Greetings Nerds and Casual Comic fans, it’s a wonderful Thursday today and we’re ready to talk pop-culture! Welcome to the first edition of Talk nerdy to me – your one-stop-shop for super important opinions on inconsequential entertainment by two guys with too much time on their hands and no actual business discussing such things.
Each article will provide an in depth look at the dirty and nerdy aspects of movies, comics, video games and pop culture…and whatever else floats our boats. So whether by accidental click, on purpose, or just a little pop-curious, we’re happy to have you join us for this nonsense.
Image Credit: Invicible
Our first order of business: Marvel’s latest nugget of perfection – The official trailer for The Spoilerific Spider-man (aka Spider-Man: Homecoming). Sit back and relax as AJ Speck and Shaun Curran jump right into a little bit of Q&A regarding the good, the bad, and what dafuq-we-just-saw. Enjoy!
youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39udgGPyYMg
Let’s Start with the Good. What did you like?
AJ: I have a few highlights. Tom Holland is my favorite actor to don the red and blue and it looks like he’s going to continue taking this character to new heights (HA). His combination of humor, childlike innocence, and fearlessness is something I think past Spider-Man portrayals have lacked.
One thing I don’t like much is that Stark influences him for most of this trailer, but I will say the suit Tony creates has to be close to the top of my favorites list. The spider that removes itself and flies away is enticing as that could play a huge part down the road, while the form fitting tech is a subtle addition that I wouldn’t have thought would be included.
Shaun: For me, I really enjoyed the scenes from Mr. Mom. I’ve always loved Keaton & they did a really good job highlighting enough of his menace and attitude, painting him as not only a formidable villain, but almost an Anti/Evil Stark. And they dabbled in a bit of The Shocker in as well who we know will be a secondary villain in this. One of my biggest problems with the MCU is the lack of real imposing threats/amazing villains… this seems to be stepping up the game for this – at least the way it appears. One of the things the trailer did right is NOT revealing too much of the villain’s motivations.
Image Credit: Dennis Salvatier; @tanoshiboy
What bothered you about the Trailer?
Shaun: I was really bothered that this trailer feels like I just watched the movie. I have other issues like Peter not being the one that makes his tech now, Tony taking over as motivator replacing Uncle Ben, but the biggest gripe is the over-reveal of this trailer.
While Vultures motivations and intentions aren’t seen – we know Spider-Man is trying to impress Stark and play with the big boys. We saw how the cruise ship is saved, and we also see Tony taking the suit away making Peter feel he is nothing without the suit. So it’s easy to see that he goes back to his homemade suit, fights the Vulture and earns the suit and respect of Tony.
This trailer gave WAY too much away too early. I’m sure there’s still more surprises to come, but it left me feeling disappointed, not hyped. Just meh.
AJ: Man, the suit reveal pissed me off too! ESPECIALLY that they showed it getting taken away and then followed it up with his homemade suit!
The thing that got to me the most, though, was Marvel’s never ending need to put Iron-Man in every scene of every movie. Now, obviously they don’t have him in a handful of their movies, I get it, but when he is included it’s nothing but Tony, Tony, Tony.
Homecoming’s first trailer showed Stark as Peter’s guidance, but didn’t make it seem like he was Pete’s savior or idol. Spider-Man would defeat Iron-Man head to head, as seen in both Civil War and One More Day comic books. Spider-Man needs guidance, I get that too, but he doesn’t need someone to keep him safe. He’s a powerhouse in his own right, and to make a movie about how he’s this scared little kid is just insulting to Spidey and his fans. Give him his movie, let him learn his powers, and STOP MAKING EVERYONE A COOKIE-CUTTER AVENGER!
Shaun: 100% agreed man! Tony “Stank” was and has been my favorite, but too much of a good thing can lead to an oversaturating bad taste. Iron Man pre MCU was a B-level hero. Spider-Man has been Top Tier (arguably the A+) in their arsenal.
But since RDJ has been so great, Marvel almost doesn’t trust many properties anymore without this crutch and it’s getting real old. I would have loved him being sprinkled in as a glorified cameo offering sage wisdom – not the driving force behind Pete’s motivations. Tony telling Peter to just be “a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” was just cringe worthy and forced to me. Only way that could have been worse was if he broke the 4th wall and looked right at the screen and gave a cheesy wink as he said that catch phrase.
