It Knows Exactly What It Is
That’s the weird thing about Spider-Man movies: the filmmakers never established where he fits in on the spectrum of comic book films. Is he funny? Is he serious? Maybe it’s due to studio interference or conflicting visions, but you never quite got the impression that anyone truly understood the character.
Jon Watts took inspiration from the source material and introduced the family-friendly version of Spidey. He’s the character that kids aspire to be, while the parents can appreciate him for doing the right thing. In other words, the quintessential superhero, much like Superman.
If anything, Watts’ film is also incredibly fun. This isn’t a story burdened with setting up a hundred other events or villains; it works well in isolation (a defining trait of this year’s best superhero movies). As we all know by now, there will be sequels, but this wasn’t Watts’ core focus. He just made the film he wanted to without worrying about the Spiderverse or whatever other universe needs to be created.
Published: Jul 9, 2017 09:20 am