The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: May 2, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 50 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
27
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallApr 30, 2014
There is still Spider-Man's personal turmoil, crises of romance and loyalty, that Webb occasionally holds a few beats too long. Yet the performances ring true, with arresting chemistry where it counts. Read full review
80
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottApr 30, 2014
One heck of a fun film -- and the most enjoyable and rewarding superhero movie I've seen in a while. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierApr 27, 2014
There are two types of superhero movies: the ones that brood and the ones that swing. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is proudly the latter, filled with high-energy action. Read full review
80
The GuardianXan BrooksApr 8, 2014
Webb's film is bold and bright and possesses charm in abundance. It swings into the future and carries the audience with it. Read full review
76
Film.comKate ErblandApr 29, 2014
An essential entry in the cinematic canon of Spider-Man, complete with new villains, new questions, and new heartaches. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMay 1, 2014
Overlong and repetitive as it is, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, at least delivers the goods. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMay 1, 2014
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 grows stronger and more engrossing as it unfolds. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMay 1, 2014
Director Marc Webb and his forces come up with some gorgeous special effects, and Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone have terrific chemistry, but as is the case with far too many superhero movies, the plot is a bit of an overstuffed mess. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia PuigApr 30, 2014
Aerial sequences are often thrilling. However, interpersonal relations are front and center in this installment. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyApr 30, 2014
It's a Marvel spectacle that manages to deftly balance razzle-dazzle, feel-it-in-your-gut slingshot moments of flight and believable human relationships. There's psychological weight to go with all of the gravity-defying, webslinging weightlessness. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleApr 29, 2014
It has action sequences that will appeal to people looking for the usual pyrotechnics, but the core of the movie - and the source of the audience's interest - is emotion. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'HehirMay 1, 2014
Honestly, one can only wish that Hollywood made movies for non-teenagers and non-comics fans with this much care and reverence. Are superhero movies dying? Well sure, but you and I and the planet may die first. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinApr 8, 2014
The plot gets itself tangled up in multiple villain strands, but in the main this installment is emotionally weightier and more satisfying than its predecessor. Read full review
70
VarietyGuy LodgeApr 8, 2014
Redundancy remains a problem, but this overlong superhero sequel gets by on sound, fury and star chemistry. Read full review
67
HitfixDrew McWeenyApr 25, 2014
By the end of this film, they've done a very good job of setting up the next three or four films in the series, but at the expense of this film telling any sort of cohesive story. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyMay 1, 2014
Less “amazing” than persistent. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaMay 1, 2014
Lacks the origin-story freshness of its predecessor (even if the inaugural Garfield Spider-Man came only five years after the final installment of the Sam Raimi-directed Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy). It lacks a charismatic central character, too. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsMay 1, 2014
Easy to watch but hard to pin down, like a creature with eight legs going in different directions. Read full review
63
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreApr 29, 2014
So while this Spider-Man is, if anything, more competent than the first film it’s still not one that demands that you stick around after the credits. There’s nothing there. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyMay 1, 2014
The Occasionally Amazing Spider-Man 2 might be a better way to think of the not-always-spectacular but sometimes satisfying Spider-Man sequel. Read full review
60
CineVueBen NicholsonApr 16, 2014
Although it fundamentally has many of the same issues as the first film, the strengths are enhanced in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and it's certainly a step forward for the franchise. Now, let's give the web-head a villain worthy of his attention. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonApr 15, 2014
An overlong, at times almost plot-free soap opera that introduces a wealth of characters and dips into a wide variety of subplots but never comes together as a story. Read full review
60
EmpireKim NewmanApr 14, 2014
A few too-broad gags aside — and even these are in the funky spirit of ’60s Marvel — this is a satisfying second issue with thrills, heartbreak, gasps, and a perfectly judged slingshot ending. Read full review
60
Total FilmEmma DibdinApr 10, 2014
Bright, punchy and earnest, Webb’s affable sequel is tough to dislike despite its tonal whiplash and clumsy script, which is redeemed by Garfield, Stone and DeHaan’s powerhouse trio. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeyApr 8, 2014
Marc Webb, returning after the last instalment, again shows a better feel for the relationships than he does for juggling all the overlapping story elements. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Apr 30, 2014