Why did they reveal so much do you think? Especially after the recent fiascos of trailers for BvS showing Doomsday and CW showing the Giant Man airport scene a week after the movie was released?
AJ: This reasoning is curious to me, but I think I know why they did it. You know fans are going to throw a fit when you give them too much. Hell, I didn’t watch a single trailer for Suicide Squad before seeing it just so I could go in with a fresh mind (and it helped!).
So why would they give the audience so damn much? I think it has something to do with Marvel’s ability to seemingly do no wrong, and their false sense of invincibility. They can release this much of the plot because they know people will still flock to theaters to see Pete and Tony team up to beat up a mechanical bird.
It’s a bummer, but they’re not wrong.
Shaun: It’s a fine line to tiptoe across. The whole trailer was odd to me in the fact that it had a VERY Marvel feel to it – but also didn’t at the same time, because of the excessive spoiling which MCU is not typically know for.
Could this be due to Sony’s involvement perhaps? Or maybe falling into the trap that we saw last year of trailers being marketed out by separate companies and directors not having as much control of what is released that way (i.e. BvS & Suicide Squad).
It does make me wonder though – did they just overshare all of Tony’s scenes and misleadingly paint him as a star like Suicide Squad did with Joker? Or did they just ruin the movie by giving away too much of the story arc and struggle? It’s probably too early to tell but that’s just the impression I got.
AJ: Great point with the possible goal of putting most of Stark’s scenes in the trailer to draw in the newer Marvel fans who maybe got attached in the first place because of Iron Man’s popularity. Hadn’t thought about that but it makes sense, especially with the hysteria that Leto’s Joker had around it before audiences saw his limited role.
Image Credit: @tanoshiboy Dennis Salvatier
Overall Opinion now vs 24 hours ago:
Shaun: Unfortunately, my opinion has changed…a lot. I’m unabashedly team DC and unapologetically in full on man-crush mode with all things Batfleck – but I was very open & excited for this movie and not looking to pick it apart like this. We did just spend some time bashing this, but truth be told I wanted to like it.
Unfortunately, I may have built the hype up too much and raised my excitement to an unattainable height. The trailer just left me feeling underwhelmed and bored of the idea of ANOTHER Iron Man saturated movie guest starring the alleged lead hero in the title. Just disappointed to be honest.
AJ: To me this feels like nothing more than a new Iron Man movie and that is the reason my opinion went from blind optimism to serious worry.
Will I see it? Of course, I’ll be there on opening night. Do I hope it’s MUCH different than the trailer let on? Yes, God yes.
I’m with you on the DC train, but I don’t think that we’re wrong in expecting much more from a Spider-Man movie. It’s Spider-Man! People who can’t read know who Spider-Man is!
Shaun: Hahaha, couldn’t have said it better myself!!
Final Question: Describe your hype level in rating and meme form:
AJ: 2 out of 5 Marthas
Shaun: Unfortunately 2/5 Martha’s for me too
So there you have it – the Officially DC Biased review of the Spider-Man Pew-Yew: Electric Boogalo. Were we right on point? Maybe. Are we idiots with no business hating on the all-mighty Marvel/Mouse Alliance? Most likely. Either way, let us know your thoughts below!
Now, while we’re both big boys and can take a joke or jest, let’s try to play nice in the comments at least towards each other. Vitriol and bullying and unnecessary trolling is strongly frowned upon. Let’s keep it fun, and we welcome your thoughts and memes!
If you have any suggestions or thoughts please feel free to message us, and be sure to tune into our weekly TGS Podcast – Shop Talk, where everything and more is discussed in a fuller format with AJ Speck, Aron White, Shane Bailey, & Shaun Curran.
Be sure to click on over Friday when we provide our in depth, totally “unbiased” review of all the wonderful things about the “Batfleck & Buddies” (aka Justice League) trailer. Thanks again for reading and have a great day!
13 responses to “Talk nerdy to me – The inception”
The MCU is showing signs of unoriginality. I think the only thing that’s coming up from them that has me looking forward to it is Guardians 2 and everything else is just meh. I’ve been seeing the Marvel movie formula since Iron man 3 and I just see it as product now. I’ll watch Marvel movies, because the kid who grew up wanting comic book movies, still believes he can be surprised. Time will tell.
