The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Andrew Garfield IS Spider-Man! - Part 1

[Nicko-Ray]

The movie needn't spend "20 minutes" showcasing his intelligence to put it across. I just really didn't get the really smart kid/genius vibe from Garfield. I think they did a better job portraying him in the first film in terms of being smart and an outsider and all that. The point is that he is supposed to be a genius - just one with a ****ton of responsibilities who's also a superhero.

And I wouldn't say that TASM2 did a good job with it at all. Gwen provided him the solution to the whole thing with Electro. Also, why is Gwen valedictorian? There's nothing wrong with her being smart, too, but I certainly didn't get valedictorian from Emma Stone's portrayal. I could never buy Emma Stone as someone that smart just based on her acting.

Well there's a lot going on in this movie and it's obvious they used the web shooter montage, plus the Electro battle to shine light on what his intelligence level is. Sure Gwen provided the solution, but also reminded him. But I understand what you're saying. His intelligence level doesn't satisfy you.

 

[slimshady247]

Yeah, I definitely think it could've been done/portrayed better.

Like seriously, why isn't he valedictorian?!

I can understand his responsibilities as Spider-Man interfering, but isn't the whole point that he is capable of juggling those responsibilities and is smart enough to do so? I don't know. That's just how I felt.

 

[Bullseye1]

Yeah, I definitely think it could've been done/portrayed better.

Like seriously, why isn't he valedictorian?!

I can understand his responsibilities as Spider-Man interfering, but isn't the whole point that he is capable of juggling those responsibilities and is smart enough to do so? I don't know. That's just how I felt.

I'd recommend Superior Spider-man as a good arc on why Peter is his own worse enemy. It's how he has been portrayed in the comics, unfocused for the most part.

 

[Bullseye1]

I like both of the Spider-man franchises but for me Garfield has been the better Parker and Spider-man. I do agree both franchises have failed to fully explore his intelligence and his scientific knowledge. The comics have too to a large extent. The guy should be up there with Stark and Richards.

 

[slimshady247]

I'd recommend Superior Spider-man as a good arc on why Peter is his own worse enemy. It's how he has been portrayed in the comics, unfocused for the most part.

Yeah, I've been reading Superior Spider-Man, it's just a matter of catching up.

And I wouldn't say Raimi's films failed at it, just these ones, really. I could tell that Peter was a smart guy in Raimi's films (if we're drawing comparisons, which we are always compelled to do).

Spider-Man 2 is certainly the best one in the franchise to showcase Peter's struggle to balance his responsibilities as a civilian and his responsibilities as a superhero.

 

[GuestStar2004]

For me toby just seemed awkward in the role even when he was acting confident in SM3 he looked awkward

andrew garfield seems perfect for the role, not just because he is a great actor but his passion for the role and i don't think he gets enough credit for the role, he gets alot but still not enough

 

[Nicko-Ray]

Oh Andrew is a better actor for sure. I know it's opinion but I think it's one of those things where everyone can agree. It's like if they had a chart with calculation somehow, Andrew would win.

It's kind of a no brainer.

 

[Shikamaru]

Agreed with all of this. I think it's because Peter has those three things we all relate to : Trouble with girls, trouble with money, and trouble at home.

Also, I think you meant this song playing in the bg during that scene :
[YT]GV2yMnzWkkc[/YT]
I thought it was a weird song choice at first, but at the second viewing I fell in love with it. So perfect, I bought the song.

Umm...yeah, that song. I don't know what video I linked. I just noticed it now.

Yeah, I definitely think it could've been done/portrayed better.

Like seriously, why isn't he valedictorian?!

I can understand his responsibilities as Spider-Man interfering, but isn't the whole point that he is capable of juggling those responsibilities and is smart enough to do so? I don't know. That's just how I felt.

The whole point is that he can find a decent balance between school and being Spider-Man. If most of us had to be Spider-Man full time and still attend school plus, our grades would flunk. But because he's a genius, he still gets pretty good grades without studying as much. Heck, we know he had the highest marks after Gwen, and Gwen dedicated herself to her grades full time.

To quote Hank Pym when he found out about Peter's spider tracers: "I don't know what's sadder. That a kid beat me to this or that he's wasting his talents on punching thugs." (Paraphrased)

Now that I think about it, I guess that's one small problem I have with the film: no spider tracers.

 

[Bullseye1]

Yeah, I've been reading Superior Spider-Man, it's just a matter of catching up.

And I wouldn't say Raimi's films failed at it, just these ones, really. I could tell that Peter was a smart guy in Raimi's films (if we're drawing comparisons, which we are always compelled to do).

