We saw both films two weeks apart and since they're both superhero movies, we thought the comparison would come naturally. Plus, they both have somewhat unlikely protagonists - a woman and a teenage boy. For a superhero film, anyway. They have some similarities but the differences between are the key for us. Because frankly, this isn't really a comparison - we simply wanted to write how bizarre it is that we liked the new Spider-Man movie. In general, we don't care for superhero stuff and we're certainly not into comics. So it's weird. Our favourite superhero film is Batman Returns and that is no one's favourite. The main reason we don't have strong feelings about superhero movies/shows, is because we compare them to Trigun (more on that in a later blog post), our favourite anything that is similar in thematic content to superhero films. Though Wonder Woman did remind us of Nausicaä as well.
Characters: We were surprised that we liked her - that we could actually name some of her qualities and that she didn't annoy us. But she, like most superheroes, is a bit of a hypocrite. She's supposed to be compassionate and humane, however, this only seems to extend to certain people. "Bad guys" do not deserve humanity, or even context. Which brings us to the villain. Dear God, he's generic! Making the villain so simplistically evil contradicts each point Diana is trying to make, which for us undermined the entire message of the movie. The love interest is basically Peggy Carter (because this movie is a better version of the first Captain America, with a hint of the Little Mermaid). Other than Wonder Woman, the characters are pretty one-dimensional and forgettable.
Narrative: The ultimate female messiah - story has already been told. It's called Nausicaä (the manga; read it, it's far superior). The story's greatest failing is it's attempt at a magnificent scope. Generally, gigantic end-of-the-world type stakes have never interested us much. We're more into intimate scenarios. We'll tolerate it, if you make us care enough about the characters. Didn't happen here. The third act is really where it all falls apart. This film was framed by many to be a more compassionate and humane approach to superheroing, because it has a female lead. That's not what the movie's resolution did for us, though. Because it's apparently fine to kill someone if they're really bad. If you want audiences to question violence in previous superhero movies, you better be fucking consistent. It won't work if you contradict your argument in the very next scene. Also, the villain was a complete cop out - first the film is saying that people are both good and bad but then completely undermining it by having this "manifestation of pure evil" influencing humans and thus taking away their accountability and shifting it all on him and giving a reason for the main character to kill him. No superhero has ever fared positively in compassion and humanity when compared to Vash, which, to our shock, brings us to the other film.
Characters: First of all, we have no nostalgia for any of the Spider-Man or Marvel films in general (maybe for the second Raimi one, but not because of the movie itself - it's a long story). And holy shit! Imagine our surprise upon discovering that a 15-year old boy has enough meat in his character to come even close to our favourite superhero. We really liked his character as a whole (the upbeat attitude, etc.) but the one aspect we actually loved was him not wanting to kill anyone and that he was actively attempting to save someone who was trying to kill him. Unusual for Marvel, the villain was also solid and surprisingly sympathetic. They actually dedicated time to introduce his character, something Marvel hasn't really done since Loki. He also had a connection to the protagonist that created conflict that we haven't seen in these films since Thor. Sure, the villain would be slightly hammier if it wasn't for Michael Keaton. He pulls off even the more ridiculous lines. In this film, unlike in Wonder Woman, you have an entire collage of awesome minor characters. His best friend is hilarious and their friendship is an integral part of the film. It's lovely to see Tony Stark being Tony Stark again. Aunt May and Liz are perfectly serviceable characters and don't annoy us in the least. Liz is fortunately spared from being boring, since she is just a crush, not some larger-than-life love interest (the aspect that really turned us against the previous Spider-Man films, both Raimi and Webb). But the character that we loved more than any other Marvel female character we've seen, was MJ. She was fuckin' amazing. And she only had like 15 minutes of screentime! Clearly the main influences were Daria (a character that totally resonated with us when growing up) and Allison from Breakfast Club (who was great, until she suffered the unfortunate fate of ugly duckling - transformation). She's a full on weirdo instead of the regular Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and thank God for that. Keep her weird, please.
