Spider-Man: Homecoming - movie review
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Plot: Peter Parker, with the help of his mentor Tony Stark, tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school student in New York City while fighting crime as his superhero alter ego Spider-Man when a new threat emerges.
Cast: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau
Director: Jon Watts
Certificate: 12A (moderate fantasy violence, threat, sex references, obscured strong language)
Runtime: 2hrs 13 mins
Release Date: Wednesday 5th July 2017
I know, I know. I'm like two weeks behind and pretty much everyone has seen this film by now but sue me for having a week off. Not to panic though (not that anyone really has) because I'm back to business as we crack on with one of this year's biggest films, Spider-Man: Homecoming. When news broke that Sony and Marvel were brokering a partnership to allow the infamous web-crawler to appear alongside The Avengers, the comic book fan orientated side of my heart exploded with excitement. We saw his first initiation into the MCU in the fantastic Civil War and he didn't disappoint but, after still reeling from the sour taste that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 left in my mouth, it was safe to say that I wasn't chomping at the bit with excitement for Homecoming. There was also the case of "What have you done for me lately?" with Marvel and after Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (which upon second viewing was not as enjoyable as I once thought), I entered Homecoming with a minor sense of trepidation. More fool I because Homecoming is easily the best Spider-Man movie since Sam Raimi's 2004 sequel.
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| This is me trying to balance my work life and social life. |
When writing my Civil War review I claimed that the newly cast and fresh-faced incarnation of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Tom Holland, had the makings of being the best version of the superhero we've ever seen. However, considering the amount of screentime he had and the fact that it was limited to one scene as Peter and one action scene (beautiful as it was) as Spider-Man, it didn't provide enough evidence for me to make the bold claim that Tom Holland surpasses Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as the best actor to don the red and blue spandex suit. Now, in his own solo film where primarily, the focus is on him, I can officially say that I have come to an overall conclusion on where Holland ranks. Whereas Tobey Maguire was a terrific Spider-Man but felt awkward as Peter Parker (he looked like a 30 year old suffering a mid-life crisis and he achieves this by reliving his glory days at high school) and Garfield seemed like a great fit for Parker but stumbled in his representation of Spider-Man, Tom Holland is perfect as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. He is the best actor we've ever seen cast as these two global comic book icons. Holland manages to balance the high school naievity and awkwardness that is Peter Parker through and through but also acts as a perfect representation of the true meaning of a superhero. Similar to Wonder Woman earlier this year, Homecoming forgoes a dark and depressing tone and suggests that there is fun and excitement to be had as a superhero. The scenes in which Spider-Man is just chilling around Queens and helping with petty little crimes is some of the most enjoyable and enthralling aspects of Homecoming. Through Jon Watts' frantic and enigmatic direction, Homecoming manages to instil a constant sense of fun, excitement and uniqueness.
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| No-one had yet told Peter that flying wasn't in the list of his superpowers. |
If you were to break this movie down to its core parts, it certainly isn't the most original superhero movie to date but it's because of the style and tone that Watts has created that makes Homecoming feel fresh and unlike the multitude of Spider-Man films that have come before. It may have a number of grand action set pieces with Spider-Man swinging from building to building, climbing the Washington Monument, saving guests on a Staten Island ferry and stopping Michael Keaton's Vulture, but first and foremost, Watts and his team of writers have put the setting of Peter suffering through High School at the forefront. We have the various scenes in which; Peter swoons over the typical 'high school crush' played endearingly by Laura Harrier, his nerdy and gut-bustingly hilarious best friend, Ned, played by Jacob Batalon learns of Peter's secret, a reimaging of classic Peter Parker bully, Flash Thompson, brought uniquely to life by rising star Tony Revolori and the mysterious Michelle (Zendaya). For any Zendaya fans expecting her to steal this film from everyone, she's hardly in it to do so. She is very funny and I'm sure she'll develop into a more important role as the probable sequels arrive but as for Homecoming, she's practically only there for comedic purposes. All of those Peter Parker-themed pieces are what surprised me the most. The most captivating elements of Spider-Man: Homecoming are when the Spider-suit is nowhere to be seen. Watching Peter navigate his way through classes, awkward encounters that we all have experienced and simply trying to live life as a regular teenager is some of the best work that Marvel has done.
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| We'd like to thank you for flying Spidey Airways and hope you'll travel with us again soon. |
FACT: Donald Glover (Aaron Davis) has voiced the Miles Morales incarnation of Spider-Man in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series.