Spider-Man 2 is certainly the best one in the franchise to showcase Peter's struggle to balance his responsibilities as a civilian and his responsibilities as a superhero.

They definitely failed at showing his scientific knowledge in any great detail, there was glimpses but not as much as Tony Stark in IM and even Richards in the FF ones. It's a pity too and it can be levelled at the current movies too.

 

[slimshady247]

I disregard Tobey's performance in Spider-Man 3 as Raimi potentially giving a middle finger to Sony for their ridiculous amounts of studio interference. And I never thought he was awkward in the role. He always seemed like a perfect fit to me in the first two films, particularly Spider-Man 2. And the character is supposed to be awkward to some degree or another. It's inherent in him, really.

And Garfield really isn't that (pun time) amazing. He's fine, but nothing special, really. Not in the second movie anyway.

I don't think we can suddenly declare Garfield the better actor objectively either. That kind of thing is definitely subjective.

 

[Shikamaru]

I never liked Tobey in the role. He was too much of a George McFly archetype. Which even back in the 1960's comics, Peter never fully was.

I mean...having the bus driver laugh at him...the nerdy girl not even wanting to sit next to him...every single person under the sun but Harry/MJ hating his guts...things were never that extreme for him even back in the Lee/Ditko era. Raimi took it to a huge degree, arguably making Peter a caricature.

 

[slimshady247]

No, things were pretty extreme like that in the Lee/Ditko era for sure. That kind of thing was straight out of the comics. I know this because I read and own the early Golden Age comics in the form of Marvel Masterworks.

Peter got some seriously harsh treatment in his 1960s portrayal. It was fitting.

And if we're talking caricatures, that's basically every character in TASM2, including Peter. Peter was not a caricature in Spider-Man 1 and 2 (and let's not even talk about 3).

 

[KillerMcQueen]

Yeah, I definitely think it could've been done/portrayed better.

Like seriously, why isn't he valedictorian?!

I can understand his responsibilities as Spider-Man interfering, but isn't the whole point that he is capable of juggling those responsibilities and is smart enough to do so? I don't know. That's just how I felt.

I've rarely ever had that impression with Spidey, I more got the impression that he usually is able to do it, but there's enough chaos on both ends to keep him from ever really being able to keep things in control for very long.

 

[slimshady247]

Well, I'd always got the impression that he was barely holding everything together, but he was still the genius at his school(s).

 

[Nicko-Ray]

I liked Tobey in SM1. Then after that, his character just stayed the same for two movies. Even as an actor.

 

[slimshady247]

I wouldn't say he stayed the same in SM2. It was a natural development and extension from SM1.

Then SM3 ****ed it all up.

 

[Shikamaru]

No, things were pretty extreme like that in the Lee/Ditko era for sure. That kind of thing was straight out of the comics. I know this because I read and own the early Golden Age comics in the form of Marvel Masterworks.

Peter got some seriously harsh treatment in his 1960s portrayal. It was fitting.

And if we're talking caricatures, that's basically every character in TASM2, including Peter. Peter was not a caricature in Spider-Man 1 and 2 (and let's not even talk about 3).

Where in the Lee/Ditko era was Peter that harassed? When did the bus driver pick on him and nerdy girls pick on him?

Most of Peter's bullying/harassment came from a particular clique - Flash's group. The popular kids. Flash Thompson, Sally Avril, Liz Allen, all of those students. Outside of that one group, the rest of the school just ignored him. They wouldn't lay a finger on him, but also didn't want to be associated him. When guys like Flash would do their thing, they would just turn a blind eye. He wasn't the school's biggest joke. He was an outcast with bullying being sprinkled on top.

Also, there were no Spider-Man comics in the Golden Age. I think you mean Silver Age.

 

[slimshady247]

Oh ****, did I say Golden Age? My bad. Yes. Silver Age.

And when I said straight out of the comics, I just meant he was always being harassed in some way or another by the popular kids. Even the scientists when he gets bitten are ***** to him. That's all right there in the source material.

And I don't think there's any indication in SM1 that he's "the school's biggest joke." He's just a nerdy outcast (to a pretty large degree, yes, but still). Having been in that sort of position, I wouldn't say that it's an unrealistic portrayal. Certainly not a caricature.

 

[ironman29758]

Yeah, I've been reading Superior Spider-Man, it's just a matter of catching up.

And I wouldn't say Raimi's films failed at it, just these ones, really. I could tell that Peter was a smart guy in Raimi's films (if we're drawing comparisons, which we are always compelled to do).

Spider-Man 2 is certainly the best one in the franchise to showcase Peter's struggle to balance his responsibilities as a civilian and his responsibilities as a superhero.

