This is a long one folks. Just sayin…
I have been eagerly waiting for this movie ever since I finished Far From Home. Hands down the most excited I've been since the anticipation for Infinity War and it measured up to all the hype! So many call backs and feels dating all the way back to when I was in high school when the Toby McGuire flicks were first coming out.
And I gotta say from the start…everyone who told me to make sure to watch the Andrew Garfield movies before this…THANK YOU! Because by far one of the best moments in the whole dang movie came from his films which would have been meaningless had we not watched them.
Here we go!
The Spoiled Cameo
It was inevitable that there'd be a few things that I was going to know about heading into this one. Besides the obvious of the 3 spideys and numerous baddies being in the film (which to my recollection was HEAVILY rumored before this movie came out anyways mainly due to a scene at the end of a trailer which people noticed the lizard getting hit in the face with no one there), I knew ahead of time that Matt Murdoch was going to be his lawyer. But even with that being the case, I didn't expect it right at the beginning. And I'm willing to bet neither did audiences…as I've already gone onto YouTube and watched some easter egg videos and all that for this movie, and upon watching those it became more apparent that they left a pause in there when the brick came through through the window for audiences to lose their minds in the theatre. Yes?
And now with watching She-Hulk I'm 100% on board once fully caught up with MCU stuff getting on board with Daredevil and Punisher on Netflix….just gotta have the kids in bed for those from what I hear.
High School + The First 1/3
This was a very pleasant surprise for me in the first act…that being the story was incredibly well done!! I wasn't sitting there going, "When is Otto gonna show up? When is Goblin gonna show up? When is….." Instead I was completely invested in Peter, MJ, and Ned's lives completely getting torn upside down and it resulting in them dealing with a lot of problems, mainly trying to get into college. If you had told me going into this movie that I'm going to legitimately care whether or not Peter and his buds get accepted to MIT I would have in no way taken that serious.
So then enters Dr. Strange (again…LOVE this guy!) who finally is a main character again. Because with the exception of Infinity War he hasn't had much screen time in anything since his first movie which came out in 2016. I loved that they added in this line during the first memory wipe attempt when the spell breaks, "After everything we've been through together, somehow I always forget you're just a kid." That just plays so well into their relationship because Peter is genuinely trying to do a good thing by helping his friends and removing himself as a burden to their futures but still ends up creating more problems because of it. Speaking of which…
Frieking Doc Oc
It was at this point I don't think I ever sat back in the couch for the rest of the movie.
And this scene was obvious when it was coming when you see Peter running on the street…hell this was the big hook that got everyone going nuts when the first trailer came out. Didn't matter. Immediately I was a senior in high school again watching the original Doc Oc having a knock down drag out fight with Spiderman. Except this go-round we've got all this nanotech involved and having Peter being able to overtake his arms which was just hilarious when we see it first happen.
And this first big action sequence…holy crap!
Quite possibly the best way they could've introduced what was yet to come in this movie…especially considering we got a very quick tease with Goblin right before Strange transports them back.
Sandman & Electro Intro
Another great introduction! At first IIRC they tease that Spiderman is going after Goblin based on the description they give, which makes sense cause he gets a glimpse of him from the bridge fight with Oc. But instead we get Sandman and Electro. And I loved it…friekin loved it when the first time Sandman fully comes on screen he helps Spiderman against Electro!
Because yes! They left things on good terms in Spiderman 3 and just this one moment paid such great homage to how that series ended. Because out of the Toby McGuire series (and possibly all Spidey films), Sandman is probably the most tragic character. Which made his misunderstood interpretation of Spiderman betraying him when he zapped Electro into Strange's prison hit hard even more.
Ok….hard to place which character is my favorite in this movie…but time to move on to easily one of the TOPS of this flick…
Goblin
William Frieking Dafoe!!!! WELCOME BACK BABY!!!!!!!
So glad! So glad! So glad they got rid of that mask because holy hell this is by far the best villain portrayal in any Spiderman movie…ever! Yes all the other guys in this film do a good/great job but he hands down steals the show!
This character's split personality is portrayed so good by Dafoe that during the scene where he basically "turns himself over" to Aunt Mae I'm still not sure if that whole conversation was just an act, or if it was legitimately Osborne before Goblin takes over again later in the movie.
And then after this reveal, we get an even better payoff when we now have baddies from EVERY Spiderman movie with McGuire and Garfield all in a prison together and just chit-chatting about where they were in the past and how each knows about the others history. Man this was getting me back to the same type of vibes in BoBF when we see Luke and Ashoka just having a chat while training Grogu. Man that scene was done so well…so here's a reminder of it's epicness!
