The Amazing Spider-Man 2 · reception & legacy

2014 · Marc Webb

How The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has been received, argued over, and remembered.

The arc

In 2014 it was the sequel that killed its own franchise — mixed reviews and soft box office scuttled Sony's Sinister Six plans and pushed Spider-Man into the MCU deal. Post-No Way Home (2021), it's been warmly re-examined, with fans campaigning hard to #MakeTASM3.

What's debated

The eternal debate: was Andrew Garfield a great Spider-Man trapped in a studio-mandated, overstuffed movie — blame the film or blame Sony?

Its footprint

Its afterlife is bigger than its release: Garfield's beloved return in No Way Home turned this era into an internet cause, and Electro's whispery dubstep theme 'My Enemy' remains a genuine conversation piece.

Where it stands

A franchise casualty turned sympathetic fan favourite — middling Letterboxd scores, but 'Garfield deserved better' is close to consensus.

★ Did you know? Hans Zimmer scored it with a supergroup he called The Magnificent Six — including Pharrell Williams and The Smiths' Johnny Marr — and Shailene Woodley actually shot scenes as Mary Jane Watson that were cut from the final film.