'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' Review: What a Tangled Web

"The Amazing Spider-Man" has just about everything: Love, loss, villains, mysteries, "Homeland" style crazy theory boards...and that's just the problem.

At about two and a half hours long, the second Spidey offering from "500 Days of Summer" director Marc Webb is a hefty superhero flick. When all of the material is necessary, a two-hour-plus movie isn't the worst thing. But in "Amazing Spider-Man 2," it isn't all necessary, and as a result you might find yourself checking your watch.

The story picks up a little while after the first one left off, and Peter and Gwen are back together and about to graduate high school. But Peter's guilt over the death of Gwen's father haunts him, putting a strain on their relationship. Meanwhile, Peter continues to do good as Spider-Man, while reconnecting with an old friend in Harry Osborn and dealing with powerful new villain.

Surprisingly, the number of villains isn't as much of an issue as many thought it would be. We spend most of our time getting to know Electro (played by Jamie Foxx), and he's interesting to watch right up until the point that he actually becomes a villain. Once he does, he becomes so one-dimensional and traditional comic-book-movie-villain-ish that he needs another villain to tell him what to do.

But the real culprit in time-wasting in this sequel is the storyline set up in the first movie revolving around Peter Parker's deceased parents. We get a look at what really happened to them, but it's so loosely tied into what's currently happing that it's practically an afterthought.

That's not to say that the rest of the movie isn't a good deal of fun. The action is as flashy as ever, thanks in large part to the nature of Electro's powers. And of course, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone shine as the lovestruck couple of Peter and Gwen.

But there's a major piece missing from Peter's character in this outing, and that's his innate urge to be Spider-Man. Normally, Uncle Ben is Peter's raison d'etre as Spidey, but Ben isn't given much of a thought in this outing. Rather, Peter's father is the main emotional focus, and for reasons we won't go into due to spoilers, it would probably serve the memory of Peter's dad to just not be Spider-Man anymore.

Then of course there's Gwen's father, whom Peter is haunted by every day he's with her, as a reminder of the promise he made to stay away from Gwen to keep her safe. It's a storyline that's set up well, but again you have to question why Peter sticks to being Spider-Man before the point where there's an immediate supervillain threat. His motivation is questionable, especially if he truly loves Gwen so much.

Is "The Amazing Spider-Man" truly the "worst Spider-Man yet" as some reviews are saying? In this moviegoer's opinion, hardly; the images of Tobey Maguire's emo haircut and James Franco's cuddly amnesia episode in "Spider-Man 3" are still seared into my memory. But there is a lack of a real core here that keeps it from being a superhero movie on the level of the "Dark Knight" series or of Marvel's recent entries.

Ultimately, if you liked the first "Amazing Spider-Man," chances are you'll enjoy yourself at this one. Just don't go in expecting anything more than an effects-heavy summer blockbuster.