The Amazing Spider-Man 2

This year, Spiderman must overcome his most powerful enemies: Redundancy and Repetition.

Marc Webb’s reboot suffers an innate problem in that Sam Raimi’s trilogy still feels incredibly recent – and because, his appealing origin story aside, the Spiderman stories themselves are pretty repetitive. Though Andrew Garfield is perfect in the lead role, bringing depth and a wiry charm to this awkward teen-turned-superhero, he can’t quite compensate for the predictable arc of “corporate greed and advanced technology results in mutated villain(s) and the death of one of Peter Parker’s loved ones.”

Here, the villains include Jamie Foxx’s Electro; an unengaging electrified inferiority complex who merely serves as an excuse for some overlong lightning-fuelled action sequences. Dane DeHaan proves more layered and menacing as the Green Goblin, with his DiCaprio looks and vulnerable slyness making him a compelling presence.

It’s the humanity of the characters that strengthens this bloated film, which has humour, romance and action in abundance – but an inability to gracefully edit them together. The jarring tonal shifts can be heard in Hans Zimmer’s relentless and schizophrenic score, which pits condescendingly plaintive plucking against headache-inducing heavy metal and pandering pop tunes.

But Garfield’s performance and his on-screen relationships are beautifully realised, both with his tenderly protective aunt (the formidable Sally Fields), and his plucky girlfriend Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone). Garfield and Stone’s real-life romantic chemistry is palpable in their irresistible interactions, which are fuelled by wittily flirtatious banter and heartfelt emotion.

Whiplashing between sincere characterisation and calculatedly noisy and sprawling franchise advancement, this tangled web supports itself on great performances – but only just.