Spider-Man (28th July 2017)

[Julius]

Think it's gone without mention that the release date of this film has been bumped up three weeks to July 7th 2017.

[Nuntendo]

Anyone remember the

? T'was so cool (though not as cool as

and

)!

 

But yeah, I'm utterly sick of superhero films. When will this annoying fad end?

[Julius]

Anyone remember the

? T'was so cool (though not as cool as

and

)!

 

But yeah, I'm utterly sick of superhero films. When will this annoying fad end?

 

Yes! That's the cartoon I grew up on!

[Ashley]

Donald Glover in talks to join the cast!

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/donald-glover-joins-spider-man-902514

 

Not as Spider-Man though unfortunately

[Happenstance]

New concept art. Can't remember if the villain has been confirmed or not so I'll keep it spoiler end for now.

 

 

[Sméagol]

I don't know who he is, and I don't think he has been been officially confirmed, but apparently he also shows up in the SDCC footage.

[Happenstance]

I don't know who he is, and I don't think he has been been officially confirmed, but apparently he also shows up in the SDCC footage.

 

Its the Vulture. He was also due to be the villain in Maguire's Spider-Man 4.

 

 

[EEVILMURRAY]

I thought Billy Zane had been confirmed to playing that villian ages ago.

[Retro_Link]

Love how the tech is Falcon/Shield vehicles.

[MindFreak]

New trailers!

 

 

[Happenstance]

Sounds like Homecoming has been getting some very positive buzz. Can't wait to go see it!

[Daft]

Spider-Man was entertaining and stylish but it's pretty vapid on closer inspection.

 

SPOILERS

Spoiler

It's entertaining but the villain has no redeeming features. He talks about the little guy and his motivation is looking after his family. But he lives in a bespoke house that is super plush. While there could have been an element of he's become what he's hated...it isn't there. He shows now character development. Right up until the final act, he clings to his blue-collar roots. He's not even struggling to put his daughter through this school, which Vulture then later mocks for being fancy (...yeah, the school he chose to send his daughter to...WUT?). 

 

Spider-man's high school life has literally no bearing on his life as a superhero (there is no cost to anything wrong he does as Peter Parker). He doesn't lose friends because he shafted over the Quiz team. Whatsherface ultimately doesn't care Peter dumps her at the prom because of her Dad (which we don't really see her respond to anyway). He's quit band and other activities, but no one seems to care, especially Peter (nor Aunt May now I think about it).

Which brings me to Aunt May. Who is barely even a character in this...

Flash is AWFUL.

Donald Glover is in there, why? For a Miles Morales hint? Who even was he?

Why does the suit have a kill mode?

The first Shocker was an opportunity to bring a bit of tension to Vulture's group. But Keaton kills him...by mistake...but then shows little remorse and has no problem trying to kill later on in the film. You could have easily merged both shockers into one. 

In fact, basically no one has a character arc in it. Except maybe MJ who starts off without friends and by the end considers this group (of utter randoms that we don't know beyond gags) her friends.

It's a weirdly uninvested film. In all the previous Spider-man films there always seemed to be a cost to being Spider-man. Peter always suffered. It was a hard choice to make for him. On this...there is no choice. There is no struggle. There is no character development. There even might have been at the end when he turns down the opportunity to join the Avengers. But then Stark plays it off as another test. So Peters choice doesn't become an informed decision where he is weighing up playing in the big leagues again looking after his own patch. Actually, that's the annoying thing. He is weighing it up. But then if he thinks it's a test, it just falls flat. Why make a joke out of a potentially poignant moment. Sure, we're told (literally) he's made an adult decision but the cavalier attitude Stark has kind of robs Peter of that.

 

That sounds like a right slagging off. And it kind of is. But it is entertaining. Just as vapid as most the Disney Marvel movies...so...Well done Sony.

 

[Happenstance]

Watched this tonight and really enjoyed it, great Spider-Man film and I still think Tom Holland is an excellent Peter Parker. It didn't manage to top Spider-Man 2 as my favourite Spider-Man movie but still very enjoyable. I look forward to seeing where they go from here.

[Julius]

Watched this this morning as part of a double-hitter with Wonder Woman (I made sure it was the of the two because I've been left bitterly disappointed by DC too much in the last 18 months or so).

