When you’re a kid, it’s easy to like surface-level things in life, or big pictures instead of tiny, minute details. When I was younger, I loved everything Spider-Man related because it was just straight-up cool. As a kid, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” starring Andrew Garfield was a visual spectacle, with cool action scenes and a heartbreaking ending. But as I aged up a bit, I fell out of love with it because everyone hated this movie. It got negative reviews, middling feedback and in less than five years, they replaced Garfield with Tom Holland as a new Spidey. I recently rewatched this film on a whim, and that’s all bull. “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” is a bit messy, but its love of the character combined with some great visuals, acting and character moments make it a great watch for any Spidey fan.

The biggest problem with this movie is how it tries to cram in so many different characters and plot lines. Spider-Man is a character that has an incredibly rich supporting cast of characters, but, if you ask me, the simpler the story, the better. This movie is about Peter Parker and his girlfriend Gwen Stacy’s on- and off-relationship, as well as his superhero exploits as Spider-Man. But, when you go beneath the surface, this film is about a corporate takeover, a mastermind trying to set up a group of superpowered villains and Peter trying to uncover the truth about his parents while fighting three supervillains. Yeah, that’s a lot. It’s funny because even now as an adult, I like Spidey for the simple stuff, the same as when I was a kid.

This movie is crammed full of a ton of plot threads that conclude in varying levels of quality. Speaking of quality, the movie’s writing is a mixed bag. Scenes with Peter and loved ones like Gwen and Aunt May are hard-hitting and emotional, and scenes between some of the villains in the film like Electro and Harry Osborn feel forced and clunky. What a great defense of a hated film, huh? Here, I start by saying the film is secretly great, but start picking it apart. Well damn, this movie is way more than the sum of its parts.

The unequivocally best part about this film are two things — actors Garfield and Emma Stone. They play Peter and Gwen respectively, and they are the beating heart of this film. Garfield’s portrayal of the web head is so full of energy and charisma it is unbelievable. It’s vital for an actor of a superhero, especially Spider-Man, to have a physical presence while playing the character. Unlike Batman or Superman, Spidey’s face is completely covered, so physicality is so important. Garfield’s physicality with his movements and his quips make his iteration of the web-slinger effortlessly lovable and unforgettable.

Stone’s Gwen plays the vital role of the love interest of our friendly neighborhood wall-crawler. Many times in superhero films, romantic interests will be a means to an end, a person to be won. With Gwen, she feels like more than just a love interest for our hero. She has her own life outside of the protagonist’s. A source of conflict for this film is the “will-they-won’t-they” of Peter and Gwen’s relationship. Peter struggles with dating Gwen since he believes he’s putting her in danger, but Gwen says “screw that” since they both love each other. The relationship between these two feels so palpable and real. Chalk it up to the improvised dialogue, and Garfield and Stone being in a relationship during the filming of this flick, but their love feels so believable here.

Another thing that’s believable is the CGI and look of the film. The computer graphics used in this film are beautiful, and still hold up to this day. The most impressive part is the look of the titular hero — Spidey has never looked better in a movie. Spidey moves around the screen so effortlessly, and the animation on the CGI effects on him and his suit flow like water. The swinging scenes in this film have millions of views, and that’s because — plainly — they’re cool as hell. They look great, are stylish and kinetic and are just addicting to watch.

Visuals can look pretty, but it’s all very surface level admittedly. What isn’t surface level is the emotion on display in this film. The ending is incredibly emotional, and adapts one of Spidey’s most popular and widely regarded comic arcs. This film ends with a scene that is unabashedly Spider-Man as hell. He arrives at a fight, at the very last minute and saves a kid, dressed as Spider-Man. I see myself in this kid. He’s a boy who idolizes Spider-Man, and knows that no matter what happens, he’ll always stand up for the right thing. This movie’s emotional ending tore my heart apart, as well as my girlfriend’s. If that doesn’t speak about the heart of this movie, I don’t know what does.

Nicolas Scagnelli is a senior majoring in English.