Current Events > Just rewatched all the Spider-Man movies. The best Spider-Man is...

(+) Yeah! (+)

Andrew Garfield.

His movies had some really wack moments, and almost everything about ASM2 sucked, but he really nailed being the character.

Tobey had better movies with better written characters, but dude couldn't act for shit. No charisma at all in the suit.

And Tom Holland is either a sidekick or stuck being a Disneyfied gag machine. Doesn't feel like Peter Parker at all.

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Tobey
Andrew
Tom
In that order


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IMO:
Best Peter Parker: Toby McGuire
Best Spiderman: Andrew Garfield
Best mix of both: Tom Holland

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Rharyx211 posted...

Tobey had better movies with better written characters, but dude couldn't act for shit.

Gonna put some dirt in your eye.

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https://youtu.be/Leiy4w5pKgc

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All I know is ASM2 might be the worst Marvel movie ever.

Yes, worse than Elektra and the FF reboot.

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au_gold posted...

All I know is ASM2 might be the worst Marvel movie ever.

Yes, worse than Elektra and the FF reboot.

Ya I gotta say that FF reboot has to be the worst wait, no, the punisher reboot. Lol

Big_Nabendu posted...

Tobey
Andrew
Tom
In that order

This.

daynlokki posted...

Ya I gotta say that FF reboot has to be the worst wait, no, the punisher reboot. Lol

Punisher Warzone? That gets a pass because it's deliberately bad and does a fantastic job of it.

ASM2 had a lot of problems. But it also set up for what could have been a really interesting third movie. I'm still sad ASM3 was never made

Glob posted...

This.

Punisher Warzone? That gets a pass because it's deliberately bad and does a fantastic job of it.

It was deliberately bad to a worldwide box office around 10m if I remember correctly. I think Boondock Saints 2 did better overall (albeit not a marvel movie)

I'm not saying it was successful. We all know that success=/=quality.

I'm not even saying it was actually good. But it's much more enjoyable to watch than Elektra, Daredevil, any of the FF movies, etc.

Tobey Maguire was doing a 60's Spider-Man and he nailed it as arguably the greatest superhero performance of all time.

Glob posted...

I'm not saying it was successful. We all know that success=/=quality.

I'm not even saying it was actually good. But it's much more enjoyable to watch than Elektra, Daredevil, any of the FF movies, etc.

Gonna have to disagree with you there. It takes a lot to make me turn a movie off and I did just that to Punisher Warzone

The only thing holding his movie back is actually also its greatest moment : peter kills norman

Not what would happen normally tbh

In fact.... That's why NWH actually works and nobody asks for a Logan version of Tobey's Webhead. His nemesis done been gone for a long time. Aint right.

This scene alone makes War Zone a masterpiece.

https://youtu.be/53AkuEaIv_A

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To be fair,

I think the beat is that Dafoe's Goblin wanted to be the villain so badly that he put Spiderman in a siutation where basically every move was checkmate except the jump, because the building was collapsing around them - Peter was seriously injured already - and Goblin was sort of taking too long while also insisting on continuing that battle, which was causing Peter's injury to set in (unaccecptable in every regard).... So, by trying to really kill Spiderman then and there (which if he wanted, he could have assassinated Spiderman in much easier ways).... Goblin actually killed himself in a sense, bringing everything full circle around Uncle Ben, Mary Jane, and Harry in a way that transcends words

I don't think there's been an origin arc quite that powerful both before or since

We ended up with a VERY happy Spider-camper..... Who also learned that lesson of responsibility harder than anyone

Garfield is a really good Peter Parker too. Hes the only one that I buy as actually being highly intelligent.

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Tobey only, for me

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sabrestorm posted...

Tobey only, for me

What if he had borrowed the money from Harry and confronted Norman peacefully after the dinner?

Uncle Ben would have survived
And Norman would have overcome the Goblin persona

Rharyx211 posted...

Andrew Garfield.

His movies had some really wack moments, and almost everything about ASM2 sucked, but he really nailed being the character.

I dont get that all. His Peter was too cool and brooding.

Tobey was kinda old to play a high school student, but at least it was believable that hed be bullied for sure. And yeah, his Spidey wasnt as likable as he should have been, but he was the best at portraying the dilemma of not wanting to be a hero and yet sacrificing anyway because of the great responsibility theme.

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Best Peter: Holland
Best Spidey: Holland

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Andrew was by far the worst

Tobey Maguire not being able to play the character for shit is what makes the Raimi movies so good, though. That's why I made a topic a little while back asking if the Raimi movies were good or camp - cases can be made for both. Tobey Maguire plays a high school student like an awkward 30 year old man, and it's fucking great.

Bruce Campbell couldn't sell being a zombie slaying badass for the most part, he can after he gets an action upgrade in Evil Dead 2 but until then he's just this awkward douchebag who breaks plates over his head because his hand gets possessed. But the Evil Dead movies are great whether Ash Williams is a pathetic loser or a geared up badass pushed to his breaking point. Sam Raimi makes both halves of that dichotomy entertaining.

I like Spider-Man outside of the Raimi movies, I was huge on the 90's cartoon when I was a kid, but because I was into the cartoons and the merch rather than the comics, I can fudge some aspects of the character for what I find more entertaining. Andrew Garfield could have leapt from the page into live-action, but I just don't like watching him. Maybe the character in the suit, but him? I'm personally not a big fan.