Regarding my previous point about the Peter Parker half of the film being the better part of Homecoming does nothing to dispute the greatness of the Spider-Man action itself. It's hard for an actor and filmmaker to ensure that a character is emanating through a suit when every part of his body is covered. It's often difficult for an audience to connect with someone they cannot fully see. The only two examples that have truly worked are Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man and Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool. With Homecoming, entire lengthy scenes could take place with Spider-Man completely in the suit and they ooze exactly the same likeability as there would be with Peter out of the suit. There have been a few complaints about the suit and how it's too technical. For me, I've always preferred a more technical approach to Spider-Man because there is still a sense of grounded reality to it rather than the whole radioactive abilities and whatnot. When Spidey's chatting with his suits AI, it's often humorous and adds a bit more development to Spider-Man as he's almost talking to himself. It also makes sense for his suit to be so technologically advanced seeing as he's closely linked to Iron Man both in this MCU and the comics. That was also another surprising aspect to Homecoming. Judging from the trailers, I imagined Tony Stark would have a prominent role in the film which worried me in case it turned into a Iron Man 4 rather than solo Spider-Man venture. Thankfully, Downey Jr's role is less of a major supporting appearance and more of an extended cameo. As usual, Downey Jr is on top form and the bond he strikes up with Holland's Spider-Man, and for that matter Jon Favreau returning as Happy Hogan, is one of mutual respect and true friendship rather than becoming a father figure to Peter, something I feared. Something which I also feared, and good reason to based on previous Marvel films, was the villain. I had no doubt that Michael Keaton wasn't going to give a good performance but it was if the film would actually provide a decent enough villain for him to work with. Let's not beat around the bush here - aside from Loki and arguably Red Skull, the MCU villains have sucked. Well, Loki better make some room because Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes/Vulture has rocketed up to become one of the coolest villains in recent comic book memory. Having never been a fan of Vulture in the comics and always perceiving him to be that villain that Spider-Man defeats in the opening of a film, Keaton adds a true terror to the Vulture meaning that whenever he bursts onscreen in his wingsuit, there was an immediate sense of dread and horror, a feeling I haven't felt from a Marvel villain in some time. There's a few neat twists that happens with The Vulture and some large revelations that, if you see it with a large crowd, is sure to draw a considerable reaction. But what makes Keaton as The Vulture so memorable is the intensity he brings to the role and the fact that, unlike other villains, is willing to kill a kid to ensure his success. That's savage no matter how evil you are.
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| Peter had accidentally activated the Christmas Tree settings on his suit. |
If I have any negatives about Homecoming, and there is very little to complain about, the pace isn't always as rapid as it could be. There's a few scenes that go on for a bit too long and with more cutthroat editing, it could have been tidied up. I also think some of the humour missed the mark. A lot of it hits and when it does, it's brilliant (Martin Starr has the best line in the film) but there's also a couple of running gags that get a bit tired as we encounter the same joke for the umpteenth time. One of which is the 'Hot Aunt May' gag. Now, don't get me wrong - Marisa Tomei as Aunt May is genius casting and I never thought that I'd admit to being attracted to Aunt May. That being said, when every other character that runs into May acts bowled over by her attractiveness and ceases to function like a regular human being, it becomes a case of a joke that got taken too far that it's no longer funny. Apart from those very minor issues, Spider-Man: Homecoming is the Spider-Man film that we needed. The fact that two giant movie studios have come together to put aside their differences and make a film that puts the 'Amazing' in The Amazing Spider-Man, is feat for the ages. What will catch many offguard is the lack of origin story material. In fact, apart from one miniscule moment that may hint to the unluckiest Uncle in the world, Spider-Man: Homecoming is origin story free. Instead, it acts much more as an origin story for Peter Parker earning the mantle of becoming Spider-Man as the icon that many know him as. For you eagle eyed and eared Marvel fans, there is plenty of Easter Eggs sprinkled in for good measure and as for the obligatory post credit scenes, Homecoming treats you to two. The middle one is intriguing but it's the final one at the very end that might be in my top five favourite Marvel post credit scenes. All I will say is, be sure to stick around and whether you think it's worth the wait will depend on your patience.
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| The Avengers were facing some serious budget cuts. |
After some disappointing outings for the arachnid humanoid, Homecoming blasts onto screens in a blaze of glory and returns the beloved character to where he should be - among family. Tom Holland solidifies himself as the best incarnation of Spider-Man we've ever seen but where the movie really shines is the Peter Parker aspect. Just from hearing Michael Giacchino's reworking of the original Spider-Man theme, I knew that I was in for a wild ride and Homecoming surpassed all of my expectations. Out of all of the Marvel films, this feels like the most true to its titular character.
My Verdict: 9/10
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