I'll be honest, I was beginning to worry about next year's Infinity War simply because it's been a while since I've felt an MCU entry was sub-par (Iron Man 3 in 2013 is probably the most recent, in my opinion) before going to see this film...which I absolutely love. Like how I felt when I walked out of Civil War, I know I now have to watch this a few times more this summer to get a good idea for where I'd rank it in the upper echelons of the MCU. Right now, though, it feels like it lies somewhere between an 8 and a 10, and it feels like it's in my top five.

Tom Holland is perfectly cast as Peter Parker, and I love the direction they've taken him in. Spider-Man is so relatable because everyone can claim to have grown up with him, whether it be in video games, comic books, films or TV shows, and I feel like this film - and it's depiction of the character - manages to somehow cater to them all; as for Michael Keaton's Vulture, I think we've just witnessed our first memorable MCU villain since the introduction of Thanos at the end of The Avengers (who is only really memorable because we know that he's the character that this is all building up to), and he was extremely menacing and intense, which juxtaposed with the comedy of this movie to great effect. And, pardon me if I'm wrong, but I feel like Robert Downey Jr. has really stepped up since Iron Man 3, with his performances as Stark seemingly getting better with every film since. Jacob Batalon also deserves a mention, I feel, as he is the entry point for the audience into Parker's crazy life, and pulls it off with great aplomb (and plenty of laughs).

@Daft, I totally get where you're coming from with some of your points (and of course respect them), but just wanted to respond (and perhaps clear a few things up too);

Spoiler

Quote

It's entertaining but the villain has no redeeming features. He talks about the little guy and his motivation is looking after his family. But he lives in a bespoke house that is super plush. While there could have been an element of he's become what he's hated...it isn't there. He shows no character development. Right up until the final act, he clings to his blue-collar roots. He's not even struggling to put his daughter through this school, which Vulture then later mocks for being fancy (...yeah, the school he chose to send his daughter to...WUT?). 

I totally agree with some of these points, especially the struggle between what he says he stands for and what he's actually acting out. Then again, though, I feel like he wanted to be viewed higher in society (hence the super plush house) because of how he feels he's been targeted by the rich; ultimately, I think he's simply jealous and thinks he deserves to be equal with them. 

I didn't see the reveal of him being Liz's father coming at all, so I thought that played out well, and I felt as confused as Peter must have been when he opened the door: Holy crap, how does this guy know that I'm Spider-Man, and how did he know about Liz?

However, I do think that Vulture's return was hinted as pretty strongly in that mid-credits scene, so I don't think we've seen his arc completed yet.

Quote

Donald Glover is in there, why? For a Miles Morales hint? Who even was he?

I wasn't too sure either, though he's certainly too old to be portraying Morales at this point. Kevin Feige recently said that Miles Morales does indeed exist in the MCU, and said that he would be hinted at in this film; I think it's plausible to think that Miles is the nephew of Aaron Davis (Glover's character) because of this.

Quote

Why does the suit have a kill mode?

Because it was designed by Stark, not Peter? It's inclusion instantly reminded me of this scene from Iron Man;

Also worth mentioning that it was locked behind a "training wheels" setting, so Peter shouldn't have had access to it at this point.

I totally agree with your point about how weak the rest of his team were - as characters - bar perhaps the mechanic.

Whilst I'm here in a spoiler tag [HELP ME], I suppos it's worth mentioning the mid- and post-credits scenes: the former was a subtle nod to the Sinister Six and Vulture's return, which I'm worried won't pay off in Spider-Man 2 but rather a solo outing, as Sony have been attempting to get one going for years now, which would be a poor decision in my opinion, and the latter is probably my favourite post-credits scene to date; I found it even funnier than Deadpool's, and left with a huge smile across my face, not worrying about what the scene meant but instead just having a good time.

Oh, and though I think he sort of cheated, I think it's worth mentioning that Michael Giacchino might have just written and composed the first memorable main theme in a score in the MCU to date.

 

[Cube]

9 hours ago, Julius Caesar said:

Oh, and though I think he sort of cheated, I think it's worth mentioning that Michael Giacchino might have just written and composed the first memorable main theme in a score in the MCU to date.

