Tag Archives: Spider-Man: Homecoming

Jul 3 2019

Spider-Man: Far From Home Is A Winning Epilogue To The Infinity Saga

Spider-Man: Far From Home is the epilogue to the 23-film Infinity Saga or the final Phase 3 film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). As such, the film is another winner for Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures, who still owns the film rights to the Marvel Comics superhero.

The film is solidly part of the MCU, as shown in its opening moments as the world is recovering from the events of the last two Avengers films. It was good to see the everyday reaction to Thanos’s snap and the sudden return of half of the world’s population, called the Blip in the MCU. For Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), the impact of the Avengers films weighs heavily on him as his mentor Tony Stark is no longer around. He feels the pressure of trying to be the next Iron Man while enjoying his normal teenage routines. The biggest thing on his mind, aside from his Spider-Man duties, is working up the nerve to tell his fellow high school classmate, MJ (Zendaya) that he likes her. The two of them, along with other classmates, spend most of the film in Europe on a school trip. While in the Old World, Peter is contacted by the clandestine head of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to help Quentin Beck/Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) with dealing with these giant elemental creatures that are attacking Europe. Beck is supposedly from a parallel Earth that was destroyed by these creatures and wants to prevent the same disaster from happening in the MCU Earth. Beck quickly earns Peter’s trust who then begins to confide in him all his doubts and fears. But as comic book fans know there is much more to Beck than he would have one believe.

Beck and Parker

The latest Spider-Man film is the quintessential summer film. It’s fun, exciting, humorous and moves at a brisk pace, particularly in the second half. At the same time, unlike most summer blockbusters this film has depth and engages you emotionally. All the actors are spot-on perfect in their roles and embody the characters they portrays. This especially goes to Tom Holland who has an earnest energy and nervousness that makes his Peter Parker very endearing. This portrayal of Spider-Man feels authentic and captures the essence of the beloved superhero. He makes mistakes, big ones, but his heart is in the right place. It’s why we root root for him. Meanwhile, Zendaya adds much more dimension and humanity to her role of MJ. Now, she is more personable while keeping her spunky and sardonic attitude that made her so funny in Spider-Man: Homecoming. She and Holland have a nice chemistry as a budding and sweet romance develops between the two young people, which works. It’s not as intense as with Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone in the The Amazing Spider-Man films, but their romance has a tender sweetness that offers a nice respite from all the fantastic effects and explosions.

Spidey and MJ

As far as Spider-villains go, Mysterio is certainly a fantastic entry into Spidey’s rogues gallery with a unique power set, comic-book accurate costume, and motivation. His background and purpose differs a lot from his comic book roots, but they fit in easily within the MCU and there are some great and surprising call backs to previous MCU films. His drive and presence in the film doesn’t quite match the depth and desperation of the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but Gyllenhaal is just great in the role and injects a lot of passion into his role. The fight sequences between him and Spidey capture the spirit of their comic book encounters complete with the weird illusions that rival some of what we’ve seen in Doctor Strange.

mysterio

There are some issues with Spider-Man: Far From Home, namely the high school antics and gags. Unlike the previous film, here they fall flat many times, which is puzzling since director Jon Watts pulled it off so well in Spider-Man: Homecoming. With this film, the antics come off as unfunny distractions, though some gags hit the mark. Still, it is not a fatal flaw with the film, but for the next film, the filmmakers should consider retooling this aspect or getting rid of it altogether.

Right now, the future of the MCU Spider-Man films is uncertain because Spider-Man: Far From Home is supposedly the last Spider-Man film in the agreement between Marvel Studios and Sony. It would be a horrific shame if these films couldn’t continue and Sony took Spidey back because there is so much more that can be done with him.

This is clearly evident in one of the post-credits scenes that is an absolute shocker. Seriously, they cannot leave us hanging like they did. On another note, the other post-credits scene is equally as important because it heralds the direction that the MCU will take from this point on. Spider-Man: Far From Home both stands on its own as a winning Spider-Man film and as an coda to the wondrous 23-film MCU.

