Fanboys Anonymous

Yeah, boo-hoo, Andrew Garfield. You can't have it both ways. That's not how storytelling goes. There's been plenty of chatter about a potential director's cut of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (ASM2), even an online petition to get it released on Blu-ray and DVD. It hasn't happened, partly because director Marc Webb doesn't have the pull with Sony to make this possible. Webb also doesn't have a clue about pacing or storytelling.

If you want proof of that statement, watch the deleted scenes for this film, whose omission Garfield blames for the mediocre reception the film had upon release. Sorry Andy (can I call you Andy?), stuffing more into an already overstuffed mess will NOT make it better. What the film needed was more cutting, more streamlining of scenes that went nowhere. The film lacks focus, not extra exposition, which is what the deleted scenes are.

Garfield claims the entire "whole" of the picture worked in the script when they filmed it but during the cutting process, taking out those pieces is what doomed the final cut. No, no, no a thousand times no. I've watched the deleted scenes, they add nothing of any value to the film, only a longer running time. ASM2 clocks in at around 2:22. You really wanna add another half an hour + or more? Really? It should be three hours long!? C'mon, Andy, you're smarter than that.

I know what he meant, and I appreciate him defending a film/character he loves dearly, but blaming the studio for "interference" is a cheap way out. Understanding good pacing, streamlined storytelling techniques, and proper editing is what was needed. Not his fault at all. It goes back to the screenwriters and the director who approved the shooting script as it was.

During the commentary of the deleted scenes, Webb addresses none of the problems inherent in the scenes, either from a storytelling/writing perspective or a directing viewpoint. He only repeats the same thing, that every scene was awesome, that the acting was great, that it was painful to remove them... which in some respects I agree. The actors did the best they could, and Webb isn't bad with actors, he does okay with that aspect. It's just everything else that's poor. Which is sad because Garfield is a great Spider-Man who is committed to the role. There are some nuggets within ASM2 I really liked, it was less dour than the first film in this rebooted series, but it's all buried under extraneous bloat that should have been cut down, and subplots that aren't worth exploring.

Is Garfield right? Did Sony's tampering with the final cut ruin the film? Going forward with this series, what can save the slide into mediocrity? Sound off below.