My biggest complaint about the film is actually the music, and partly because of this. Not because it's bad, but because it's really good. This plays during the opening titles and sticks in your mind. Then, throughout the film, a new Spider-man theme plays. The problem is that the start of it sounds similar to the start of this - multiple times I was excited to hear this theme again and was disappointed when it turned into something else.

It actually reminded me of Rogue One, which multiple times sounded like it was going to burst into familiar Star Wars music, then went into a different direction. The film didn't need familiar Star Wars music, but the score was just in the "uncanny valley" where it's too similar yet also too different. The prequels managed to make lots of great Star Wars feeling music without this kind of feeling. Like Spider-man, Rogue One's music was distracting.

Incidentally, the Doctor Strange soundtrack was also distracting, but that was because the Star Trek Reboot theme was used in it.

And as for the first memorable MCU main theme...

 

[bob]

Did not like the music. Should have got Elfman to do it.

[Happenstance]

Should have gone with this style instead

 

[Fierce_LiNk]

On ‎07‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 10:38 AM, Daft said:

Spider-Man was entertaining and stylish but it's pretty vapid on closer inspection.

 

SPOILERS

  Spider-Man (Reveal hidden contents)

It's entertaining but the villain has no redeeming features. He talks about the little guy and his motivation is looking after his family. But he lives in a bespoke house that is super plush. While there could have been an element of he's become what he's hated...it isn't there. He shows now character development. Right up until the final act, he clings to his blue-collar roots. He's not even struggling to put his daughter through this school, which Vulture then later mocks for being fancy (...yeah, the school he chose to send his daughter to...WUT?). 

 

Spider-man's high school life has literally no bearing on his life as a superhero (there is no cost to anything wrong he does as Peter Parker). He doesn't lose friends because he shafted over the Quiz team. Whatsherface ultimately doesn't care Peter dumps her at the prom because of her Dad (which we don't really see her respond to anyway). He's quit band and other activities, but no one seems to care, especially Peter (nor Aunt May now I think about it).

Which brings me to Aunt May. Who is barely even a character in this...

Flash is AWFUL.

Donald Glover is in there, why? For a Miles Morales hint? Who even was he?

Why does the suit have a kill mode?

The first Shocker was an opportunity to bring a bit of tension to Vulture's group. But Keaton kills him...by mistake...but then shows little remorse and has no problem trying to kill later on in the film. You could have easily merged both shockers into one. 

In fact, basically no one has a character arc in it. Except maybe MJ who starts off without friends and by the end considers this group (of utter randoms that we don't know beyond gags) her friends.

It's a weirdly uninvested film. In all the previous Spider-man films there always seemed to be a cost to being Spider-man. Peter always suffered. It was a hard choice to make for him. On this...there is no choice. There is no struggle. There is no character development. There even might have been at the end when he turns down the opportunity to join the Avengers. But then Stark plays it off as another test. So Peters choice doesn't become an informed decision where he is weighing up playing in the big leagues again looking after his own patch. Actually, that's the annoying thing. He is weighing it up. But then if he thinks it's a test, it just falls flat. Why make a joke out of a potentially poignant moment. Sure, we're told (literally) he's made an adult decision but the cavalier attitude Stark has kind of robs Peter of that.

 

That sounds like a right slagging off. And it kind of is. But it is entertaining. Just as vapid as most the Disney Marvel movies...so...Well done Sony.

 

We just got back from it and I pretty much agree with this word for word.

Had I been 15 years younger, I probably would have enjoyed it. It felt very "empty" and aimed at the YouTube/Instagram teenager crowd. Also pretty bored of the American High School loser storyline by now. 

It's the type of film where they could reboot it (again) in another 5 years time, and I wouldn't care.

[Grazza]

On ‎17‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 11:42 PM, Julius Caesar said:

Like how I felt when I walked out of Civil War, I know I now have to watch this a few times more this summer to get a good idea for where I'd rank it in the upper echelons of the MCU.

 

Civil War's a funny film in that regard, isn't it?  I've watched Age Of Ultron a few times and thought the same of it every time (good scenes, but a bit flat overall).  If I'm honest, I didn't like Civil War the first time I saw it, but only because it was different to my expectations.  I watched it a couple more times and think much more highly of it now.