José Soto

Jul 12 2017

The Spider-Man Movie Costumes Ranked

Spider-Man has one of the most recognizable and iconic superhero uniforms in comic books. Yet, bored artists have seemed fit to tinker with the design and this tendency has spread to the costume department of the Spider-Man films. It seems as if they need to impart their own take on his duds and no matter how hard they try it’s hard to get away from the timeless red-and-blue suit with the bug-shaped lenses and webbing motif.

Here is how they rank up and what is interesting to note is that there isn’t a stinker in the wardrobe. It all boils down to personal taste in fashion!

black Spiderman suit

7. The Black Suit (Spider-Man 3): This Spider-Man costume symbolized how Spider-Man 3 went so wrong. The black-and-white suit worn by Spidey in the comic books is almost as popular as the original and created a sensation when it premiered in the ‘80s. What made it so unique was its simplistic and striking design. All the costumers had to do was copy that look, instead they took the lazy way out by painting the regular suit black. So boring!

6. The Amazing Spider-Man (The Amazing Spider-Man): This is not a bad Spider-Man costume per se, it’s just that the others before and since have been better. Known for its yellow and narrower lenses, elongated spider symbol on the chest and back, and spandex material, this Spider-Man costume complemented actor Andrew Garfield’s lean build. Its spandex origin made the suit seem more like a sports uniform.

5. The Homemade Suits (Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Spider-Man: Homecoming): Before donning the official Spider-Man costume and becoming a full-fledged superhero, Peter Parker dipped his toes into the vigilante/wrestler field with these quickly put-together rags that were amateurish. The funny thing is that these homemade suits are rather well done, concealed his identity and were functional. It’s hard to decide which is the best, so they’re all lumped here.

 

4. Spider-Man Mark II/Iron Spider Suit (Spider-Man: Homecoming): Briefly seen at the end of the film, this would have been an upgrade of the first suit given to Peter by Tony Stark. Inspired by the newer Spider-Man costumes in the comic books, the uniform looks more like a suit of armor. Too bad Parker did not try it out but there’s a nagging feeling we haven’t seen the last of it. Don’t be surprised if he winds up wearing it in next year’s Avengers: Infinity War.

spider-man 2

3. Spider-Man (Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3): This was the very first Spider-Man outfit for the films and it had to make its mark on the big screen, while being faithful to the comic books.  Most fans breathed a sigh of relief when actor Tobey Maguire first donned the suit because its look captured the essence of Spidey. The costume only differs from the classic uniform with its raised and silverish webbing pattern and the longer spider symbol.

Spiderman Homecoming in truck

 

2. Spider-Man Mark I (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Captain America: Civil War): This high-tech uniform shocked and delighted fans when Spider-Man made his MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War. It keeps the basic red-and-blue design, but with smaller spider symbols and looks more stylish.  In Spider-Man: Homecoming, we learned that the suit was jammed with many technical goodies like spider drones that made it seem more like a scaled-down Iron Man suit. It’s a great suit, but it does not fit with Spidey’s down-to-earth roots.

1. The Amazing Spider-Man, Version 2 (The Amazing Spider-Man 2): As flawed as that film was, one thing that the filmmakers got right was the look of Spider-Man’s uniform. It was a nearly perfect replica of the costume from the comic books with a nod to Todd MacFarlane’s Spider-Man thanks to its larger lenses. Not only was it faithful to the classic Spider-Man costume, but it looked sensational on the big screen. Too bad, we probably won’t see it again.

