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I’m going to preface my review by saying that I’m a Spider-Man truther. He’s always been my favorite Marvel character. When I was 12 years old I’d save my allowance money to buy the new Spider-Man comic book each month on the first day it was available. When I had a bad day, as bad as a kid can have, instead of drinking a glass of whiskey or wine, I got myself a bag of Doritos and a Spider-Man comic. Considering all that, I think you’ll find my review surprising.
I give the movie a 7 out of 10 rating. The internet has been crazy about this movie since it came out ten days ago. Despite that, I’m not going to give away any spoilers just in case you haven’t seen it. For my money and my Marvel fandom, this movie didn’t justify the hype.
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Yes, Peter’s friends MJ and Ned are back and provide some great comedic relief. Benedict Cumberbatch returns as Dr. Strange and as always, plays the role impeccably. Later in the movie a few special guests arrive to provide some more heart and comedy. I didn’t know about the special guests and was pleasantly surprised by their addition to the plot.
What was done well was Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. In my opinion, he’s been the best choice of the three actors who have played Peter Parker. (Just for fun, I’ll rank them: Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire. Let me know in the comments if you disagree) In fact, I think that in this movie every actor and actress played their role perfectly. It was the plot that I was disappointed in, and that surprised me.
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To me, the plot seemed clumsily contrived. The throwback stuff was fun but seemed a little forced at times.
I’m a writer and I think about how I’d write a scene or part of the plot. I like subtlety. I like the surprises in a book or movie to sneak up and surprise me. I guess that when writing a screenplay, you have to take into consideration that a movie can’t be four hours long and they can’t put every detail or line in that they want. Also, if you’re a newbie to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as they call it, this is still a great movie to see, but you’ll be a bit lost if you haven’t watched several of the recent Marvel movies.
I don’t know if, as many have said, that I’d rank this as the best or even a top five Marvel movie, but it’s definitely top ten and was a fun watch that is a must-see on the big screen. If you’re a Marvel movie fan you have to see this movie if only to see the post credit scenes that give you clues to upcoming Marvel movies.
If you’ve seen it, what do you think compared to my thoughts here?
Have a great day! ~Phil
