When this city needs me, I will be there. Who am I? I am THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.

"Soon everyone in this city will know how it is to live in my world. A world without power, without mercy, a world without Spider-Man. They will see me for who I truly am. I'm Electro."                             -Jamie Foxx

Yes, it is here. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 is in theaters. After two years, all the fans of the web-slinger have something to see, and enjoy too. After the first movie, the expectations from Marc Webb and Columbia Pictures were very high. And boy, they have delivered one heck of a movie.
In 2012, when the first movie was release, it was marketed as "The Untold Story". The plot of the first movie was all about one thing- Peter finding out the truth about his parents. The second movie too starts from that base only, with Richard Parker's footage about the disappearance of his wife and him.First of all, I have to commend Marc Webb on the direction and Alex Kurtzman on the screenplay adaptation, for these two things were at a level completely different from what we saw in the first movie.
Now, I am going to talk a bit about the movie. Since this is a review (not a plot summation like my first article), there will be some SPOILERS ahead. So all of you Spidey fans who haven't seen the movie, well, read at your own risk.

The movie starts with Richard and Mary Parker leaving their son Peter at Uncle Ben's house and the events that followed,i.e., the death of Richard and Mary Parker. In the present, Peter is loving his double-life as Spider-Man, beating criminals, saving the damsel in distress, and being loved by the kids. Peter has graduated from Midtown High and is dating Gwen Stacy, though he continues to be haunted by the promise he made to her father, Captain Stacy in the first movie. While chasing a Russian mobster, Peter saves the life of Max Dillon, an Oscorp employee who is a nobody. Since Max is a loner and is always being used by people for getting their work done, he is inspired by Spider-Man and begins to idolize him.
 So much so, that he becomes obsessed with him and thinks of him as his 'best friend'. In another part of the city, Harry Osborn is back from boarding school after 10 years. Norman Osborn is dead and he realizes that he too, was going to die of the same disease that took his father's life (since the disease for hereditary). He becomes CEO of Oscorp Industries and starts looking for his cure. Now, Peter breaks up with Gwen and in Oscorp, Max is involved in an accident with electric eels which make him into a blue colored alien. After being humiliated by Spidey, Max becomes Electro and his only goal is to finish Spider-Man. Harry, in the search of his cure, realizes that Spider-Man's blood might be the only thing that could save him. When Spider-Man refuses, he decides to conduct an experiment on himself with the spiders from the first film (the spiders that bit Peter). Skipping the useless parts in the story line, the experiment goes wrong and Harry is converted into a green colored man, thus naming his avatar The Green Goblin. What follows are fights and fights between Spidey, Electro and the Green Goblin, with Electro and the Goblin teaming up against Spidey. Quite standard, huh? Here is the big twist in the tale.

In the last fight, The Green Goblin manages to kill Gwen Stacy. Yes, Gwen Stacy DIES in the movie. Peter is left heartbroken, he quits as Spider-Man, but one day Aunt May makes him realize how he had to go on and forget the events of the past. Peter realizes his responsibility to the city and returns, fighting a new villain called Rhino in the end. In the last scene of the movie, the shadowy figure is seen talking to Harry (who is in a mental asylum) about raising an army and revealing that Rhino was his creation
This is the basic plot.


Now, let's talk about the positives. Personally, I think Dane DeHann has done an amazing job bringing the character of harry Osborn to life. From his looks to his acting, he was completely immersed in the role and has definitely done a much better job than James Franco from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. 

Secondly, I think Electro's character was very well written. Jamie Foxx's acting might have been average, but the portrayal of this classic villain from the Spider-Man comics was a huge success. For a first on-screen appearance, kudos to Electro.
Andrew Garfield and the supporting cast was good as usual, though there was nothing spectacular about them.

On the negative side, the scenes involving Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy were far too lengthy and there was no need for them. Had those scenes been removed, the movie would have been shorter by at least 20 minutes. Plus, the death of Gwen in the end makes no sense. You can't kill the heroine in a superhero movie. Perhaps Webb was inspired by Nolan's The Dark Knight, in which the Joker killed Batman's love interest.
Secondly, I think the character of Rhino was a waste. He came on for only five minutes in the film, and that too at the very end. They could have introduce his character in the next film itself. Why they brought him for a cameo, I don't know.

Besides this, the movie was good.
THE VERDICT:
If you are a Spidey fan, this is a must-watch for you. For those who are not fans of the web-slinger, well, if you nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon, give this movie a shot, you might like it.

Andrew Garfield has signed a four film deal with Columbia, and two more films are in the making.
If you guys have any predictions regarding the third film, please right them down in the comments.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

(P.S: A few likes wouldn't hurt.)

Till you unravel yourself,

He Who Must Not Be Named.

Is Spider-Man my best friend?