I donāt get to watch movies very often. Surprisingly I have one kickass movie setup though. Itās a 1080p video projector that also does 3D.
So I just watched Spiderman:Homecoming. Yes, I know, Iām SUPER late to see it. Sue me.
But you know that feeling where you just want to talk about the movie you just watched? Well, I have that, except nobody else BUT me just saw this movie for the first time. So nobody else is dying to talk about it but me.
Ok, so, first offā¦what was the pacing of that movie??? The first third of the movie it felt like it couldnāt find itās footing. Like it was almost a parody of a spiderman movie.
BUT CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE CASTING FOR A MINUTE??? Iām DYING to talk about the casting!!! This is my first time seeing Tom Holland as Spiderman, and the voice clicked almost instantly, but I wasnāt quite sold on the full performance until about halfway through the movie. There was some a scene on the rooftops where it really clicked. This was a teenager with super powersā¦but still very much a teenager. Once that clicked into place, I began to enjoy Tom Holland as Spiderman a LOT more.
And Micheal Keaton as Vulture??? Oh my god! Chefs kiss. If you look back to the original trilogy, when they had the green goblin and his hoverboard, functionally itās pretty much the same character. Green guy flies around with mechanical flying thing, and fights Spiderman. Yes, Iām oversimplifying things, but you can see the comparison.
Except, I actually LIKE the Vulture in this film. The Green Goblin just looked like a stuntman in a motorcycle helmet. I never felt that Green Goblin was ever actually a psychopath, or a killer, or hardly even a threat. It just came off as āNowās the time for the big supervillain battleā and then Green Goblin would fly in.
With Vulture, thereās a clear and distinct reason he has these things. Micheal Keaton plays the roll so well that you almost overlook the massive plot hole. They have alien technology, theyāve used it to perform robberies for over 8 years, and at no point did the police, or the government, or the Avengers ever thing to look into that? Weird.
OH!!! And as good of casting as I think Tom Holland and Micheal Keaton are, thereās some real BAD casting too. Why is Aunt Mae a hottie? She looks like sheās any age between 30 and 60. Itās like every single scene she looks a slightly different age. Thereās no consistency. Aunt Mae is an 85 year old woman. This Aunt Mae doesnāt look anywhere near 85.
I donāt know whatās coming in the next few movies. Iām watching them all this week. Iāve never seen them. I donāt know why. I saw āThe Amazing Spidermanā back in 2012 I think, and I just did not enjoy that movie.
When I was 10 years old, I saw the Super Mario Bros movie in theaters. The one with Bob Hoskins, and John Liguizamo. I remember in the theater thinking for the longest time āWhy arenāt they in their suits???ā.
I understood the plotline reason why Tony Stark took away Peterās high tech spidersuit. I also understand why Peter had to wear a makeshift costume. What I donāt get, is why Peter didnāt sew his own traditional looking spiderman costume, without any of the tech. He spent like a third of the movie without his spiderman costume.
The movie also scrapped some of the bigger characters entirely. There is no mention ANYWHERE of Mary Jane. The closest thing is āMichelleā says she goes by āMJā in a blink and youāll miss it moment.
Thereās also no J Jonah Jameson. I donāt even see the Daily Bugle anywhere.
I felt like while he was in high school they could have had a professor without an arm, and heās just Dr Conners. I thought that was a missed opportunity. Also a missed opportunity to not have the high schoolers we know about. Like Mary Jane, Eddie Brock, Harry Osborne. Though they did have Flash Thompson. For some reason instead of a preppy white rich jock, they made him a short (arabic?) toothpick size twerp that you just want to slap in the back of the head. When I think of Flash Thompson, Iām thinking of a tall built football player type body. Iām pretty sure even without super powers Peter could have easily knocked Flash out.
The whole movie feels like a prequel. The characters are written well. I can very much believe these are high schoolers going through their own high school years. While Peter is going throughā¦a lot.
What I donāt get is Tony Stark. He shows up, gives a 15 year old a biological weapon with a built-in ākill modeā which really wants to turn itself on. Then blows him off as if heās being annoying. Then leaves him alone in a suit which is somehow both extreme high tech, but also whose security is broken with a pair of tweezers and a usb drive. Then he takes the suit away from Peter because he fought Vulture which was immature and wreckless. Then at the end of the movie he attempts to give spider an even CRAZIER suit because he fought Vulture which was mature, and the brave thing to do.
Honestly, I feel like Tony Stark should have had waaaaaaay less screen time. MAYBE a cameo. He should not have been important to the plot. In fact, Iād prefer there were no high tech suit. It was just Spiderman trying to impress Tony Stark, who maybe gives him a phone call or a zoom meeting. Outside of that, he should be like āPeter, Iām busy. Just handle it, ok?ā At least then maybe we wouldnāt have to deal with half the movie in a make-shift costume.
Speaking of the costume, I hate it.
I hate it because as little as the original trilogy contributed to the Spiderman movies, they did have one cool thing. That suit is THE definitive Spiderman suit. This suit, the high tech one, was just flat. It looked like CGI the entire time. It looked like when youāre watching Space Jam, and thereās cartoons on screen while real humans are ALSO on screen. The cartoon on screen doesnāt look natural, and it breaks the immersion. Thatās what this suit did at all times. At no poZendayaint did it even look like Spiderman was filmed wearing the greenman costume, and then CGI it on in post. I felt that the whole movie.