Totally agree. I definitely enjoy the films, but they’re getting a bit to formulaic. Besides Guardians 2, I am excited to see what they do with Thor: Ragnorak as well though (that direct is from Flight of the Conchords) and that should be a change of pace.
I’m definitely excited about Thor and Black Panther but I definitely agree with what you’re saying. Things feel cookie cutter after a while.
I understand this review is all opinion based, and you can take this all with a grain of salt, BUT, why would I value the opinion of admitted DC fanboys, on a trailer (are we really reviewing trailers now?) for a Marvel movie?
I can respect what you’re trying to do, but the angle this is written with kinda keeps an unbiased comics fan from even wanting to finish. After the opening statements, one knows the whole article is just going to continue in a negative trend of ripping a movie you’ve seen 3 minutes of. Yes, you admit you’re DC fans, so it can be expected, but to rip a movie without first thinking how this should impact upcoming trailer reviews for DC movies is odd. What I mean by that statement, is I sure hope we don’t see Batman in any other DC solo movies, or have him give anyone technology, or assistance. I wouldn’t want the “leader” of the JL to ever be tied to other members of his squad.
Let us not forget the JL trailer, with obvious additions of humour, and a campy feeling, which has drawn a certain Marvel filter over the lens… and it’s a nice departure from the sepia filter regularly used.
The main reason I’m writing this is just to point out the ridiculous things we, as over-served fans, now pick apart our own genre movies for. I love opinions, but the unending negative deluge that has followed DC movies, and now rears it’s head on Marvel, is getting old. It’s creating a feel of trying to destroy one movie, just so fans will see your preferred choice, rather than encouraging people to go see both, and pointing out their qualities, and how the trailers have showed us movies that are part of a much larger thing.
First of all, thank you for checking out the article and for the feedback on it!
I should start out by explaining the DC bias. Shaun and I met through a fansite with mostly DC fans and have been adjusting our podcast episodes and general discussions with them in mind. We don’t shy away from telling our audience that we’re homers because our discussions and writing wouldn’t make much sense without that disclaimer. Does that make writing a Marvel review a bit unfair, sure, but we do both enjoy Marvel and thought it would be fun to give a Marvel review through DC goggles. This may bug Marvel fans but it’s all meant to start a discussion between fans from both sides. After all, Marvel fans haven’t exactly been nice to DC over the years and it was fun seeing two trailers getting released at the same time that we feel leaned DC for once.
For your last point, I agree with you 100% about our tendency to rip apart movies/shows before really knowing much more than the trailers/leaks provide. We are spoiled right now with the constant flow of information and with DC comics putting out some seriously good written and animated content, and Marvel clearly being king of the big screen, I feel like we’re expecting more and more with every release. We openly defended Iron Fist from the negativity that surrounded it because we felt there would be more to the show than what was first released (and there was!). I just see Marvel, Spidey, and expect more (or less when the plot is in question) than what I saw.
The beauty is that we can disagree and still have fun arguing our sides. It’s definitley a fun time to be a fan of comics right now.
Haha, well 1st off thanks for reading and thanks for the comment. It definitely is a bit of a biased opinion and poking fun – but we did make that clear. That said, we’re not that original to be the first to dissect a trailer, and definitely won’t be the last – surprised this came as a shock. But you should note we did point out the things we liked – such as the costume and Keaton, but we did also voice concern about following the trend DC set last year with their trailer debacles like over revealing in BvS (i.e. Doomsday) or falsely promoting a character as the star (i.e. Joker in suicide Squad)…so while we are team DC, we also pointed out the flaws they had in their trailers and WHY these stuck out as concerns.
As far as your point about Batman in other properties – I actually would like less of the mandatory cameos to be honest. The first trailer for Homecoming seemed like it was sprinkled with Stark which I liked…this one moves him front and center as the main driving force/motivation and inspiration for Peter. Batman having a brief cameo in Suicide Squad was neat (even though that movie was a dumpster fire) but if he shows up in Green Lantern and is the suddenly the reason Hal Jordan decides to be a better hero I’m going to have a strong distaste for that too.