I don't know except for a few details I think they handled even if it wasn't totally what I wanted or e(return of the electronic lock, I like him trying to rework his webbing and test in order to prevent Electro from doing damage on him again and trying different methods but using the you tube video was kind of weird and I'm mad it took Gwen using 8th grade science to help him, but I do appreciate the fact that they did try different ways to protect the webbing from electricity although I enjoyed it was Peter who figured out how to take down Electro and take charge on using the power plants in order to overload him which Gwen was the one who decided to go up to the power plant to press the button but the second in his class callback was nice) but I do think showing him create webbing of his own based on his dad's research and Oscorp videos now that the spiders have been destroyed and making modifications on it perfecting it or trying to create things like spider tracers and spider signal and figuring out how it can help him out as Spider-Man.


But in the Raimi versus Webb Peter in term of intelligence, I think Tobey just talked the talked(Except for saying figuring out Venom's weakness and the Spider-Man 2 in stopping the train with his webbing it was mostly just Peter spouting out scientific facts, and Sam Raimi wanted for him to come off as more of an average joe/everyman type character but felt like ) but Andrew Garfield walked the walk despite not totally coming off as a nerdy character(creating electric locks, building web shooters out of Uncle Ben's old wrist watches, using his webbing in trying to track the Lizard, creating the police scanner/ipod mix, and some of the things in the Amazing Spider-Man 2)

 

[Shikamaru]

Oh ****, did I say Golden Age? My bad. Yes. Silver Age.

And when I said straight out of the comics, I just meant he was always being harassed in some way or another by the popular kids. Even the scientists when he gets bitten are ***** to him. That's all right there in the source material.

By one particular group of students. The majority of the school just ignores him. In the Raimi film, almost everyone is picking on him but Harry/MJ. The other nerds wouldn't sit with him.

As for the scientists, that was because they didn't see Peter get bit. They thought he was acting so weird for no reason.

And I don't think there's any indication in SM1 that he's "the school's biggest joke." He's just a nerdy outcast (to a pretty large degree, yes, but still). Having been in that sort of position, I wouldn't say that it's an unrealistic portrayal. Certainly not a caricature.

I would say he was. Again, the bus driver and geeky girls picked on him. The guy was even invisible and getting picked on in college, something college Peter has outgrown by then. Heck, comic book Peter was friends with Flash in college/by the end of high school.

It's not necessarily unrealistic; my point is that it's extreme even for Lee/Ditko Peter Parker.

 

[GuestStar2004]

I never liked Tobey in the role. He was too much of a George McFly archetype. Which even back in the 1960's comics, Peter never fully was.

You know you may have actually have a point about him being described that way, I think that is what always bothered me

 

[WarriorDreamer]

I have heard some people didn't like that he was always destined to be Spider-Man. That they felt like Peter Parker is meant to be the average nerd next door, not a guy who was always going to be Spider-Man. I feel like that sort of explains his 'intelligence' in a way too. Because his father was who he was, he is interested in science. Otherwise, he'd probably be the popular guy.

I sometimes think Peter in the comics, was able to balance being a nice guy, with being a sarcastic nerd well, he never came across as a *****e.

Peter in this feels like he either has two modes, crying his eyes out, or being an asshat. That's not like Peter.

 

[Shikamaru]

He isn't really destined to be Spider-Man. They just gave an explanation for why he survived the spider bite and others didn't. The only way he would be destined to be Spider-Man is if his dad (or a higher force) expected him to one day go to Oscorp, drop a file on the ground as soon as a shady person walks by who picks it up and takes him to the spider room.

But I do understand that criticism a bit. At least in the first film, it does feel a bit like a destiny thing due to how contrived it is.

 

[ironman29758]

He isn't really destined to be Spider-Man. They just gave an explanation for why he survived the spider bite and others didn't. The only way he would be destined to be Spider-Man is if his dad (or a higher force) expected him to one day go to Oscorp, drop a file on the ground as soon as a shady person walks by who picks it up and takes him to the spider room.

But I do understand that criticism a bit. At least in the first film, it does feel a bit like a destiny thing due to how contrived it is.

I kind of agree, Harry might be a better example of what happen if you got bitten by the spider and didn't have Richard Parker's blood it was just that Peter followed clues that led him to the spider room but it did kind of had a destiny feel in the first movie but at least it wasn't totally the focus of the movie.

Ultimate Spider-Man and the spectacular spider-man cartoon said he got his interest/curiosity in science from his dad while in 616 he got his interest from science fiction movies and comics which grew over time.

 

[Nicko-Ray]

Correct me if I'm wrong but, the spider that bit Peter gave the effect that it did because it had Richard's DNA in it, and Peter is obviously compatible with it. Otherwise, something wrong would've happened, correct?