6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 3.4 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.9 |
For Peter Parker, life is busy – between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen, high school graduation can’t come quickly enough. Peter hasn’t forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen’s father to protect her by staying away – but that’s a promise he just can’t keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro, emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn, returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past.
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Colm FeoreAction | 100% |
Adventure | 95% |
Comic book | 73% |
Fantasy | 72% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French (Canada): DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has it all. It's the classic modern Superhero movie through-and-through. It's built on state-of-the-art visual effects. There's web-slinging and swinging aplenty. The action is ferocious and perfectly choreographed. All the major characters are here. Slick editing. Great music. Human interest stories. And just not much of a heart. The film's downfall may very well be its perfection, its glitz and glamour and embodiment of everything everyone expects in a Superhero movie, at least on the (mostly) superficial level. It's mindlessly fun in every way a Superhero movie should be, right until the end, an end in which the filmmakers pull the rug out from underneath the audience and redefine everything before and reshape everything to come. Suddenly, a soulless movie is so filled with soul there's no room for anything else. And then the movie does everything else -- something that should have taken the entire next movie to do -- in about five minutes. It's an uneasy, yea, violent, swing of emotion makes the heart and soul of the "first" ending almost meaningless, as if what happened is something that can be brushed aside in mere moments when in reality a lifetime's worth of pain couldn't cure it. The movie could have been so much more, and its sequel greater still, had this film's final shots been the next movie's final shots, with a whole lot of drama leading up to and through them. Oh well. At least audiences are treated to Spider-Man whipping through skyscrapers. Again.
Spider-Man stars in the remake of Wes Craven's 'Shocker.'
The Amazing Spider-Man 2's 1080p transfer, one that has been "mastered in 4K," looks marvelous. Shot on film rather than digital, the picture enjoys a pleasant, even, cinematic texturing that shows more life than its digital counterparts. Details are robust and crisp. Cityscapes are clear and very well defined even at some distance and under the darkness of night, illuminated and defined only by manmade light. Facial and clothing textures enjoy precision detailing, right down to fine makeup lines and stitches. Spider-Man suit textures are includible, particularly the mesh-like eyepieces that nicely stand apart from the dark red and blue costume. Colors are robust and satisfying. Yellow cabs, orange fireballs, Electro's brilliant blue, messy Goblin green, and that aforementioned Spider-Man trademark red and blue are marvelously presented in every scene, day and night alike. Black levels are deep and natural, ditto flesh tones, save for a few brief pushes towards a slightly red appearance. The image enjoys a very fine, nearly imperceptible layer of natural film grain. No technical flaws are anywhere to be seen. In total, this is another brilliant transfer from Sony.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 swings onto Blu-ray with a brilliant DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This is a classic new movie audio presentation. Everything performs seamlessly and in total harmony: music, effects, ambience, dialogue, the whole nine yards. Musical notes are smooth and nicely spaced across the front. Speakers seem to melt away in favor of the beautifully harmonious presentation that's aided by the perfect balance of surround support and low end pronouncement, whether light score, heroic trumpets, or heavy electronic-inspired beats. Listeners will frequently become lost in a nice hodgepodge of ambient sound effects, including bustling city din, gently falling rain, and background jet engines. Heavier action effects are unsurprisingly potent and robust, loud and focused, and beautifully balanced. Explosions, jolts of electricity, screaming civilians, crumbling structures, crashing cars, and all variety of sonic mayhem is introduced with the sort of well-defined presence -- including extreme bass and surround support -- that listeners should expect from a new movie soundtrack. Dialogue is nicely produced through the center, including Electro's deeper, scratchier voice. Overall, this is a showstopper of a soundtrack that's everything it should be, and then some.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 contains a large assortment of extra content. A UV digital copy code is included in the case. Note that some of
the supplements may contain spoilers for the film.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 should have been so much more. Even if it was two hours of the same song-and-dance but punctuated with the first end rather than ruined by the second end, it would have made every last oozing bit of repetition worthwhile in hopes that the next movie might have been the truly spectacular one, not another clone. Granted, it's way too early to dismiss whatever may be awaiting in The Amazing Spider-Man 3, but it's not hard to predict, particularly not after this film did that film's job in five minutes, when this film's end shot battle should have been that film's end shot. But at least The Amazing Spider-Man 2 does everything else to baseline satisfaction. The movie is exceptionally well-done from a technical perspective. The action is terrific, the editing faultless, the music great, and so on and so forth. It's everything fans expect, but is it everything they want?. High scores and lots of money say "yes," so expect more of the same next time. Sony's Blu-ray release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 delivers perfect video and audio, just as expected (and, in this case, "predictable" is a good thing). A plethora of high quality bonus content is included. Fans can't go wrong with a purchase.
2014
Bonus Disc
2014
Electro Collector's Edition
2014
Magno Case + Comic Book
2014
2014
Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD + Vaultz Box
2014
Limited Edition Collector's Movie Pack Includes 3 Collectable Poster + Movie Ticket Up To $10
2014
2014
with Bonus Disc
2014
Limited Edition Comic Book and Magno Collectible Case
2014
2012
2013
2013
2014
Cinematic Universe Edition
2012
2016
Cinematic Universe Edition
2016
2019
2004
Extended and Theatrical versions
2011
2017
2015
2011
2018
2017
2017
2013
Cinematic Universe Edition
2019
plus Theatrical Cut on standard Blu-ray
2016
1983