All in all though, the kid playing Spider-Man was great in Civil War and we both said we’ll still be there opening night…however if you can’t admit that the trailer raises eben just a few concerns then maybe we’re not the only ones being a bit biased ?.
Appreciate the comment and I do welcome the discussion and your opinion @BoxofComics. Nice to keep things civil even in disagreements ?
Definitely enjoy a good conversation!
I know this blog isn’t the only one dissecting trailers, and I did read this knowing that’s what was going on, so that’s on me if it isn’t my favorite way to assess a movie. I liked the format you used, and the different areas you addressed in the review, too. I recognized the points you mentioned in the reply, and I don’t want to imply there weren’t plenty of valid points made in the attempt at establishing a pretty fair playing ground.
It would be as easy for me as anyone to let some bias blind me for ol’ Web-head, but I agree there are a few concerns. I did not enjoy exposing what appeared to be his big strength display holding the ferry together, nor how he was assisted by Iron Man in the attempt. I would also like to see more emphasis on Peter’s intelligence, and his own creations, but I’m also fairly certain we’ll get to see many of these elements in action during the movie. Too much Tony Stark/Iron Man is a concern after his amount of time in the trailer, and as an older school/traditional Spider-Man fan, this isn’t my favorite interpretation of his growth and development phase.
The reason I don’t express huge levels of concern over seeing some of these things in the trailer, and having Iron Man involved, is because that’s very much how it has to be for things to work in what the MCU has already created. I think a large portion of the fan-base (casual, die-hard comics, and MCU fans) has been over-saturated with the origin story concept on film, and particularly Spider-Man’s at this point. I think it’s understood this movie is still a step in moving the character towards further inclusion in the MCU, and the Avengers, through the culmination of Infinity War. Civil War introduced us to the concept of SHIELD/Iron Man knowing about Spider-Man before he’s reached his “A+” (completely agree he’s on that level) superhero potential. Will I be disappointed if Spider-Man doesn’t reach a potential greater than Iron Man’s by the end of the next series he’s involved with? Yes, but I know we have a few steps yet before that point.
My suggestion: This is where we start delving into areas of breaking down the trailer that rely on greater levels of expertise in the comics (yes, Marvel in this case) than the average fan might have. I love the idea of that being where you guys step in, and I really look forward to seeing it done with JL once a second trailer is dropped. I would have liked to see an approach to the Homecoming trailer that identified weaknesses, and areas of concern, but dug into some of the Ultimate Spider-Man concepts that are being used to shape this Spidey. How modern interpretations (or what Marvel/Disney is using for this iteration) of the character lend itself to this earlier stage of guided development, meant to shepherd him towards being the greatest hero of his time. You touch on these points, and get very close to some, I might just be disappointed that didn’t sway the overall opinion knowing so.
All that said, the review is well written, enjoyable, and you’ve thrown out all the disclaimers one could ask for! It’s not that I even disagree with what you’ve said, I just wanted more to go with it for it’s “fair shake.” I’ve enjoyed giving this so much thought myself, and I’m glad there are guys like you creating comics-related content of all varieties for people to access. So much for questioning trailer reviewing…
Love this response, this is exactly why I’d love to have you on one of our shows sometime Mr Anonymous Stranger haha! But seriously, thank you for the feedback as Shaun and I will try to go toward a more unbiased approach moving forward. We think it’ll help fans from both sides enjoy what we put out much more and not feel so pressured into just agreeing with our points.
@BoxofComics – man I honestly appreciate the feedback and you’ve brought up some good points and suggestions. This being our inaugural article, we would like to see it grow and evolve with participation like this so thanks for the conversation! Our Justice League trailer review will probably follow this same suit (a bit snarky and biased but all in good fun) but we’ll be aiming to deliver some more of what you’ve suggested and other feed back to make this a better and fun experience for everyone involved – and keep in the same fun/objective way. Anyways, great points and good debating with you. Hope you stick with us and please keep the feedback coming!
So we were wrong. Homecoming was amazing hahaha
lol yeahhhhh I’m enjoying a big ol’ plate of crow.
[…] last’s week’s piece covered the new Spiderman trailer we figured this week’s topic would be the new(ish) trailer from the upcoming DC […]
I love this movie.