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On second thought, you know what? I'm NOT sorry. I think the 'Amazing Spider-Man' movies are fantastic, and I don't feel like I should apologize for that sentiment at all.
There's a lot I like about Amazing Spider-Man 2, but I think first and foremost is the cast.
Andrew Garfield made a terrific Peter Parker in this movie. As a high school graduate on his own for the first time (except for the fact that he's still living with Aunt May, which makes a lot more sense in today's economy than it did in previous years), he's cute, nerdy, relatable, and provides what I feel to be a perfect balance of humor, pathos, snark, and drive. He makes Peter the nerdy, lost teen we've all been at some point in our lives, rather than the kind we'd like to be. (This, in my opinion, is a big improvement from the previous film)
He has a sense of humor about him that Tobey Maguire never had, except unintentionally. While he could still carry emotions like rage, angst, and guilt, they were better balanced in his Spider-Man and Peter Parker than in Tobey's. I appreciated that quite a lot.
Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy was another inspired bit of casting in the first film. She's as smart as he is, and much more willful and independent than her comic-book counterpart, whom I consider one of the most annoying characters in all of comicdom. Here, though, she's got a really moving story arc about whether to continue being the "superhero's girlfriend who knows his identity" or giving up her relationship with Peter and moving on with her life. The chemistry between Stone and Garfield (a real-life couple) shines on screen, and makes every scene between them stand out as meaningful and bittersweet.
Jamie Foxx as Electro was quite possibly the most controversial move the film made, but in a shocking twist (no pun intended), he proved to be my favorite part of this film. His civilian characterization as Max Dillon was reminiscent of Jim Carrey's Edward Nygma in Batman Forever, but what Carrey had played as a comedic role was handled in a much more serious matter. We already sympathize with nerdy, put-upon Max and his hero-worship of Spider-Man, and Foxx's ethnicity plays a part in that sympathy, bringing an undertone of racism to his treatment at Oscorp, as nearly all his higher-ups are rich white guys. People may roll their eyes at this and call it outdated, but I think it's still all too believable. His being driven to the breaking point by the circumstances surrounding his transformation is made much more credible by his constant trashy treatment as Max, despite the fact that literally the entirety of Oscorp facility depends on him to keep it runnning. Max Dillon is as much victim as villain in this film, and watching his tragedy unfold was extremely compelling.
Also, just LISTEN to his theme. Seriously, you can feel the slipping of his sanity as he is literally persecuted into madness.
There are other incredible casting choices (Sally Field as Aunt May gets one particularly moving scene that made me cry almost as much as the end of the film), but these three were really what sold the film.
I'll get into other things I love about the movie in the future if people are interested (if anyone even wants to associate with me after admitting my love for this allegedly terrible film).
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