Lewis T. Grove

Jul 8 2017

Spider-Man: Homecoming Brings Spider-Man To The MCU With Flourish

Spider-Man: Homecoming is a glorious celebratory homecoming for Marvel’s flagship superhero into the highly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Ever since the MCU took off nine years ago and grew, fans have pined for Spider-Man to join the MCU ranks. We got a taste of how the MCU would interpret the Wall-Crawler with his scene-stealing cameo in last year’s Captain America: Civil War. Now, an entire film is devoted to him as Sony Pictures (who holds the film rights to Spider-Man) have joined forces with Marvel Studios. The result is the best Spider-Man film since the early Sam Raimi efforts.

om-Holland-as-Peter-Parker-in-Spider-Man-Homecoming

The film takes place shortly after Spider-Man’s debut in Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has to go back to a humdrum life as a teenager in Queens, New York. Aching for the glory of a superhero and joining the Avengers, Peter has to contend with the usual teenage gripes like fitting in socially in high school. These aspects of Spider-Man: Homecoming are clearly influenced by the John Hughes teenage comedies and they work perfectly, by the way, this film has a great soundtrack evocative of those Hughes films. Thanks to Holland’s sincere performance, we are able to empathize with Peter and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon). The young cast in the film are for the most part engaging, though some may be put off with the unconventional casting choices, but it should not be a deal breaker. One of the reveals about a certain character near the end feels very forced and detracts from that character who was at that point one of the film’s quirkiest and memorable characters.

Speaking of casting, Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes/The Vulture is terrific as a working-class villain. The film takes the adequate amount of time to set him up and making him a bit sympathetic by showing him as being inadvertently pushed out of a lucrative living by Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Instead of craving revenge like in an average superhero film, Toomes finds an inventive way of earning a living by scavenging parts and wreckage from superhuman battles. Then his gang turns these parts into futuristic weapons for the black market.

During the course of Spider-Man: Homecoming, the Vulture’s activities catches Spider-Man’s attention, and this leads to conflict between the two. On one side, Toomes sees the world with a cynical eye and just wants to take advantage of an opportunity to make some money. Parker, on the other hand, is a young idealist who wants to impress Stark and sees Toomes’ activities as being wrong. In the comic books, the Vulture has always been one of the weaker members of Spidey’s rogues gallery, but in this film he shines. He is actually one of the best villains ever featured not just in Spider-Man films, but in those of the MCU.

This Spider-Man film is clearly a film set in the MCU with its Easter eggs, references and character appearances. Despite the marketing, Iron Man is not a co-star of Spider-Man: Homecoming, though his influence is there with the constant name dropping and the high-tech Spider-Man suit that the title character dons in the film. The suit worn by Spider-Man is a true marvel with all of its gadgets and gimmicks, but it strays too much from the core of Spider-Man’s character that this film otherwise gets so right. Meaning that Spidey is more of an everyman, someone who is relatable to you and I and has the same problems we face.  Hopefully in the sequel they will address this and depower the suit. On a side note, this film proves what many fans have felt over the years: Tony Stark and Happy Hogan are a couple of dicks.

Spider-Man: Homecoming’s emphasis on the hero’s hardscrabble roots and normal problems is why it’s so successful. Past Spider-Man films have shown this and were rightfully revered for doing so and this latest film continues that tradition. Not only that, but the film is a lot of fun and quite exciting at the right times. It zips along nicely without a dull moment since we are so invested in the characters when there aren’t any fisticuffs. Like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 there is some world building and set ups for sequels but unlike that film Spider-Man: Homecoming does not go overboard and as a result flows more smoothly and focuses rightfully on Spider-Man. The film does a great job of showing how Peter is still a novice at what he does, which led to some truly funny moments. Other times he gets in over his head and has to deal with the consequences. One interesting example is one scene where he crawls up a building that is higher than he’s ever scaled and when he realizes this has to deal with a fear of heights!

Now how does it compare to the Sam Raimi films? That is hard to say and will take some time to fully compare them, though the action sequences in the Raimi films were better filmed and on the whole those films were more evocative of the comic books. Also, the romances not just in Raimi’s, but in Marc Webb’s films were much better done as those actors had better onscreen chemistry than here. Still, Spider-Man: Homecoming feels more authentic and more grounded than the bombastic Raimi films. What this film has in common with the early films are the tributes and shout outs to unique Spider-Man moments and scenes directly lifted from the comic books. Remember that famous scene in Spider-Man 2 that was inspired by The Amazing Spider-Man #50? This film has another tribute to an equally famous moment from Spider-Man’s comic books, which will delight Spider-Fans.

