Spider-Man: No Way Home (December 17th, 2021)

[Wor-Gar]

I know, I can't believe I wrote that much. Yuck!

 

[jye4ever]

I know, I can't believe I wrote that much. Yuck!

Wor-Kostis

 

[Khev]

But you know me, I can't stand the "let's do it again" mentality.

Do you agree with me then that The Batman might best be served as a one and done? Three hours of awesome atmosphere, great villains and a very satisfying arc for the main character. Call it a day and let it be a perfect untainted universe!

 

[ZE_501]

Do you agree with me then that The Batman might best be served as a one and done? Three hours of awesome atmosphere, great villains and a very satisfying arc for the main character. Call it a day and let it be a perfect untainted universe!

I wouldn't be sad about it, but Reeves will have his opportunity to take this thing to new heights ... or betray us all.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Do you agree with me then that The Batman might best be served as a one and done? Three hours of awesome atmosphere, great villains and a very satisfying arc for the main character. Call it a day and let it be a perfect untainted universe!

I do often wish people could leave well enough alone. That is the tragic beauty of Ledger's performance... safe, forever.

 

[ZE_501]

After sleeping on it, I think this is how the film should have gone:

Peter: "Hi Dr. Strange, I have this problem and I'm wondering if you can help ..."

Strange: "You talked to MIT right?"

Peter: "Yeah, and they will re-consider their reactionary position given they're an institution that prides itself on meritocracy and rational discourse, plus Happy and Ms. Potts have gone to bat for me with them, given their close relationship with Stark Industries it shouldn't be a problem.

However, I'm concerned for the safety and sense of normalcy for my loved ones, since they're not insulated via vast wealth and would rather not live out their lives as dependents of Stark Industries."

Strange: "Fair, but we better have a long discussion on the parameters of the spell I have at my disposal and its implications for you."

Peter: "Thanks for sitting down with me, let's hash everything out before making a move. If there's anything I've learned throughout my time with The Avengers it's the Unintended Consequences that accompany the wielding of Implausibly Great Power."

Of course, then we wouldn't have a movie. So instead we got:

Peter: "WAAAAHHH I'M A DUMB KID WITH ADHD WHO HAS NO INTELLIGENT ROLE MODELS TO REFER TO AND NEED EVERYTHING FIXED RIGHT NOW!!"

Strange: "Well I've got this REALITY ALTERING SPELL I'm going to CASUALLY ACTIVATE without ACTUALLY HAVING A SAFETY MEETING or CONSULTATION beforehand LET'S JUST WING IT."

 

[Zurdo95D]

So I finally saw the movie.

I think I'm definitely feeling MCU'd out in general and I also just came down from seeing The Batman which is so very different so the two types of entertainment are clashing in my head.

I feel like I just watched a Harry Potter movie. Some heavy stuff happens but the rest is all kinda cute. Maybe too cute. I didn't hate it but I'm feeling @Wor-Gar about it. And remember I'm a long time Spidey fan ...

Impressions -- and I don't think anyone uses spoiler tags in here anymore so SUPER SPOILERY:

• Too much slapstick right away, MCU thinks it’s too cute
• Happy has always been played for laughs but the character has jumped the shark.
• MIT plot is one-dimensional, paper-thin.
• Why have Potts and Stark Industries left Peter on his own? Sure Tony inexplicably left him an army of killer drones and he has access to magic suits, but where is the financial safety net and legal muscle you’d expect? Why is Happy worried about lawyering up when he should have an army of litigation behind him?
• Matt Murdock was immediately tonally lighter (of course) but great to see him.
• No weight or physics to the one-armed web-swinging with MJ.
• Dr. Strange always enjoyable but still too much Marvel Cute Universe.
• Whole thing feels dumbed down.
• Rubbery CG waters down the fight sequences.
• Some of the sets and lighting look a little cheap.
• Lazy filmmaking — doesn’t even show how he saves family from falling car because it's so mundane at this point.
• Considering how overpowered MCU Spidey is, he should have knocked out Doc Ock within seconds of closing with him. (I say OP but he's actually hellaciously strong in the comics too).
• Swinging from high voltage towers? Even if the webbing is non-conductive … no. There's enough juice there to blast you just via proximity. Learned that when I got my aerial lift certification.
• Doc Strange just leaves Peter and a couple of kids to clean up the mess?
• Supervillains blowing things up and tossing cars around, where are the other superheroes? And cops and first responders and ... and ...
• Strange can’t stop Spidey? Please.
• What's with the disembodied Spidey Sense? So this indicates this is a super-powered physical reflex independent of Peter's will, but it's surprisingly *intelligent* to be playing keep-away with Strange and his spell.
• The entire conflict between Strange and Spidey is based on the very weak premise that Strange is too arrogant (too stupid) to sit and talk with Peter, and Peter is still this “GEE WHIZ I GOTTA TRY” moron that won’t listen to Strange.
• May’s ‘death’ strangely lacking weight.
• Peter’s bulletproof now?
• Garfield is an amazing (ha ha) Spidey.
• Why did Tobey-Man and Garfield-Man start webbing each other?
• The three Spidey’s just hanging out and talking was actually very charming.
• Dr. Strange isn’t just nerfed power-wise he’s also conveniently incompetent.
• Happy remembers dating May and Spidey but not her nephew Peter? Weird spell, bro.
• Surprised they kept her dead.
• There was some weight to seeing Peter completely on his own, like the original Spidey.
• Disney’s Lego Star Wars product placement isn’t cute anymore.
• Wow he’s good at sewing. He’d make a killing doing 1/6th custom clothing. Hear that Parker? You don't have to be poor ...
• Animated end credits sequence was great.
• Venom enters the MCU via a bar in Mexico. Guess I’ll allow it.
• Soooo….did those guys get sent back ‘cured’ and what did that do to their respective timelines?

