“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (Rated PG-13) was an overall exciting film with great visuals, good music, and a solid cast.

The movie takes place right after the events of the first Amazing Spider-Man as New York is troubled by yet another mutated destructor. This time it is Electro, who is far more powerful than the villain from the first movie. Here’s the crazy part. This is just one of four major plotlines that take place in this movie. There’s also a love story, (which definitely takes up enough time in the movie to qualify as its own plotline,) the making of a future villain, and the explaining of Richard Parker’s scientific research leading to the abandonment of his son. No wonder this was a 2 hour and twenty minute feature.

To review it, I’ll start with the positives, which I think outweigh the negatives. First of all, the best thing about “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” was that it was very Spider-Man. What I mean by this is that it not only followed the comics very closely, but it also felt like the original cartoon series. Just as he was meant to be, Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man was both the comic relief and the main hero. He was funny, a little arrogant, a bit of a hopeless romantic, and somewhat hotheaded just like animated Spider-Man.

The main difference of this adaptation to the original material is that the role of Norman Osborn has essentially been replaced by his son Harry. I like this change because it speeds up the process of a certain storyline that will continue in the next movie. Also Harry Osborn was by far the most interesting part of the film. It could be argued that he was just as much of a main character as Peter Parker. He is played by the unusual yet very talented Dane Dehaan. He does a very good job at portraying a tempered young man who is both wounded and a force to be reckoned with. If not for anything else, see this film for Harry Osborn.

I enjoyed the overall lighthearted feel and silliness of this movie, mainly because it contrasted with nearly every other superhero movie that has come out within the last few years. It seems the recent trend has been to tell a ridiculous superhero story in the least ridiculous way. They try very hard to be serious and realistic, creating a rather dark adaptation. This works for heroes like batman, who was already pretty serious in the comics, but this would not work as well or easily for characters like Spider-Man or Deadpool. I admire that the writers and directors embraced the silliness that is Spider-Man. I’m not saying I wouldn’t enjoy a well-done serious Spider-Man movie, but it was nice to see something different for time being.

Another nice thing about this film is that it focuses on Peter Parker as a person rather than just a superhero. Throughout the movie, Peter is struggling to keep his relationship with Gwen Stacy and is trying to find out more about his father, all while keeping the city as safe as he can. This way you get to know him before the third movie, which is probably going to contain a lot less unmasked Peter considering the upcoming circumstances.

As for the negatives, I have three problems with “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” First of all, the first ten minutes of the movie could be cut out completely. All it does is waste time in a movie that is already long. In the first movie we learn that Peter Parker’s father left behind a single briefcase, that he was being targeted for whatever he was working on, and that both parents died in a plane crash afterwards. This sequel shows us part of this and you don’t learn anything you didn’t already know. I think it would have had a much stronger beginning if it had started with Spider-Man.

Speaking of wasted scenes, I think there is too much time spent on Gwen Stacy. I could never get tired of Emma Stone, but I did get sick of Gwen and Peter’s dynamic, which became very repetitive and ultimately their confrontations didn’t really change anything. Their relationship is important to the story, but it could have been condensed to take up less time.

Lastly, there are two very distracting side-characters. One of them is a scientist who is wearing way too much makeup. He has a terrible Russian accent and the camera focuses on him too much in his scenes. The other one is an employee for Oscorp. who was just poorly casted. The man chosen was too unique-looking and his face ingrained itself in my head. I always hate it when characters that aren’t that essential to the plot stand out because it’s extremely distracting from the important stuff.

All of that said, I most definitely recommend that you see “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” This franchise is a major improvement from the last Spider-Man movie series and it is unique in comparison to the other superhero movies being made. My only advice is to not go into this movie wanting something like The Dark Knight Trilogy or The Avengers because Amazing Spider-Man is not a dark or realistic adaptation of the story. It is just Spider-Man and all of its charm.