*THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS MY THOUGHTS/OPINIONS ABOUT THE SPIDERMAN FILMS AND THEREFORE SPOILERS - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED*
~ Also in case I initialise names: PP = Peter Parker, SM/Spidey = Spiderman, TM = Tobey Maguire, AG = Andrew Garfield, TH = Tom Holland, MJ = MJ, GS = Gwen Stacy, Z = Zendaya ~
So a while back Spiderman:No Way Home came out and I kept hearing people talk about how it was amazing and one of the best movies they'd ever seen yet it left them absolutely shattered so whilst I really wanted to watch it, I decided not to for the sake of my mental wellbeing . Also I hadn't seen any Marvel - or even Spiderman - films prior to that one being released and had an education to get so I figured it wasn't worth the time. However, I recently decided to watch the TH Spiderman films because I figured f*** it, life's too short to miss out on things you want to experience (also I had some free time lol) and IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT (though NWH did leave me completely broken and a hot mess of snivelling tears lmfao).
Then figured why not watch the TM Spiderman films as well since the 3rd one has Venom and I really want to watch the Venom films soon. So I did, and they were also pretty enjoyable.
Of course, I couldn't neglect the AG Spiderman films after watching the films by the other actors - so I watched The Amazing Spiderman 1 and 2. The first was also good, but the second was not the best. Whilst I don't hate it, I do see why most people consider it the worst (which is rather unfortunate because it had so much potential and the acting was good, the writing was what let it down big time).
Okay so most people apparently consider TM to be the best PP since he portrays the teen awkwardness well but isn't a great SM, AG to be the best Spidey because he's effortlessly funny and cool/confident but not a great PP since he's too good-looking and 'old' and not awkward enough to play a nerdy highschooler, and TH to be pretty good at both and therefore best overall. And I agree.
However, I think AG was done dirty - yes he wasn't the best PP but his Spidey portrayal was brilliant and his first film set things up so well. Like, we see why he has no parents and is raised by his aunt and uncle, we see him freaking out over the side-effects of the spider bite and Googling it, we see him practising his new skills before intentionally going out in public with them, we see the thought process and inspiration behind him creating his Spidey suit and web shooters, we even see his original motivation as a vigilante (revenge) before it progresses and he matures and decides to fight crime for the sole purpose of being a good guy. The other films, whilst also being pretty long, just completely skipped over the whole journey of actually becoming Spiderman - it felt like we saw TM and TH's PP get bitten, freak out/get into fights with jerks and then magically become Spiderman almost overnight. It's too rushed.
As well as this, AG's acting was BRILLIANT in my opinion (I could be biased of course due to the fact that I have a teeny tiny crush but oh well) yet it was his film series that got cancelled? When his dream was to play Spiderman? Imagine how heart-breaking that must have been for him - heck, it was heart-breaking for me! It wasn't even his fault, he did a great job in NWH too so we know it's not him - the problem was the writing in the second film. It was all over the place and just felt like the writers didn't care.
Moving on to the love interests, I did not like the 1st MJ at all - she was too bland and boring in my honest opinion, as well as the fact she couldn't seem to make up her mind about Harry and Peter? Like I know Peter wasn't willing to be with her since he was also Spiderman but what right did that give her to cheat on him with Harry? Not to mention she cheated on Harry first with Peter/Spiderman?? GS was my fav by far - and I'm not just saying that because she was AG's counterpart, I really mean it. She was insanely smart, funny, sweet and the fact that AG's PP trusted her enough to tell her he was Spidey without having already saved her or her figuring it out? Amazing. Not to mention their chemistry!! Finally, Z's MJ was decent but a bit meh (and before you come for me, I felt that way before I saw GS). She was kinda cute and funny but I just feel like she was too awkward? Whilst Peter's awkward too? What an awkward relationship? And the fact it seemed like her main personality trait was that she figured out Spidey's identity herself? Idk, might just be me though. But anyways, we were robbed with GS's death - but then again, it had to be hers if any since it would hit the hardest.
I don't really know why I wrote all this out, I guess I just had a lot to say ahaha. I can't wait to watch the new Miles Morales Spiderman film this weekend though, I keep hearing great things! Plus I want to understand where the concept of 'canon events' that's been trending on TikTok came from lol. Anyways, thanks for attending my Ted Talk.