I dunno. Movie feels manipulative and shallow in spite of some genuinely charming character beats thanks to nostalgia-powered-up actors.

While I did get a lot of enjoyment from the film, I do agree with all your points.

 

[ZE_501]

While I did get a lot of enjoyment from the film, I do agree with all your points.

I dare say, Into The Spiderverse did it better.

 

[Khev]

Yes Dr. Strange basically destroyed Peter's life by being such a needlessly frantic spaz when he started the spell with so few specifics from Peter.

I get that "the movie needs to happen" but unless they wanted me to be royally pissed at Strange it would have been nice if they established some crucially important business that he had to attend to (some immediate magical threat on another continent or something) as a valid explanation for why he was so pressed for time in casting the spell.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

I do often wish people could leave well enough alone. That is the tragic beauty of Ledger's performance... safe, forever.

Until they CGI him in a s***** multiverse thing.

 

[ZE_501]

@Khev just sloppy writing -- again -- from the Disney team. Their stable of writers don't respect the internal logic of the MCU or Star Wars whenever it suits the producers and accountants. Dr. Strange doesn't make mistakes because he's arrogant, he's arrogant because he doesn't make mistakes -- at least not obvious ones. Very important distinction that's already been lost.

 

[Prime Clone]

After sleeping on it, I think this is how the film should have gone:

Peter: "Hi Dr. Strange, I have this problem and I'm wondering if you can help ..."

Strange: "You talked to MIT right?"

Peter: "Yeah, and they will re-consider their reactionary position given they're an institution that prides itself on meritocracy and rational discourse, plus Happy and Ms. Potts have gone to bat for me with them, given their close relationship with Stark Industries it shouldn't be a problem.

However, I'm concerned for the safety and sense of normalcy for my loved ones, since they're not insulated via vast wealth and would rather not live out their lives as dependents of Stark Industries."

Strange: "Fair, but we better have a long discussion on the parameters of the spell I have at my disposal and its implications for you."

Peter: "Thanks for sitting down with me, let's hash everything out before making a move. If there's anything I've learned throughout my time with The Avengers it's the Unintended Consequences that accompany the wielding of Implausibly Great Power."

Of course, then we wouldn't have a movie. So instead we got:

Peter: "WAAAAHHH I'M A DUMB KID WITH ADHD WHO HAS NO INTELLIGENT ROLE MODELS TO REFER TO AND NEED EVERYTHING FIXED RIGHT NOW!!"

Strange: "Well I've got this REALITY ALTERING SPELL I'm going to CASUALLY ACTIVATE without ACTUALLY HAVING A SAFETY MEETING or CONSULTATION beforehand LET'S JUST WING IT."

Yes, after finally seeing this the first thought that sprang to mind was, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one... even if that one is Peter Parker."

Whatever happened with "With great power comes great responsibility" anyway?

 

[Khev]

@Khev just sloppy writing -- again -- from the Disney team. Their stable of writers don't respect the internal logic of the MCU or Star Wars whenever it suits the producers and accountants. Dr. Strange doesn't make mistakes because he's arrogant, he's arrogant because he doesn't make mistakes -- at least not obvious ones. Very important distinction that's already been lost.

Was this one written by Disney? I almost wonder if it was Sony writers wanting to take Strange down a peg.

 

[ZE_501]

Was this one written by Disney? I almost wonder if it was Sony writers wanting to take Strange down a peg.

Even if it was a Sony team, they're still playing in the Disney Sandbox and vice versa.

 

[sealake]

Do you agree with me then that The Batman might best be served as a one and done? Three hours of awesome atmosphere, great villains and a very satisfying arc for the main character. Call it a day and let it be a perfect untainted universe!

Great villains in The Batman? IDK Riddler felt underwhelming to me once he was unmasked and the Penguin didn't really do anything. The Nolan trilogy had great villains.

 

[Prime Clone]

Great villains in The Batman? IDK Riddler felt underwhelming to me once he was unmasked and the Penguin didn't really do anything. The Nolan trilogy had great villains.

I thought The Riddler was chilling in his geeky normalcy (rather like Mark Chapman) but I'd have to agree on Penguin. Makeup was impressive but weird that he's getting his own series.

 

[e30ernest]

I was surprised to learn now that he was never physically in this movie (only did voice overs). This makes this a blend of reused footage and CG:

Amazing stuff they can do these days....

 

[Lejuan]

I think I said something to the effect of ''it didn't change my life'', which it didn't. I expect I'll always watch it alongside the strongest MCU films though because it was a delight to see all these actors back in their roles and essentially canonizing all the previous Spiderman movies with the MCU. The nostalgia did its job.

It was utterly Meh for me for just that reason - I wanted to punch 'With great power...' in the face

Couple that with the goofy interaction between Parker and Strange to manufacture the collective amnesia, I walked out of the theatre feeling like the best thing about that movie was... the next movie.

Everyone I know loved this take on Spiderman and I kinda envy them their enjoyment of it.

 

[ZE_501]

Everyone I know loved this take on Spiderman and I kinda envy them their enjoyment of it.

Yeah. This was the MCU flick I was hyped for after the letdown of Shang Chi and the non-starter that was The Eternals, but having seen this I'm actually concerned about Multiverse of Madness. Maybe the MCU has truly moved on from my cranky demographic and like Star Wars ...

 

[ironwez20]

Damn. I loved this movie. Watching clips online. It still feels unreal . The scene where all the spidermen are talking to Peter about what they lost is very emotional. Especially with the “with great power” quote . Then him losing everything and being alone at the end. Great stuff.