Even at a hefty 142 minutes, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 hasn’t the time for its surfeit of plot, nor for the sprawling ensemble of supporting characters caught in the sticky web Webb weaves. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinMay 5, 2014
Bloated and often boring and has absolutely no reason to exist, but that it also hits its marks. No fanboy will pass it up. No studio head will lose his or her job. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireMay 1, 2014
It’s sufficiently giddy at first but eventually grows repetitive and wearying, especially as more and more stuff gets blown up real good. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn HornadayMay 1, 2014
Despite all the swooping and spinning and swinging in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Garfield looks less like a kid having fun than like an actor entangled in a corporate web that, at least for now, he can’t escape. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversMay 1, 2014
Things go wrong quickly with Amazing 2. Am I the only one who hates the word Amazing to describe a movie that isn't? Just asking. If I had to pinpoint where this epic goes south, I'd start with the tonal shifts. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla DargisMay 1, 2014
A sequel that, until a late, lamentably foolish turn, balances blockbuster bombast with human-scale drama, child-friendly comedy and gushers of tears. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliApr 30, 2014
It takes something lackluster like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to remind viewers why movies like "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" are considered superior. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenApr 30, 2014
Although handsomely mounted, this latest star in the Marvel Universe is not a leading light. But it probably has enough juice to keep the galaxy spinning until something more original comes along and knocks it out of orbit. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrApr 30, 2014
I'm still not convinced we needed a new Spider-Man series, but at least this installment is interestingly mediocre instead of actively bad. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsApr 30, 2014
Folks, I confess: I'm coping with a mild case of arachno-apatha-phobia, defined as the fear of another so-so "Spider-Man" sequel. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzApr 30, 2014
There are too many explosions, too many blaring sonic effects, too many break-ups-and-make-ups, too many villains. And not enough heart. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedApr 30, 2014
It is not a sequel, just another retread of tired material in a franchise that is more than ready for the big comic book bonfire. And why the title? There is nothing amazing about it. Read full review
50
The DissolveScott TobiasApr 29, 2014
The silver lining: Like its predecessor, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 offers its successor another fresh start, since no one will remember what happened in this movie, either. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChris CabinApr 28, 2014
The narrative doesn't want for ambition, but Marc Webb proves unwilling, or incapable, of making this unwieldy story feel like anything but a deluge of backstory. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle SmithApr 26, 2014
The Amazing Spider-Man is more like an old Xerox copy: Greasy, paper-thin, slightly faded, and probably made unnecessarily, but in any case destined to get lost in a pile of things exactly like it. Read full review
50
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlApr 26, 2014
Never a disaster but only fitfully inspired, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 doesn't quite end well, but it does end promisingly. Read full review
46
Paste MagazineMichael BurginJun 17, 2018
Ultimately, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is noteworthy for one thing—not waiting until the third or fourth film to achieve the overstuffed, increasingly garish look one associates with less popular (2007’s Spider-Man 3) and outright ridiculed (1997’s Batman and Robin) franchise efforts. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianMarc MohanMay 1, 2014
ASM 2 makes too many of the same mistakes that have brought other superhero movies low (including Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 3"). It tries to pack in too many characters and plot lines, for one. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMay 1, 2014
This franchise needs more than a reset. It's ripe for retirement. Read full review
40
The New YorkerAnthony LaneApr 30, 2014
Suffice to say that even he (one of our finest actors) is trapped by the miasma of unsubtlety that creeps into the film and causes all involved to lose their professional bearings. [5 May 2014, p.84]
40
TimeRichard CorlissApr 30, 2014
Frantic and rote by turns, mislaying the power of the central love story and piling on the mutant adversaries. For at least this installment, Spider-Man is Amazing no more. Read full review
33
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanMay 1, 2014
The movie feels not only calculated but tired. Read full review
30
TheWrapJames RocchiApr 26, 2014
The Amazing Spider-Man 2, is just good enough to make you painfully aware of all the ways it's not good at all. Read full review
25
The PlaylistOliver LytteltonApr 8, 2014
The film, like the original, feels very haphazardly structured, a hotchpotch collection of scenes rather than a unified whole. There's also no tonal consistency, with Webb lurching awkwardly from quippy comedy to brooding drama to high tragedy in short spaces of time, undercutting all three modes as a result. Read full review
20
SlateDana StevensApr 30, 2014
The project as a whole conveys a drab sense of bureaucratic necessity, a "let's get this over with" wheeziness. Read full review
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