You can catch Amazing Spiderman 2 at the JC Cinema this week from August 28-30

In 2012, the Spider-Man franchise was rebooted to The Amazing Spider-Man. It was a good movie with some great action and an entertaining story. Thanks to its success, a sequel has finally arrived at the JC Cinema with everyone’s favorite web-head returning for more. But was the return really worth the wait? While it boasts some good action and a talented cast, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 suffers from an unfocused story and an overload of characters, which questions where the series is going to go from here.

Taking place less than a year after the events of The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker played by Andrew Garfield has graduated from high school, giving him more free time to protect the people of New York as Spider-Man. However, he soon finds that life begins to put weight on his shoulders as his relationship with Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) faces strain, secrets from his past begin to emerge and new enemies come forward in the forms of Electro (Jamie Foxx), the Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan) and the Rhino (Paul Giamatti).

As with its predecessor, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 features a talented cast. Garfield and Stone’s performances as Peter and Gwen bring their characters from the original comic book to life, thanks to their believable and adorable romantic chemistry.

Of course, Garfield and Stone are not the only ones to give great performances. Foxx is also able to deliver an electrifying role as the main villain, Electro. While this critic felt that he did an okay job as Max (his alter ego), Foxx nailed the role of the villain, starting with a realistic look of how someone would feel when they become super powerful. As he walks into Times Square, Foxx is able to make the audience feel for the character, who fears what he has become. Of course, when he sees how powerful he can truly be, his transition from innocent to evil is all the more intriguing, leading to an epic battle with Spider-Man in Times Square.

This perfectly transitions into one of the other great aspects of this film, the action. As with the first Amazing Spider-Man, the action is quick but exciting to watch. The best would be Spider-Man’s first battle with Electro in Times Square, which combines a perfect amount of slow motion and musical cues to deliver one intense fight. While none of the other action scenes seem to catch lightning in a bottle, they are still fun to watch, making the film very entertaining when it needs to be.

Unfortunately, while the film does have its moments of fun, the story is what drags the film down. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is overloaded with pointless subplots that could have been saved for a future installment. From the mystery of Peter’s father to the secrets of Oscorp, the film weaves back and forth between these plots, changing from one to the other without any consistency and making the film unfocused.

The story also tries to create as many villains as it can in hopes of generating future sequels. The film could have been fine by only focusing on Electro, but in order to create future films, two other villains are created, making the film overstuffed.

Rhino, in particular, had no rhyme or reason to be in the film at all. He does not appear in his suit until the very end of the film, giving him no real role in the film other than to bring Spider-Man out for a disappointing fight that leaves the film with a sour note.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is far from amazing. It has its moments of great acting and some entertaining action, but thanks to a story without focus as well as too many villains created just to rush out sequels, this new installment in the Spider-Man franchise is completely forgettable.

If you would like to see “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” stop by the JC Cinema on Aug. 28 at 9 p.m., Aug. 29 at 6 and 9 p.m., or Aug. 30 at 6 p.m.