Spiderman Homecoming in truck

After the misfire of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming successfully re-launches the franchise with this amazing (pun intended) entry. At the same time, this is a spectacular (another pun!) standalone MCU film in its own right that is another winner for the cinematic universe. Hopefully, Sony and Marvel Studios will keep this up in future films.

José Soto

 

Apr 2 2017

Spider-Man’s Short-Lived Homecoming?

spider-man homecoming posters

Spider-Man fans have been in on an emotional rollercoaster in recent days with the increasing hype over the new film Spider-Man: Homecoming and with Sony Pictures’ plans for the Marvel Comics character with their own series of spinoff films. The reaction to the new film’s second trailer has been extremely positive, surpassing that of the initial trailer released last year. On the other side of the coin, the reception to Sony’s plan has been decidedly mixed. But the worst reaction has been to the speculation that Spider-Man will no longer be in the popular Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) following a sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming. What started the ruckus was a recent interview of Amy Pascal in Comic Book News. As the former head of Sony Pictures and now a producer of the Spider-Man films. She stated the following:

“One of the things that I think is so amazing about this experience is that you don’t have studios deciding to work together to make a film very often. In fact, it may never happen again–after we do the sequel.”

This has given many fans reasons to panic, especially given the recent announcements of Sony continuing to develop Spider-Man spinoff films about Venom and the Black Cat. The reason is due to the film studio’s mishandling of the beloved character. We all remember that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a creative disaster, micromanaged to death by Sony who only wanted to use the film to launch other films; none of which have come to fruition. Then there was the public flailing by the studio after The Amazing Spider-Man 2 didn’t perform as well as they hoped. The non-stop announcements of films starring the Sinister Six and even Aunt May (!) made fans cringe. These embarrassing PR releases were only rivaled by Warner Bros/DC’s constant notices about upcoming DC films and who has been cast years before a film has even entered pre-production. Everything came to a head with the hack of Sony in 2014/15, which revealed in emails that the studio wasn’t sure what to do with their superhero franchise. They learned, as other film studios have, that it is not easy to replicate the success of the MCU.

the amazing spider-man

Sensing correctly the disinterest in their spinoffs, the bad feelings from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, overall poor box office from all their films, and the embarrassing emails, Sony decided to cut a deal with Disney/Marvel Studios. The result was a revamped Spider-Man, now played by an actual teenager, and the breakout star of last year’s Captain America: Civil War. Most fans and critics loved the authentic portrayal of the eager and earnest young superhero. Now that he is officially part of the MCU, Spidey could interact with Marvel Comics’ other great superheroes. All seemed well, Spider-Man made a smashing re-introduction, his next solo film was firmly in the MCU, and the trailers were well received, so nothing could go wrong.

Venomous Reception

Sony probably felt that same way when they announced that a Venom film was not only being developed but that it is coming out in October 2018. Before this revelation, Sony scheduled an animated Spider-Man film to feature Miles Morales, and the news was well received since after all it’s just a cartoon. The Venom news, however, was a mixed bag. Those who have clamored for a hard-edged Venom solo film were excited, while others feared another mismanaged superhero film that would dilute Spider-Man. The slipshod way the character was handled in Spider-Man 3 was all the proof the fans needed that Sony would screw up again. Adding to this trepidation was the news that Venom would not be in the MCU and whether or not Spider-Man would even appear.

Perhaps Sony was emboldened by the success of Deadpool and Logan, two films that are not necessarily part of their shared universes and were hits despite being R-rated. They obviously feel they can learn from their mistakes and duplicate this formula. Maybe they can and maybe they will be successful with their announced Black Cat/Silver Sable film. The key has to do with who is hired to make the film. Continue reading →

Jul 25 2016

Comic-Con 2016 Highlights

The San Diego Comic-Con for 2016 has come and gone and we’re all the more hyped up after the event. Unlike previous Comic-Cons most of the film studios were all too eager to share the trailers for their upcoming films and TV shows. That is except for 20th Century Fox who took their marbles and went home…actually didn’t even present. They wanted to avoid having their presentations pirated. Nice way to promote Alien: Covenant and the third Wolverine flick, people. Result: DC and Marvel ruled the event by bringing their A game.

