The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2D) [Blu-Ray]
Director: Marc Webb
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx
Release Date: Available on Blu-Ray 3D, Blu-Ray & DVD August 19, 2014
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 10/10
Plot Summary:
We’ve always known that Spider-Man’s most important conflict has been within himself: the struggle between the ordinary obligations of Peter Parker and the extraordinary responsibilities of Spider-Man. But in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Peter Parker finds that his greatest battle is about to begin. It’s great to be Spider-Man. For Peter Parker, there’s no feeling quite like swinging between skyscrapers, embracing being the hero, and spending time with Gwen. But being Spider-Man comes at a price: only Spider-Man can protect his fellow New Yorkers from the formidable villains that threaten the city. With the emergence of Electro, Peter must confront a foe far more powerful than he. And as his old friend, Harry Osborn, returns, Peter comes to realize that all of his enemies have one thing in common: Oscorp.
‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ tells the continuing story of Peter Parker in his quest to help the people of New York. This time around, Peter has adapted well at this point to his personae of Spider-Man, but is now having trouble maintaining his life as Peter Parker, becoming forgetful and missing (or nearly missing) important events that he shouldn’t. He is also continually haunted by the image of Gwen’s father, his mind always fighting whether he should abide by his promise to Captain Stacy to leave Gwen out of his life, or if he can continue to be with her, a decision which could as a result, potentially put her in harm’s way. At the same time that he is dealing with these personal dilemmas, a new villain emerges named Electro who can control energy and may be too large of a threat for Peter to handle. Peter’s childhood friend Harry Osborne also returns home and begs Peter’s help which leads to even more complications in this already trying time in his life.
Marc Webb once again returns to the director’s chair for the follow up to the fantastic ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ delivering a superior sequel that he once again handles flawlessly, obviously really finding his perfect footing in this franchise. Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Sally Field and a few others from the first entry reprise their roles and are additionally joined by newcomers Jamie Foxx, Paul Giamatti (although his role in the film is minimal) Dane DeHaan and a number of others, all of which deliver solid performances in each of their respective roles.
I continue to be impressed with this phenomenal reboot on the Spider-Man series and while ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ pleasantly surprised me so much that it easily became my favorite Spidey film, ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ has now taken that slot with ease, building on every element of the first film without sacrificing any of what made it so fantastic. The action and intensity, as well as the personal and emotional nature of the film are only heightened and more perfectly constructed this time around, delivering an emotional, stunning and all around enjoyable film that Marvel, Spidey and superhero fans in general will definitely not want to miss out on. I would highly recommend it.
VIDEO:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 2.40:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation is certainly up to Sony’s high standards and it looks absolutely stunning from start to end. The colors are rich, the frequently fast paced movement of the camera as it swarms throughout the action is never hurt or affected and everything looks fantastic in every way overall with no noticeable faults to be found within on my end.
AUDIO:
The Blu-Ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This is one incredibly active lossless multichannel soundtrack that continually delivers throughout the film. From the wonderful score to the numerous action sequences, there is constant activity swarming throughout all five channels and some hard hitting activity from the bass on a regular basis as well, all the while never detracting from the audibility of the dialogue. While it would have been great to see a 7.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack as this film was created to utilize the Dolby Atmos system in theaters, as far as 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtracks go, it certainly doesn’t get any better than this.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Blu-Ray release of ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ also includes an incredibly comprehensive collection of bonus content. Included on the release is ‘The Wages of Heroism: Making The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ which compiles a number of featurette’s taking an incredibly detailed and informative look at the process of bringing this film to life, altogether totaling over 1 hour and 40 minutes of featurette’s in this section alone, but folks should note that this is a Blu-Ray exclusive extra and therefore will not be found on the DVD release. Also included are thirteen deleted scenes (9 of which are also Blu-Ray exclusives) featuring commentary by Director Marc Webb. As if those goodies alone weren’t impressive enough, also included is a filmmakers’ Commentary track, a music video and a look at the creation of the music for the film with director Marc Webb.
*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.