Spider-Man: Homecoming review

Spider-Man: Homecoming is Marvel/Sony’s latest attempt to bring the good old franchise to a new generation of fans. Jon Watts’s movie is the third reboot in the past 15 years, with another actor in the role of Peter Parker, and with another villain in his way.

Image via Sony Pictures
Tom Holland is Peter Parker here. 15 year old high school teenager who right after being drafted by Tony Stark (Robert Downey JR) to help with the events surrounding the plot of Captain America Civil War, is dropped back in to aunt May’s guardianship in Queens and back to his teenage woes. Like, keeping his Spider-Man identity a secret, maintain his friendship with Ned (Jacob Batalon) helping the needy and the innocent and staying afloat at his high school. That includes asking his crush Liz Allen (Laura Harrier) to the school Homecoming dance. But when he finds out about the illegal and dangerous operations of the local scavenger Adrian Toomes a.k.a. Vulture (Michael Keaton) he sets a new mission. To stop Vulture and his henchmen from stealing something very valuable from Tony Stark.

Image via Sony Pictures
Spider-Man: Homecoming is probably the best Spider-Man movie to date, but I think the quality that sets him apart from the rest it ability to maintain the fresh fun and grounded approach not just to the story, but also to the characters in that story. And it’s soooo much fun to watch. The humor is down wright perfect but the movie is filled with infectious energy, youthful joy and fantastic characters that make the movie a delight. I’ll get to Peter in a minute, but what impressed me here is the emphasis on the characters. That emphasis is put more on Peter’s friendship with his friends (in school) and not so much on the relationship with the authority figures in his life (outside of school). Sure Tony Stark pops in once in a while to offer some help, guidance and pearls of wisdom (and save Peter’s ass in many of his shenanigans) but what we’re presented here is not a super-hero at work. We see a clueless kid wanting soooo bad to become a super-hero. And while the casting of Tom Holland was outstanding even in his brief appearance in Civil War, the British actor shows that he can carry a solo movie on his shoulders at even such young age (he’s the youngest actor to play Peter Parker on film).

Image via Sony Pictures
Also did you catch the beautifully portrayed trait in Peter’s character? That of wanting to be part of the „big boys“ aka the Avengers? He wants to walk before he can learn to crawl and it’s both endearing and frightening and as such is nicely presented by the screenwriters. It’s the trait that gets him in more trouble than he can handle, and at odds with his mentor Tony Stark. The director Watts beautifully portrayed his childhood innocence, vigor an enthusiasm in the opening POV sequence too. Shot on an iPod, Peter’s video diary of his mission in Germany (in Civil War) is basically Peter and his bouncy, happy sometimes annoyingly joyous character compressed in 10 min of footage. Great addition here is the upgraded Spider-man suit and the AI assistant Karen (voiced by Jennifer Connelly) in it. Very similar to JARVIS (Tony Stark’s assistant) Karen is of great help to Peter.

Image via Sony Pictures
I loved the diversity of supporting cast (Zendaya, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori and Jacob Batalon) and most importantly I loved the casting of Michael Keaton in the role of Adrian Toomes/Vulture. The actor played Batman, Birdman and now another winged character, and he’s awesome yet again. This time in a villainous role, Keaton is just fantastic as Vulture. Scary and merciless, he’s an opportunist. He’s the man that after the system failed him, he took the matters in his own hands and managed to convert his hatred towards Stark into profit. I should point out that his original intention was to maintain a low profile in his body of work, but those around him (the Shoocker for instance – played by Logan Marshal Green) made that impossible. Another great touch here in the movie i must say.

Image via Sony Pictures
What I didn’t particularly liked was the very fast taking down and the ultimate defeating of Vulture. I expected more intricate, complex and lengthy fight leading to Vulture’s incarceration, but I have to admit the scene on Stark’s invisible plane (the scene prior Vulture’s capturing) was beautifully done. Spider-Man: Homecoming is fun, beautifully done take on the previously miss-used character. Watts and the rest of the team truly brought Peter down to the ground and made him again the confused and clueless teenager that he is. With a great actor to help with that of course.
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