‘Bad Neighbors’ sees Seth Rogen and Zak Efron duke it out as the former tries to preserve his suburban American dream, while the other rebels against his paid-for education by causing havoc as the hunky, de facto leader of a raucous fraternity. ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ sees Andrew Garfield take on a litany of evil foes hell-bent on destroying life on earth as we know it.
Spider-Man and Electro do battle
But which should you see; big money Marvel superhero sequel or goofy flic featuring the king of stoner comedy and the emerging talent of the once-Disney prince?
Well, Spider-Man features plenty of action-packed fight, chase and escape scenes of course, providing your Friday night with the kind of popcorn guzzling ferocity you’d expect. It’s also teeming with amusing scenes as Garfield’s Spidey outfoxes a number of dumbstruck official-type people with his razor-sharp nous.
Perhaps one for the family, Spidey’s benefits are clear; all-out action, a simple, engaging plot and some pretty CGI to make New York look pretty. But the critics haven’t exactly bestowed it with unanimous praise. “Despite the efforts of Electro, the franchise is running shockingly low on juice,” writes Anthony Lane for New Yorker in one of the reviews that lead to a 55% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Byrne and Rogen struggle to live out their suburban lives
And then there’s ‘Bad Neighbors’. The premise is a simple one: Mac Radner (Rogen) and his wife, Kelly (Rose Byrne) are happy, middle class Americans living in the suburbs. Excited to see new neighbors are moving in, they’re soon dismayed to learn that the new members of the street are in fact members of a fraternity. What ensues is a hilarious battle of wits, and often lack of wits, between Mac and Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron) who leads the fraternity with his chiselled jaw and 6-pack.
More: watch the trailer for ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’
“This raunchy unrooting of a settled suburban idyll exposes the considerable angst of emerging adulthood with a kind of scatological fervor designed to elicit oodles of inappropriate laughs,” writes Betsy Sharkey of The Los Angeles Times. ‘Bad Neighbors’ impressed the critics to the tune of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes.
If you’re looking at the critical response, then ‘Bad Neighbors’ is the movie to see tonight. And while neither of these films could be said to be thought provoking, deep or meaningful, those of you simply looking for action should check out Spidey 2 despite the late rush of negativity from the critics. Our choice would be ‘Neighbors’…
Watch the trailer for our winner, ‘Neighbors’, here
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