatti also indicated in an October 2013 interview that he would return in The Amazing Spider-Man 3 as well. On February 27, 2013, Chris Cooper was cast as Norman Osborn.
By October 10, 2012, Shailene Woodley was in talks for the role of Mary Jane Watson. By March 14, 2013, Woodley had concluded filming her small role. Garfield recalled, "I think all of [those scenes] were in our backyards. We had two or three scenes with me talking over the fence, and there was one with us riding together on a motorcycle that we never got to shoot." By mid-June, Mary Jane was cut from the film, with director Webb explaining it as "a creative decision to streamline the story and focus on Peter and Gwen and their relationship."
Filming
On February 4, 2013, Marc Webb posted on his Twitter account that principal photography had begun and that the sequel was being shot on 35mm film in the anamorphic format, instead of being filmed digitally as the preceding film was. Sony revealed this would be the first Spider-Man film to be filmed entirely in New York State, including a car-chase scene that was filmed in Rochester because the speed laws are less restrictive in upstate New York. It became the largest film production ever in New York State. The decision to film in Williamsburg, Brooklyn near the Passover holiday caused some controversy, as critics believed that this was culturally insensitive, and would cause problems with parking. The filming company decided to work with the community and then agreed to adjust its production activities for Passover.
On June 25, Webb posted on his Twitter account that filming was completed.
Soundstage work was done at Grumman Studios and Gold Coast Studios, both in Bethpage, New York, and at the at Marcy Armory in Brooklyn.
Post-production
The film was mixed in Auro 11.1 and Dolby Atmos in the converted William Holden Theater. The mix for both was completed by Paul Massey and David Giammarco.
A mid-credit teaser scene from X-Men: Days of Future Past was added to the film after its London premiere, due to an existing deal between Webb and 20th Century Fox, in which Fox allowed Webb to direct the film if Sony would promote the X-Men film for free. The scene, set during the Vietnam War, sees Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), a rogue mutant, trying to infiltrate a military camp led by William Stryker (Josh Helman) in an attempt to recruit fellow mutants Havok (Lucas Till) and Toad (Evan Jonigkeit). The scene's inclusion sparked confusion among some viewers in the United Kingdom, who thought it meant an X-Menâ€"Spider-Man crossover film was being planned, based on how Marvel Studios and Disney use codas within the Marvel Cinematic Universe to promote future films.
Music
On July 20, 2013, Webb announced that Hans Zimmer would be composing the music for the film, replacing James Horner, the composer of the first film. On October 25, 2013, Pharrell Williams revealed to Billboard that he would co-compose the score with Zimmer. Webb and Zimmer formed a supergroup with Williams, Johnny Marr, Mike Einziger and former Eurythmic David A. Stewart to create the music for the sequel. Eventually, Stewart did not participate in the film's music, and the supergroup, credited as The Magnificent Six (a reference to the Sinister Six) was composed of Williams, Marr, Einziger, Junkie XL, Steve Mazzaro and Andrew Kawczynski assisting Zimmer. The soundtrack for the film was released on April 22, 2014 by Columbia Records and Madison Gate Records. Hans Zimmer described his work for this movie to be different from previous works that he did, thus revealing one of the themes for the movie, which was first heard on the website.
On March 31, 2014, a track called "It's On Again" was uploaded to Soundcloud. It features vocals by Kendrick Lamar and Alicia Keys. Via Twitter, Keys announced the song and credited Zimmer and Williams along with Lamar and herself for the song, and she included a hashtag saying "Spiderman", indicating the song is part of the soundtrack.
Marketing
The release of the film in the United Kingdom was pushed forward to April 16, 2014, two days ahead of its original April 18 date. Deadline reported that, in addition to the production budget, the film's marketing budget was $180â€"190 million.
On July 17, 2013, Sony released a clip from the film with the first released footage of Jamie Foxx as Electro to encourage attendance at their panel at the San Diego Comic-Con International. At the panel they premiered a four-minute trailer, which was not publicly released but eventually leaked on the internet. Viral marketing for the film included a version of the Daily Bugle on the blogging service Tumblr, which included references to Kate Cushing, Detective Stan Carter, the "Big Man", Izzy Bunsen, Joy Mercado, Donald Menken, the Vulture, Hydro-Man, Spencer Smythe, Ned Leeds, Anne Weying, J. Jonah Jameson, Shocker, Alistair Smythe, Doctor Octopus, Eddie Brock, The Enforcers and Puma. Marc Webb tweeted a photo of a message in Dwarven language revealing that the first trailer would debut prior to 3D screenings of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
On December 8, 2013, it was announced that new footage from the film would be presented during New Year's Eve festivities at New York City's Times Square.
The film was further promoted during the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) "Earth Hour" campaign. The cast was present at the launch of the 2014 event in Singapore. Disney Consumer Products announced a merchandise product line for the film at the American International Toy Fair on February 17, 2014.
In March 2014, Gameloft and Marvel announced the launch of a mobile game of the same name for smartphones and tablets. It was released on consoles afterward. Kellogg's released an application featuring the film.
Evian serves as a promotional partner of the film. On April 1, 2014, the brand released an advertisement "The Amazing Baby & Me 2" featuring Spider-Man and a baby version of him, as a follow-up to their original "Baby & Me" campaign.
