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The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (also released as The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro in some markets)[5] is a 2014 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. The film was directed by Marc Webb and was produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach. It is the fifth theatrical Spider-Man film produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Entertainment, and is the sequel to 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man. It is also the second and final film in The Amazing Spider-Man franchise. The studio hired James Vanderbilt to write the screenplay and Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to rewrite it.[6][7] The film stars Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, Dane DeHaan as Green Goblin / Harry Osborn, Campbell Scott and Embeth Davidtz as Peter's parents, and Sally Field as Aunt May, with the addition of Paul Giamatti as Rhino / Aleksei Sytsevich and Jamie Foxx as Electro / Max Dillon.

Plot[]

OsCorp scientist Richard Parker records a video message to explain his disappearance. Later, he and his wife, Mary, are aboard a private jet hijacked by an assassin sent to kill Richard and his wife. Richard and Mary fight off the man, but the ensuing struggle causes the plane to crash, killing both Richard and Mary, after he uploads the video.

In the present time, Richard's son, Peter, continues to fight crime as Spider-Man. He pursues and apprehends Aleksei Sytsevich and saves Max Dillion's life before a taxi could have hit him. Later, Peter meets with his girlfriend Gwen Stacy at their high school graduation ceremony and, insisting he keep his vow to her late father, ends their relationship. Peter's childhood friend, Harry Osborn, returns to Manhattan to see his terminally-ill father, Norman, CEO of OsCorp. Norman explains his illness is genetic, and Harry is at the age where it first develops. Norman gives Harry a small device he claims contains his life's work. The next day, Norman dies, and Harry is appointed the new OsCorp CEO.

While working in an OsCorp laboratory, Max shocks himself by accident and falls into a tank of genetically-engineered electric eels. They attack him, and he mutates into a living electric generator. Meanwhile, Peter attempts to maintain a friendship with Gwen, but she reveals that she may move to England for schooling. Before they can discuss it, Dillon wanders into Times Square, accidentally causing a blackout, and is stopped by Spider-Man after a battle. Dillon is taken to the Ravencroft Institute, where he is studied by German scientist Dr. Kafka. Meanwhile, the first symptoms of Harry's illness are showing, and he uses the device Norman gave him to deduce that Spider-Man's blood could help save him. He asks Peter, who has been selling photos of Spider-Man to the Daily Bugle, to aid him in finding Spider-Man. Peter refuses, unsure of what effects the transfusion would have. Although he later comes to Harry as Spider-Man, he still refuses, and Harry becomes resentful towards Spider-Man. OsCorp vice-president Donald Menken frames Harry for covering up Dillon's accident, removes him as CEO and takes control of Oscorp. Harry's assistant, Felicia Hardy, informs him of equipment that could help him, so he makes a deal with Dillon, who now calls himself "Electro," to get him back inside the OsCorp building. There he finds a suit of armor and other equipment made by Norman, as well as venom from the now-destroyed genetically-altered spiders. The venom accelerates Harry's illness, and transforms him into a goblin-like creature, but the suit's built-in emergency protocol restores his health and cures his disease.

Peter uses information left by his father to locate the video message in an abandoned subway station's hidden lab. Richard explains that he had to leave because he refused to cooperate with Norman's plans to make biogenetic weapons. Peter then hears a voicemail from Gwen, telling him that she was offered the British scholarship for studying medicine at Somerville College, University of Oxford, and is heading to the airport earlier than expected. He catches her and professes his love for her, and they agree to go to England together. Electro causes another blackout, and Peter heads off to battle him as Spider-Man. Gwen follows, and together, they restore power, and overload Electro's body, killing him.

The transformed Harry, who has now gone insane, arrives equipped with Norman's armor and weaponry. Upon seeing Gwen, he deduces Spider-Man's secret identity and, swearing revenge for being refused the blood transfusion, kidnaps her and takes her to the top of a clock tower. Spider-Man defeats Harry, but Gwen falls to her death, despite Spider-Man's attempt to save her. Mourning her death, the depressed Peter ends his career as Spider-Man.

