Thread by @GailSimone

I have a LOT of thoughts about Spider-man Far From Home.

It is definitely not fakey, it's a true. I will avoid spoilers but if you REALLY don't want any spoilers at all, maybe mute this thread.

First, I thought Gyllenhaal stole the movie. He is so effortlessly earnest and sincere in the beginning that all I could think was he should have played Superman. Terrific piece of acting all the way through.

Second, I think it's Tom Holland's best performance as Spidey and Peter both.

Plotwise, it's one of my favorite Marvel movies. It's outlandish and not-completely-sensical, but it still breaks the mold with a plot that feels like something new.

And there is a WALLOPING great scene in the middle, where a character really unleashes their full power and it's mind-blowing, one of my favorite scenes in any superhero film ever. Brilliantly and breathlessly executed.

So there is a LOT to love. I enjoyed the heck out of it.
And the elementals are a lot of fun.

But I gots a couple niggling things...

First, there is a clear conceptual choice that I don't get at all.

Here it is.

What happened to Spider-man the smartass?

The reason Spider-man works in the comics is because he is the loner, the underdog. Everyone thinks he's a doormat. He's bullied at school, he's bulled in his job, he's bullied in the spidey suit.

So when he fights back, when he gets the better of people who are stronger and richer and meaner, WE FUCKING LOVE HIM because that's a world we'd all like to live in.

But THIS Spider-man doesn't tell jokes, doesn't mock the powerful, he is in awe of them, he only wants to please them and be friends with them and avoid disappointment from them.

And weirdest of all, they made Spider-man EVERYONE's straight man.
Nick Fury, MJ, his fellow students, the villains, Happy, even his aunt, EVERYONE makes fun of him and his response is puppy eyes.

It's odd.

I think they've created a very credible Spider-man, we care about him and he's likeable. But it's a very, very different take.

When comic book Spidey says he's the "friendly neighborhood Spider-man," he's being ironic, he's being flippant and funny. In this one, they try to make it an actual mission statement without a hint of irony. It comes up several times.

Okay, that was my big thing. A Spider-man who doesn't tell jokes is always going to feel a little bit wrong to me.

There are a couple other things.

It makes me sad, as a Spidey fan, that they've made this an Iron Man spin-off.

When Spidey takes off his sparkly spider armor and wears a much less tech-y version, I was DELIGHTED. The moment didn't last. But I still like the Spidey who invented his OWN gear.

And finally, this makes me feel bad to say, but I thought most of the kids didn't work. Most of the kid VIBE felt off, too. I don't get this version of Flash. He COULD bully Peter with his internet presence, but he's never actually effective, so Peter is never the underdog.

I felt the kids were being mocked so consistently, not by Peter, but by the filmmakers, it was a bit off-putting. "Ha, look at how silly these teens are these days," is a weird take in a Spider-man movie.

And that feeling kind of permeates the movie...for one thing, ALL the showcase soundtrack songs are from decades before Peter was even BORN.

You're making a movie about the youngest big icon hero, and you use ACDC, the Go-Gos, and the Ramones for the key emotional moments? How does that have anything to do with a kid today?

"I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" was released 27 years before Peter was even BORN. I love the Ramones, I know a lot of kids do, too. But...wouldn't they be listening to something from this century?

It's weird that in a movie about youth and young love and making youthful mistakes, I wanted more Happy and May than Ned and Betty. Also, there's a plot with the kids that goes nowhere, and it's weird.

And my final gripe was that the credits (not the post or mid credits scenes, the actual credits), were done very similarly, but far more convincingly, in SHAZAM.

BUT. These really are mostly minor things.

I love the movie, I had a great time, it's certainly the most explosive Spidey film, the cast is great, go see it, you'll have a blast.

Don't let my little whines deter you, it's a hugely fun movie and I can't believe they did such an amazing job with Mysterio in particular. Go see it, it's a True.

I knew people would misinterpret this thread, but for the record, I REALLY ENJOYED THE FILM.

I just miss the Spidey who taught me that underdogs can fight back and being a smartass to power is a brave thing.

Otherwise, I loved it, honest.

Heh. Folks, I liked the movie a LOT, and I don't want to be in the position of arguing that people shouldn't love it. I really, really enjoyed it.

My opinions come not from a comic writer here, just a Spidey fan. They got SO MUCH right, my complaints are pretty small. :)

Also, because I got a million tweets from people saying, "But my daughter is a fetus and she LOVES Perry Como!"

I get it. My point was that ALL the key songs are oldies. Current music is BARELY represented at all.

That seems odd.

And finally, I LIKE that there are different takes on the icons, that's why they are icons. I like that there's an Electric Company Spidey and a Spider-verse Spidey.

Different versions are okay.

I am solely talking about what Spider-man means to ME as a reader and fan, okay?

And I say again, Gyllenhaal KILLED. He was awesome.

Also, Aunt May. She's adorable.

And Happy had my favorite moment in ENDGAME, I'm glad to see him in this film. He brings a lot of heart.