On a personal level, I feel cheated. I asked what movies I should prepare me for the new spiderman movie, and I was told to watch
Spiderman Homecoming
Spiderman Far From Home
Spiderman No Way Home
In that order. Well, I feel like there was a MASSIVE story just before this movie started. I mean, theyāre talking about alien technology that blew up in NYC, and now this guy is cleaning up the mess. Thatās how he becomes Vulture.
But hold onā¦what alien mess??? What happened??? I feel like weāre picking up at the end of the story rather than the beginning.
Now AFTERWARDS I find out Iām supposed to watch Winter Soldier first. Which Cāmonā¦how many movies are all connected??? Iāll have watched 4 spiderman movies this week by the time I leave the theater having watched the new one.
But even thatās not the full story. Because I could watch Winter Soldier. And Iām sure thereās like 5 movies before Winter Soldier, since that movie is a sequel in itself.
So I would have to go back to at least 2008 to watch the full story. Or maybe it goes all the way back to the first IronMan movie. I think that came out in 2004? Thatās too many movies to watch. These movies need clear chapter ends. So people can jump off, and new people can jump on.
And what is this Ned character supposed to be??? I donāt remember him from any previous Spiderman media. Why are they painstakingly trying to make him be Barbra Gordon post accident??? It works for her, because she USED TO BE Batgirl.
Ned is justā¦Ned.
And what kind of name is āHappyā???
AND WHAT THE FUCK WAS THE BOAT ALL ABOUT??? It gets split down the middle, and then IronMan is like "Well, if I push the sides back together then the ship will be water buoyant again. Thatās how water worksā¦
Ok, I think thatās enough for now.
Guys, go watch that movie for the first time if you havenāt already. And if you have, go do the whole Men in Black eye flashy memory wipe thing. THEN go watch the movie for the first timeā¦again.
And then share your thoughts. Just donāt spoil anything with the next few movies.
Alsoā¦is it supposed to be implied that Liz is Toones step-daughter? Or am I reading too much into that? I know he keeps saying āhis daughterā, but I donāt know any step-dads that think of their ākidsā as āstep-kidsā. Itās just āthis is my kidā. Because they cast the mom to at least look like she could be Lizās mom. But Liz doesnāt look mixed at all. So, Iām not sure heās the dad.
Itās been about 30 minutes since the movie ended. The more it sits with me, the more Iām thinking Tom Holland might have a chance to be the defining Spiderman. Iāll see how the other movies go.
And I just love Micheal Keaton as Vulture. I kinda wish theyād have put him in make-up a bit, to make him look older, but outside of that, perfect casting.
Not that there was much competition, but Keaton is now THE actor I think of when I think whoās the best Vulture. Best Batman. Best Vulture.
Yeah! I said it! Whoās a better Batman? George Clooney? Pssshhh!!! Please! George Clooney is a smug bastard, but heās not a great Batman.
I completely agree about Michael Keaton being a great villain. The part where heās in the car with Peter is one of the best scenes in the MCU, in my opinion. And Iām so glad that I watched the movie in a theater; everyone gasped when he showed up at the door as Lizās dad. Also, I think Liz is just Toonesā daughter, not step-daughter.
Ned is just Ned, not a reference to anything in the comics, and I love him. A great new character, if you ask me. Iāve never read the comics, so maybe Iām just not concerned about the movies being faithful to the source material.
Your criticism describes both what was really good and really bad about that phase of the MCU. Basically, you do have to have watched all of the other movies in order to really catch what is going on. Itās like thereās an assignment you have to do before you get to fully understand each movie. For those of us who were watching these as they came out, they were coming out at a reasonable pace, and it was possible to just keep up naturally. Today⦠not as possible, lol.
But if you have seen all of the prior movies, then thereās a whole bunch of backstory that youāre already familiar with, which means they donāt have to introduce all of that in each movie. That might be why the pacing seems off: every movie is basically a sequel to multiple other movies. And they just start off that way, like a sequel.
Most viewers would have already been familiar with this version of Peter Parker, since he was introduced in an earlier movie. (Thatās what the beginning this movie was referencing, when it shows those clips that Peter recorded with his phone. That was from when he showed up in a prior movie.)
I absolutely love Tom Holland as Spider-Man. He does a great job of playing this teenager that is eager to use his new powers for good, but also a little intimidated by what heās getting into. I think the sequel, Far From Home, is even better than Homecoming.
Just jumping in to say, yes, the Spiderman order is correct but the massive alien technology was from previous avengers movies. So if you want the āfullā story, theyāre all connected in one way or another, Kevin feige did a (imo) fantastic job with that.
But itās absolutely fine if you just view them in order. Just keep in mind there mightāve happened things in between.
Edit: some more stuff
Happy is Happy! No hate against him š
And also the boat scene is related (going back, like other things). It goes back to previous stuff, how Peter is under Tonyās wing and that was just in your face to demonstrate heās not on that level yet.
Spider-man is a teenager
Aunt May is 85
Not how ages work.