Inception Fight Part 2
Not much to add here…other than I really hope we got a lot more of this in Multiverse of Madness because holy hell this is always a crazy acid trip of awesome when they do this!
Bad Guy 10-Step Program
Pretty much the turning point of the whole film. It was pretty obvious to me that Otto was going to be the first one that Peter was going to be able to "fix" as the issue just seemed right up the ally of the universe that the MCU has created. That and like most fans I'm pretty sure he's the most liked and wanting to see redeemed from the McGuire films. So when that turn happens it was great to see.
And then….GOBBY!
Obviously something had to go wrong and it did seem kind of weird that all the other villains would tuck tail and run after Goblin talks for just a few minutes. But the payoff was so incredible who cares???
Spidey seemingly gets his butt handed to him harder than any other scene thus far in the MCU. And Dafoe is straight up terrifying during its entire ordeal….
Then….
Should have known after that line she wasn't going to make it….but didn't….
Dangit…think this hit harder on me and my wife than the kids….
OH BOY!!!
And here comes Toby & Andrew!!! This was the beginning of the final paragraph to the love letter of my adolescent movie watching experience! Again…I knew they were going to show up at some point but knowing that didn't make this scene any less impactful. And was very happy to have them in the movie as long as they were. They could've easily just been thrown in at the end but IIRC they're in this thing for nearly 45 minutes to an hour which is so good!!!
And the best part is the movie gives them time to build a relationship with MCU Peter, helping him cope with the loss of Aunt Mae which was perfect!! They don't just rush to showing the audience all 3 kicking butt they give it time for Peter to go through the same grieving process our other Spidey's have seen, using the "line" as a center point for the universes that are being combined here.
They even show us all 3 Spidey nerds being dorky nerds!! So good!!
Pre-Final Showdown
JUST….JUST….
All the dialogue around their past experiences….villain fights….Toby trying to hype up Garfield…going back to Toby's white goo….the whole conversation was just nails!
Final Showdown
I could go on and on about this whole thing so let's just narrow it down to 3 moments that hit me real hard.
Number 3:
Toby getting to see an old friend who he'd seen die right in front of him reunited!
Number 2:
Such an incredible moment! We all know the history between Toby and Osborne…no words could add anything to how incredible it was seeing Toby jump in and save Goblin's life.
Number 1:
This one moment right here was worth 4+ hours of watching his films. Done. The redemption of saving another person like he tried to save Gwen and failed was the heaviest moment of the film for me and I'm so glad they did this!! And Garfield….man….has this guy won an award cause he can turn on the water works like turning on a light switch. Respect!
Who's Spiderman
So awesome they did cheap out on the ending! No hints at people getting their memories back of Spiderman anywhere. He's just a kid for the first time all on his own which is normal for the character, but not our MCU character and ending on that note was a perfect way to open up a new chapter for him!!! So good!!
End Credits Scene
Ok this was hilarious in our house….all due to the fact that we haven't seen the 2 Venom films (shocker right?). So when this first started we had no idea who this guy was and were just watching the scene play out. Well, the first time Venom speaks the camera is looking at the bartender, so we're watching this going, "Wait, what?? Why is the bartender speaking oddly now and his lips aren't moving what the heck?" It wasn't until the 3rd time Venom says something, which if I recall was about eating someone and immediately I hit pause and me right along with my 2 older boys yell, "THAT'S VENOM!!!!!"
I can see why people have this one up there with Infinity War and Endgame. Dang near perfect movie and for people my age who were in middle school/high school when the Toby McGuire movies first came out were probably at the perfect age for a film like this.
So on to Moonknight….which we've already seen the first episode and I gotta say….if the remaining series is anything like the first episode, then DAAAAAAAAAANG! Cause the first episode was unlike anything I'd seen for Marvel (bare in mind I know absolutely zero about that character).
Phew!
Phase 1 Reaction:
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3278723
Phase 2 Reaction:
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3285463
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 1): Dr. Strange / GotG Vol 2 / Civil War
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3287952
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 2): Ragnarok / Black Panther / Homecoming
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3290581
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 3): Infinity War
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3291814
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 4): Ant Man & The Wasp / Captain Marvel
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3294976
Phase 3 Reaction (Part 5): Endgame
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3297903
Phase 4 Reaction (Part 1): No Way Home / WandaVision
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3300455
Phase 4 Reaction (Part 2): Falcon & Winter Soldier / Loki
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3301758
Phase 4 Reaction (Part 3): Black Widow & What If?
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3303765
Phase 4 Reaction (Part 4): Shang Chi / Eternals / Hawkeye
https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3314856
