The Amazing Spider-Man 2

[X]

My impressions...

[spoiler]When I saw it, it seemed to me Gwen's neck snapped from the web catching her - just like in the comics (which is why he had to lower her down a bit more in the film).  And Peter took awhile to recover from her death.  He went without being Spider-Man for awhile so I'm not sure what you mean Joby.  The ending seemed very much like the comics to me and made sense.[/spoiler]

To answer Rico's question:  [spoiler]  I thought I explained myself pretty clearly, but my initial interpretation of the scene was that Peter did not catch her in time, and while the webline did snag her before she hit the ground, it did not go taut until after she hit.  What I saw, was her death resulting from the impact of her fall and not the fact that her neck broke due to the sudden whiplash of the web stopping her.  To me this is a huge difference in the way her death would affect Peter...in the comics, for so long he blamed himself for her death because of the fact that his webbing broke her neck.  This is a recurring theme in Spider-Man comics and a defining element of the charatcer: even as the omniscient reader sees Spidey for what he really is, a hero, Peter blames himself for the actions of others...Uncle Ben's death because he didn't stop the robber, and Gwen's death because he stopped her fall incorrectly.  I feel like this movie doesn't even touch this extremely important facet of Peter's personality.  First by eliminating the fact that he broke her neck with the web, and then second by devoting about four-five minutes screen time (much of it montage) to his recovery from the shock of her death, ultimately leading up to his decision to go back to being Spidey.  I just feel the whole sequence got a short shrift, in a plotline wholly deserving of an entire film considering the iconic nature of the story and how critically important is to the character of Spider-Man.  All that said, I need to see it again because as much as I know the history of the character, I was not expecting Gwen to die in this film.  So the whole sequence took me by surprise...quite an accomplishemnt considering how versed I am in the whole story.[/spoiler]

Here is something that you need to consider.

[spoiler] You're not versed in this whole story, none of us are. This isn't 616 Spiderman or Ultimate Spiderman. This is movie universe 2 Spiderman. It's not going to be the same and nor should it. While it takes elements from the various different Spiderman sources, it's not even close to the 616 Spidey. Given the origin of this Spidey, it's closer to the ultimate's origin with Oscorp's involvement and the genetically engineered spider. In that universe, Gwen is killed by Carnage and reborn later.

I think that the best way to enjoy these film universes is to think of them as What If universes and not expect them to play how we think they should go. Also, I think you have it a bit wrong about Peter's mentality for Gwen's death. Sure he blames himself for her death, but not because he caused it, but because he wasn't able to prevent it. He's always blamed Norman directly for Gwen's death, but the core of it affecting him was that he couldn't save her. Peter's cross is that for all the great power, he can rarely save the people that he cares about. This is what also pushes him to be better than he was and to never stop trying.

As to the emotional impact, how much pain is enough pain? That's a very tricky slope. Too little and it seems uncaring, but too much and you get emo spiderman 2.0. I think that it's these subtle things that make peter who he is. He did his best to save her and it wasn't good enough, but how many more people does he let get hurt because he took off the webs? He gets back into the game because there is a time to grieve and a time to start saving people again.

I honestly think that not saving everyone is the hardest part of being a hero. How you accept and carry that burden is what makes or breaks you. Think about how many people that die and could be saved every time Clark Kent is having a cup of coffee and Superman isn't playing rescue. Or the random people that get hurt and die because Peter wasn't wearing the webs. As a hero you are entitled to grieve, but a true hero knows that they can't grieve for long because the world doesn't stop for their pain. [/spoiler]

[Jobydrone]

Well said, Chris.  I'm just postulating ways I thought the end of the movie could have been better though.  I agree with you in pretty much every respect.