Justice League

TV Stuff

The other studios made their announcements and presentations. For TV shows, the third season teaser for The Flash got everyone up in arms in anticipation at seeing the live-action version of Flashpoint. For those in the dark, that’s the comic book event where the Flash saved his mom in the past and created a dark reality. This adaptation won’t be literal but more like what we saw with the Marvel Comics Civil War event in Captain America: Civil War. But it still looks awesome. The other DC shows on the CW also had interesting presentations and announcement, the best of those being that the Legends of Tomorrow will be facing the Legion of Doom and meet the rest of the Justice Society of America.

Marvel Studios raised some eyebrows with the revelation that Ghost Rider will be appearing in the fourth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and this should be interesting. As for their Netflix stuff, we got teasers of The Defenders (check out our Twitter account with a link to it), Iron Fist, and Luke Cage. The last show looked undeniably badass and thankfully we only have to wait a couple more months.

The biggest TV announcement had to be for Star Trek: Discovery. We saw a glorious 2001: A Space Odyssey-like opener with a starship launching out of a hollowed-out asteroid. What was most intriguing was that the ship’s design is based on one of Ralph McQuarrie’s unused Enterprise designs for the lost Star Trek film Planet of the Titans.

starship Discovery

As cool as it was to see one of McQuarrie’s design come to life, what is sure to get everyone even more excited is that Bryan Fuller, one of the showrunners, confirmed the show will take place in the Star Trek Prime universe! No reboots, people! The real Star Trek has indeed returned! Ahem, apologies to those that love nuTrek, Star Trek Beyond is a fun film that redeems the Star Trek reboots.

Film Stuff

DC Comics and Warner Bros. are still smarting over the lukewarm reception to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. So they didn’t hold back anything in Comic-Con 2016. Amidst the flood of trailers for Suicide Squad, which makes us feel already as if we’ve seen the entire film, came trailers for Wonder Woman and Justice League. The Justice League trailer was very enticing and actually sold us on the Snyderverse version of the Flash. Sure, Grant Gustin rules as Barry Allen but it’s undeniable that Ezra Miller had a lot of charm as the new Flash. The trailer had much more humor than anything seen in Batman v Superman, but where’s Superman? Meanwhile, Gal Gadot clearly shines in the footage shown in both the Justice League and in the trailer of Wonder Woman kicking ass in World War I.

As for DC’s rival Marvel, well they had their goodies as well. Unlike DC, most of the trailers for their upcoming movies are still under lock and key being they are “exclusives” for Comic-Con. There’s no point in trying to scrounge the Internet for pirate footage of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 or Spider-Man: Homecoming, it will look like crap and be taken down anyway. But here’s a quick look at Thor: Ragnarok, which will be gone soon:

Marvel should take a cue from DC and present their goods to the larger world who could not attend. The one trailer they released was the second one for Doctor Strange. Make all the snarky remarks that it looks like Inception, but this movie looks astounding! If it works, it will take the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a whole new direction and that is how you keep the superhero film genre afloat. The highlights of Marvel Studios reveals were Brie Larson’s casting as Captain Marvel, the Vulture will be the villain in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Kurt Russell will play Peter Quill’s dad, aka Ego the Living Planet, in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2!

Spidey fights Vulture

In closing, Comic-Con 2016 had a lot more to show for the general public than in recent years. A lot of the announcements and trailers were ho hum like Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. But more than a few were quite enticing like the one for the return of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (to be shown on Netflix), a Blair Witch sequel and this one for Kong: Skull Island.

It’s great to see the big ape back on the screen! On the whole, we have plenty of fun things to watch in the coming months and into 2017.