Five months later, Harry is coping with the aftereffects of his transformation while incarcerated at Ravencroft. His associate, Gustav Fiers, visits Harry and the pair discuss forming their own team. Harry orders Fiers to start with Sytsevich. Later, an unknown team of men break Sytsevich out of prison. Equipped with an electromechanical suit of armor, Sytsevich calls himself the Rhino and rampages through the streets. Peter, inspired by Gwen's graduation speech, resumes his role as Spider-Man, and confronts him.

Cast[]

  • Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man: 
    An orphaned teenage boy who received spider-powers after being bitten by a genetically altered spider. Peter first uses his powers to try to hunt down the killer of his uncle in The Amazing Spider-Man but soon decides to use his powers to fight crime as the vigilante known as Spider-Man. Garfield explained that the suit that he would wear in the film would undergo a new design. Garfield hoped to bring back the theme of him being an orphan stating, "I wanna keep exploring that theme of being fatherless, being motherless, searching for purpose and finding a purpose within himself". He felt that it was his responsibility to take on the role and that he does not take it lightly.[8] Max Charlesportrays a young Parker.
  • Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy: 
    A high school student and Peter's love interest. When asked about Peter and Gwen's relationship in the sequel, Stone said, "She saves him more than he saves her. She's incredibly helpful to Spider-Man ... He's the muscle, she's the brains."[9]
  • Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon / Electro: 
    An electrical engineer who works for Oscorp Industries and later transforms into a powerful, electrical creature following an accident, then taking the alias of "Electro". Foxx described the character as "a nobody" who initially idolizes Spider-Man.[10] He develops an obsession with Spider-Man after being saved by him and obtains his powers through an accident at Oscorp involving electric eels. Foxx revealed that the character would be redesigned to be more grounded, and that the villain's classic yellow and green suit would be omitted in favor of a modern look, as depicted in the film.[11]
  • Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn / Green Goblin: 
    Peter's longtime friend for 10 years and son of Norman Osborn. He was sent away to boarding school around the same time Peter's parents disappeared, and meets him for the first time.[12] He eventually assumes the role of the Green Goblin after injecting a special serum of spider-venom into his body, initially injected to provide a cure, which instead turns him into a hideous, psychotic, goblin-like creature. As the Green Goblin, Harry dons a technological suit capable of healing him and can fly with the use of a large glider.
  • Colm Feore as Donald Menken: 
    Oscorp's Vice President and Head of the Board. He is often in dispute with Harry over his capabilities of being a CEO to Oscorp, claiming that because Harry is a boy, he is incapable of leading the company.
  • Campbell Scott as Richard Parker: Peter's father.[a]
  • Embeth Davidtz as Mary Parker: Peter's mother.
  • Paul Giamatti as Aleksei Sytsevich / Rhino: 
    A Russian hired killer for the Russian Mafia, who allies with Harry and receives a massive, well-armored, robotic, rhino-like suit from him, deciding to call himself "the Rhino". Giamatti said of his character, "He's a Russian mobster. Russians are always good villains. I have an ability to just destroy things", he said. "My accent is pretty hammy. I loved doing it. It seemed to me like an opportunity to be as over-the-top hammy as possible. It was really fun."[14]
  • Sally Field as Aunt May: Peter's aunt. Field was critical of the lack of depth in her role; during a 2016 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, she said that "It's really hard to find a three-dimensional character in [the film], and you work it as much as you can, but you can't put 10 pounds of shit in a five-pound bag.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

Spider-Man
Spider-Man (1977), Spider-Man Strikes Back (1978), Spider-Man (1978), Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge (1981), Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Spider-Man 3 (2007), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Venom (2018), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Morbius (2022), Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2022), Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (2024)
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