Whatever the fuck Tobey Maguire was doing, it worked for me. He looks weird and neurotic, his lines are delivered so cheesily and he sells the Raimi quirkiness surprisingly well. Even if it's cringe and hokey, Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker has character - and as stiff and removed as he can feel dubbing over Spider-Man, that version of Spider-Man is still immensely entertaining to watch. He doesn't have to align with some mythologized template of what Spider-Man has to be - he himself is a blast to watch.

Andrew Garfield might be just as good, but I just don't care. And frankly, Tom Holland is a bland Iron Man junior - every appearance has him being overshadowed by Iron Man, intentionally or not, to the point that he feels like a blank slate. People talk about the Marvel movies devolving into paint-by-numbers schlock, and the MCU Spider-Man is the epitome of that - he has nothing of his own to stand on. I don't think Tom Holland's portrayal has character, whereas both Ned and MJ's actors do add some sort of spice to the movies through their acting. I think the character's themes are reliant on other characters, which doesn't make Peter Parker all that engaging. Tom Holland's Spider-Man feels more like a smaller cog in something bigger than his own character - from the start, when he was drafted into an interpersonal conflict by Tony Stark, to his most recent movie where the theme was explicitly being caught in Tony Stark's shadow and having to clean up after one of the guy's many enemies.

All I really have to say is that Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man entertains me, Andrew Garfield and the whole general aesthetic of his movies turn me off, and nothing about the MCU Spider-Man comes across as his own character. He feels like a crutch. Spiderverse was fucking fantastic though, that shit oozed charm and style, and despite having like 6 Spider-men, they all felt like fleshed out characters. I don't get that from the live-action MCU Spider-Man. I sure get it from Tobey Maguire's offbeat incel ass though - fucking excellent performance.

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Tobey's adult side is what makes it work. Whenever they cut away, you know Peter was absolutely up to (something) perfectly natural that could also NOT be shown to a younger audience. What that translated to was such a natural transition into Peter's college life.... Because he's such a loner and such a genius that his age starts to become a non-issue. Could be 20. Could be 30. Nobody paying attention cares for one reason or the other. Peter is there to achieve goals, not discuss his private life.

All the highschool scenes had practical effects that made a subconscious impression on the entire audience. It's exciting Raimi gets to come back.

Lorenzo_2003 posted...

I dont get that all. His Peter was too cool and brooding.

I suggest you go back and rewatch it. I thought that as well until I just did. Andrew's Peter starts off stuttering and being awkward when girls talk to him, and getting bullied for being a wierd loner. He doesn't have any friends, unlike Tobey who had Harry. He's that kid in class who never talks to anyone and everyone thinks is weird.

He definitely becomes more of a people person after dating Gwen, but we really only see him talking to Gwen, so he feels comfortable around her. They def should've played up his dorkiness more, though.

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Rharyx211 posted...

I suggest you go back and rewatch it. I thought that as well until I just did. Andrew's Peter starts off stuttering and being awkward when girls talk to him, and getting bullied for being a wierd loner. He doesn't have any friends, unlike Tobey who had Harry. He's that kid in class who never talks to anyone and everyone thinks is weird.

Oh, Im aware they tried to portray Garfield as an awkward loner nerd. I am saying it didnt work. The whole movie Im chuckling and thinking this dude would be popular in any high school and have three girlfriends inside of a week.

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CableZL posted...

IMO:
Best Peter Parker: Toby McGuire
Best Spiderman: Andrew Garfield
Best mix of both: Tom Holland

I'd say
Best Peter Parker: Andrew Garfield
Best Spiderman: Andrew Garfield
Runner-up: Tom Holland


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MrMallard posted...

And frankly, Tom Holland is a bland Iron Man junior - every appearance has him being overshadowed by Iron Man, intentionally or not, to the point that he feels like a blank slate. People talk about the Marvel movies devolving into paint-by-numbers schlock, and the MCU Spider-Man is the epitome of that - he has nothing of his own to stand on. I don't think Tom Holland's portrayal has character, whereas both Ned and MJ's actors do add some sort of spice to the movies through their acting. I think the character's themes are reliant on other characters, which doesn't make Peter Parker all that engaging. Tom Holland's Spider-Man feels more like a smaller cog in something bigger than his own character - from the start, when he was drafted into an interpersonal conflict by Tony Stark, to his most recent movie where the theme was explicitly being caught in Tony Stark's shadow and having to clean up after one of the guy's many enemies.

See, I think that's where he shines. A central component of the character, for me, has always been his struggle to live up to the ideals instilled in him by a mentor. Usually that's Ben, but I think it works well with Ironman. Over his two films he progresses from being somebody who idolised Stark and needed him to clean up his messes into somebody who realises that Stark was flawed and managing to clean up his own and Stark's messes.

If that was all it was, I think that'd be fine. But Tom's villains all stemming from Tony as well just rubs me the wrong way. Esp twice in a row.

That's just the way of it, I suppose, in an MCU movie where everything has to be connected, versus Andrew and Tobey's solo universes, but it's still frustrating. It doesn't allow Spider-Man to be his own hero. Plus, Tom's way too juvenile in how he acts -- which would be fine at the start of his growth, but after 5 or so films as Spider-Man, he's still in high school and doesn't seem to have developed at all.

I'm really hoping that after No Way Home, Tom really does get stuck away from the MCU stuff for a while and allowed to become his own hero in the Sony-verse or whatever. Because what made Spider-Man a good hero in the earlier movies is that we saw him struggling with stuff on his own, not able to turn to other Avengers or whoever.

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