The film partnered with NBCUniversal for advertising. Spots for the film appeared on Bravo, E!, USA, Syfy, Telemundo and mun2 and a customized page was created on Fandango. In May 2014, Marvel announced that Spider-Man's costume from the film would be available within Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
Home media
Fans who saw the movie have started petitions on several petition websites to include a "Director's Cut" in the home video release for cutting out scenes from the film's marketing, including scenes featuring Martin Sheen reprising his role as Uncle Ben and Chris Zylka reprising his role as Flash Thompson, along with Shailene Woodley's deleted scenes and a post-credits scene. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment for digital download on August 5, 2014 and was released on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and DVD on August 19, 2014.
Creative agency Deckhouse Digital was hired to produce several animated GIFs ahead of the DVD/Blu-ray release as part of a sponsored ad campaign on Tumblr.
Reception
Critical response
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 received mixed reviews from film critics. The Los Angeles Times said, "[The film is] overstuffed with plot lines, set pieces and villains, although stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone do their best to give the movie heart." Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 53% approval rating from critics, with an average score of 5.9/10 based on 257 reviews. The site's consensus states: "While the cast is outstanding and the special effects are top-notch, the latest installment of the Spidey saga suffers from an unfocused narrative and an overabundance of characters." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film also has a score of 53 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend revealed the average grade cinemagoers gave the film was B+ on an A+ to F scale.
The main criticisms of the film were the underdeveloped characters, overlong running time, and crowded script. However, the special effects, chemistry between Stone and Garfield, and Dane DeHaan's performance were met with high praise. Foxx's portrayal of Max Dillon/Electro was met with mixed reviews.
Tim Robey of The Telegraph said, "Marc Webb's Spider-Man sequel is overstuffed with high-voltage villains, but the sparks between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone save the day". Simon Reynolds of Digital Spy said, "Peter's past, present and future all intertwine in a sequel that offers bang for your buck. That said you can't help feel the franchise bean counters at work here thanks to all the ominous foreshadowing and unresolved character arcs. Too many cooks and all that...". Kim Newman of Empire scored the film three out of five stars, saying: "A few too-broad gags aside â€" and even these are in the funky spirit of ’60s Marvel â€" this is a satisfying second issue with thrills, heartbreak, gasps, and a perfectly judged slingshot ending." Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter said, "The eponymous hero hits his super-heroic stride here, as does Andrew Garfield in the role, especially when Spider-Man's alter ego Peter Parker learns there's always some fine print in a contract with this many benefits. The plot gets itself tangled up in multiple villain strands, but in the main, this installment is emotionally weightier and more satisfying than its predecessor." Guy Lodge of Variety said, "Redundancy remains a problem, but this overlong superhero sequel gets by on sound, fury and star chemistry." Richard Roeper gave the film a B+, stating that "It's about 20 minutes too long and it's overstuffed with too many characters and too many subplots, but there's enough good stuff in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to warrant optimism about the next chapter of the franchise." A negative review came from Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, giving the film two stars out of five, he said: "Things go wrong quickly with Amazing 2. Am I the only one who hates the word Amazing to describe a movie that isn't? Just asking."
Box office
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 grossed $8.7 million on its early Thursday night showings. It finished its opening weekend in first place with $91.6 million, almost $30 million more than the opening weekend gross of the first film. The film grossed $202,853,933 in North America and $505,835,227 in other countries, for a total gross of 708,689,160.
Outside North America, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opened on April 16, 2014 to $2.73 million in the UK and to $190,000 in Belgium, while opening to $1.44 million in Australia and $1.11 million in Germany. The film's release in India is the biggest opening weekend of all time for a Hollywood title. In China, the film played on 11,002 screens, which is the biggest release of any film in history. On its opening day in Hong Kong, the film earned $1.23 million, the highest opening gross in the territory ever.
Accolades
Sequels and spinoffs
The Amazing Spider-Man 3
On June 17, 2013, Sony announced a third film with a release date of June 10, 2016. On October 2, 2013, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Kurtzman, Orci and Pinkner would return to write the third film. In December 2013, Garfield revealed that he is signed for the third film. In February 2014, Sony announced that Webb will return to direct the third film. On March 31, 2014, Shailene Woodley said she was unsure she wanted to be in the third film as Mary Jane Watson, due to commitments with the Divergent film series. On May 8, 2014, Webb told Entertainment Weekly that the third film's story will focus on Peter's recovering from Gwen's death. On July 11, 2014, Orci left the third film to work on the sequel to Star Trek Into Darkness. In late July 2014, Sony announced that The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was delayed to an unspecified date in 2018. Marc Webb revealed that Norman Osborn will indeed return in The Amazing Spider-Man 3.
The Amazing Spider-Man 4
On June 17, 2013, Sony announced a fourth film with a release date of May 4, 2018. In December 2013, Garfield revealed that he is not sure of his involvement for the fourth film. In March 2014, Webb stated that he would not be directing the fourth film, but would like to remain as a consultant for the series. In late July, Sony moved the film to an unspecified date, after delaying The Amazing Spider-Man 3 to 2018.
Spin-offs
In December 2013, Sony announced a planned spinoff of the film series featuring the Sinister Six and Venom. Drew Goddard will write and direct Sinister Six, while Kurtzman will direct Venom and co-write the film with Orci and Ed Solomon. The films may include appearances from Spider-Man. In late July 2014, Sony announced that Sinister Six will be released on November 11, 2016. By August 2014, Sony was also looking to release a female-centered spin-off film in 2017, with Lisa Joy Nolan writing. Sony have also attempted to engage Sam Raimi to return and direct a new trilogy for the character.
In December 2014, both Sony and Marvel Studios were revealed to have engaged in discussion about including Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the intent of including him in Captain America: Civil War. Sony would have retained control over film rights to the character, but Marvel did not like this term, and the talks ceased.
