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Adam A. Donaldson’s 10 Worst Films Of 2014

Not only in this the time of year where we look back and remember with fondness the best that cinema had to offer, but it’s that time of the year when we also look back with dread to recall the worst. Just as every year has its share of quality flicks, there is an equal and opposite portion of terrible films from 2014 that for one reason or another turned out horribly. It might have been the acting, the directing, the script, the pacing, the special effects, or the source material, but on screen, it all ends up the same: 90 to 120 minutes you’d have much rather spent doing anything else.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

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This is the superhero movie that the 90s forgot. In a year where comic book adventures leaped off the page in political thrillers (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), space operas (Guardians of the Galaxy) and timey-wimey paradoxes (X-Men: Days of Future Past), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 asked one simple question: How many villains is too many? Obsessed with the idea of making not just one Spider-Man film, but several years worth of Spider-Man-inspired film series, creating The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as a whole narrative on its own seemed like an after thought. But more than that, it drew comparisons to the heyday of Joel Schumacher’s tenure as director of the Batman films, and not in a kitschy, appreciating it ironically kind of way.

What went wrong? Well, it’s tough to say where The Amazing Spider-Man 2 came apart, but suggesting that it’s around the time that Jamie Foxx’s dweeby Max Dillon becomes deeply pancaked in blue make-up to become Electro wouldn’t be inappropriate. Foxx attacked the role in a way that would have made Otto Preminger or Eartha Kitt proud, except this isn’t the Adam West Batman from the 60s. Also, having Electro’s madness reflected in hip-hop Greek chorus featuring Pharrell Williams along with the Hans Zimmer score didn’t sell either genuine psychological concern or menace, and was easily the worst musical choice for a comic book movie since Prince’s “Batdance.”

The worst crime of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 though is that it doesn’t give you time to really enjoy anything, and the story often takes dramatic leaps that make little or no sense. Why would Norman Osborn have Peter Parker’s parents killed if they were the only ones who could cure his disease? Why did Peter keep dating Gwen after Capt. Stacy’s made him promise he wouldn’t, and why didn’t he just tell Gwen about that promise? And why doesn’t anyone wonder why Oscorp employees keep turning into super-powered criminals? Even the tragic ending is undercut by the producers’ desire to set-up the Sinister Six movie that now looks unlikely to happen. Because when you’ve spent two hours introducing one random villain after another, what difference does a few more more make?

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