Saw it, loved it…
…but am at a loss for the official Storyform!
I have thoughts but wonder if any human-reviewers had some ideas about where it all landed - thanks!
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Hey Jim!
I saw it last night and also loved it! One of the best superhero movies in a long time. It’s still sinking in, but I was thinking the story goal was something like exposing what Damage Control was up to behind closed doors… (possible Goal of Learning?)
Just confirming, do you see Peter as a Changed character Jim? Definitely seems so to me (the clearest part is how he changes from keeping his life so lonely, entirely limited to crime-fighting with no room for friends or relationships … to taking part in the crowd’s appreciation/love of Spiderman outside the hospital, and introducing himself to Ned).
I see a lot of commonality between a) the big, scary concerns of trying to have friends & normal life when you’re a superhero and b) the big, scary concerns of his arachnid powers changing his body, changing him. In both cases Peter tries to limit or inhibit the big scary thing.
Meanwhile in the OS Damage Control is trying to minimize the damage that superheroes/mutants do, and also minimize the exposure of their secrets. They reduce captured mutants like the red ninja gang and Jean’s sister into nothing but tools of damage control.
It’s probably becoming obvious now that I think Reduction → Production might work for elements here… Sorry if I’m getting ahead of myself. 
No worries and thanks for adding in!
I do think he’s a Changed Resolve character, the bookends with Ned kinda confirm that.
It’s interesting because I think Feige said in a recent interview that BND is so popular because it’s such a familiar story, especially compared to something like FF last year (which I still have yet to see).
I wonder if he means “familiar” Story-form!
Interesting - the story did not feel familiar in terms of storyform to me at all … I think that might be one of the reasons it’s well-received because it’s so fresh and new. (But it does use a lot of familiar stuff from the comics, and people say the action is more like the old Tobey McGuire movies which a lot of people loved, although I prefer the newer ones by a wide margin!)
However, I’m guessing you are angling toward the classic Avoid → Pursuit with Peter as the Antagonist, and I can see the argument for that. It might even work better than my OS Learning, MC Present (which I thought of as “surviving superhero life without friends”) … not sure! Temptation as the RS Problem definitely seems fitting.
I also like my RS Conceiving option though (conceiving that you once meant / still mean something to each other), along with RS Problem of Proaction (putting up social media posts that provoke old emotions, walking unannounced into a housewarming party, etc.).
Who did you see as IC? I felt like Frank (the Punisher) was the most obvious IC, especially with his “dude, you do not want to be like me” speech. But the detective and even Jean might have taken on the IC role at times…
Unless … is it possible there are two storyforms? Like maybe one with MJ or Jean as IC and another with Frank? It was pretty long, and did have a sort of “fifth act” feeling at the end after Jean was caught. We’d have to look for two different Change characters then (or two completely different ways that Peter changed). I could maybe see Jean as a Changed character, after the talk with Aunt May & Peter – what an incredible scene that was BTW.
This is tricky! But also fun.
Man i miss these conversations…
I think there’s a hand-off between Frank and Jean. Frank definitely has the “you and I are both alike” scene that you mention – but I think both are saying the same thing, essentially that you can’t hide your whole life.
I do agree that the storytelling on top is totally different, or rather, feels fresh and re-invented. Usually I can pick up on a Storyform right away, and for some reason for this one, it took a couple days.
That’s always a good sign that the presentation overwhelmed the “message” which I think helps keep it from seeing like the same thing over and over again.
I saw your storyform - looks pretty great! Definitely a lot of Self-Interesting in the OS, lol. And Commitment for RS Issue is just perfect.
My one question is how the Solution of Uncontrolled works in the OS? I feel like there should be something around that in the climax, especially when Aunt May and then Peter convince Jean to stand down. Is it as simple as letting go of the need to hide … like “we’re superhuman so we can’t live normal lives” is a kind of control, and “being free to have friends” is the answer?
Peter’s line “you have me” could have come across as cheesy, but it was fully earned by a very strong scene. So instead it felt quite profound, as if getting to the heart of the story’s argument…
It was ok, but definitely my least favorite of the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies. Not a fan of Jean Grey being a serial/mass murderer. And it seemed kind of messy with the scene where May tells Jean that people love her for who she is and not what she can do when Jean Grey just wanted her sister. I can see you’ve already got the storyform for it, but it felt like a lot of Obtaining in the OS for sure. Other than that I would have guessed that if it had a storyform, it was pretty loose and sloppy with it.
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