Narrative: So basically it's a coming-of-age high school movie. A) we don't like high school movies (we're also not big fans of John Hughes) and B) we definitely don't care for superhero films. Why the hell do we like this movie so much?!?!?! We do know why we like it, but it's still a bit of a mystery as well. The story's very simple, intimate and on a small-scale. Aside from Trigun, this is the first time we've seen the hero trying to save the villain and who seems to be concerned about other people's lives and safety. He consistently worries about people not dying or getting seriously hurt. We're still baffled by this. When things do go wrong, he actually takes responsibility, but also, he is a child. So, at least he has a way better excuse for screwing up than most adult superheroes.
Wonder Woman
Characters: We were surprised that we liked her - that we could actually name some of her qualities and that she didn't annoy us. But she, like most superheroes, is a bit of a hypocrite. She's supposed to be compassionate and humane, however, this only seems to extend to certain people. "Bad guys" do not deserve humanity, or even context. Which brings us to the villain. Dear God, he's generic! Making the villain so simplistically evil contradicts each point Diana is trying to make, which for us undermined the entire message of the movie. The love interest is basically Peggy Carter (because this movie is a better version of the first Captain America, with a hint of the Little Mermaid). Other than Wonder Woman, the characters are pretty one-dimensional and forgettable.
Narrative: The ultimate female messiah - story has already been told. It's called Nausicaä (the manga; read it, it's far superior). The story's greatest failing is it's attempt at a magnificent scope. Generally, gigantic end-of-the-world type stakes have never interested us much. We're more into intimate scenarios. We'll tolerate it, if you make us care enough about the characters. Didn't happen here. The third act is really where it all falls apart. This film was framed by many to be a more compassionate and humane approach to superheroing, because it has a female lead. That's not what the movie's resolution did for us, though. Because it's apparently fine to kill someone if they're really bad. If you want audiences to question violence in previous superhero movies, you better be fucking consistent. It won't work if you contradict your argument in the very next scene. Also, the villain was a complete cop out - first the film is saying that people are both good and bad but then completely undermining it by having this "manifestation of pure evil" influencing humans and thus taking away their accountability and shifting it all on him and giving a reason for the main character to kill him. No superhero has ever fared positively in compassion and humanity when compared to Vash, which, to our shock, brings us to the other film.
Spider-Man:Homecoming
Characters: First of all, we have no nostalgia for any of the Spider-Man or Marvel films in general (maybe for the second Raimi one, but not because of the movie itself - it's a long story). And holy shit! Imagine our surprise upon discovering that a 15-year old boy has enough meat in his character to come even close to our favourite superhero. We really liked his character as a whole (the upbeat attitude, etc.) but the one aspect we actually loved was him not wanting to kill anyone and that he was actively attempting to save someone who was trying to kill him. Unusual for Marvel, the villain was also solid and surprisingly sympathetic. They actually dedicated time to introduce his character, something Marvel hasn't really done since Loki. He also had a connection to the protagonist that created conflict that we haven't seen in these films since Thor. Sure, the villain would be slightly hammier if it wasn't for Michael Keaton. He pulls off even the more ridiculous lines. In this film, unlike in Wonder Woman, you have an entire collage of awesome minor characters. His best friend is hilarious and their friendship is an integral part of the film. It's lovely to see Tony Stark being Tony Stark again. Aunt May and Liz are perfectly serviceable characters and don't annoy us in the least. Liz is fortunately spared from being boring, since she is just a crush, not some larger-than-life love interest (the aspect that really turned us against the previous Spider-Man films, both Raimi and Webb). But the character that we loved more than any other Marvel female character we've seen, was MJ. She was fuckin' amazing. And she only had like 15 minutes of screentime! Clearly the main influences were Daria (a character that totally resonated with us when growing up) and Allison from Breakfast Club (who was great, until she suffered the unfortunate fate of ugly duckling - transformation). She's a full on weirdo instead of the regular Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and thank God for that. Keep her weird, please.
Narrative: So basically it's a coming-of-age high school movie. A) we don't like high school movies (we're also not big fans of John Hughes) and B) we definitely don't care for superhero films. Why the hell do we like this movie so much?!?!?! We do know why we like it, but it's still a bit of a mystery as well. The story's very simple, intimate and on a small-scale. Aside from Trigun, this is the first time we've seen the hero trying to save the villain and who seems to be concerned about other people's lives and safety. He consistently worries about people not dying or getting seriously hurt. We're still baffled by this. When things do go wrong, he actually takes responsibility, but also, he is a child. So, at least he has a way better excuse for screwing up than most adult superheroes.
