'Spider-Man: Homecoming' is Spectacular
Spider-Man: Homecoming skips over the normal and required superhero origin story and gets right into the action. A new colorful and exciting reboot of Spider-Man follows as Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has to navigate being a high school student and being a superhero.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
The film starts with a brief introduction to our villain Adrian Toomes played by Michael Keaton. Who's salvage company is cleaning up after the events of The Avengers. They are kicked out of the area by Tony Stark's Damage Control department. This leads Toomes to lashing out at the fact he's losing business. He encourages his workers to keep the alien tech they discovered at the site. This leads them into creating high tech alien weapons that they would go onto sell in the black market. The film then skips to eight years later after the incident.
The film comically shows scenes from Captain America: Civil War but from the view of Peter Parker. Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) looks after Peter during these times and later in the film. The film was funny and colorful. They didn't try to give it a dark, dingy superhero vibe. Homecoming was serious when it needed to be serious. It was comical when it needed to be comical.
The film could of been two separate films although the film wasn't that long compared to other films in the superhero genre. You have Peter Parker and his best friend Ned not fitting in high school mainly because they are nerdy. You have Peter and Liz who are awkward around each other but they like each other. You have Michelle who is a quiet, observing character yet very funny. Peter's rival Flash bullies him in a egotistical, rich boy way. The film was split into the two stories of Peter trying to balance his life as a hero and as a normal kid.
Spider-Man is protecting his local neighborhood. He gets himself into more danger than necessary. While on a trip with his decathlon team he decides to veer off and find the villains secret hiding spot. He asks Ned to disable his tracker while disabling, Ned disables the training wheel protocol. This leads to Spider-Man unlocking all his advanced gadgets in his suit. Leading him to not knowing any of his abilities. Later on in the film Spider-Man's poor decisions leads to Tony Stark taking away his suit.
The film had an epic twist. When we find out that Peter's current love interest Liz is the daughter of Adrian Toomes. Toomes is the Vulture. This leads to the epic showdown between Vulture and Spidey. Although Spidey is rocking a homemade suit. Tony Stark says earlier in the film " If you're nothing without the suit, then you shouldn't have it." This is Spider-Man's true breakout moment, he defeats a bad guy on his own without his real suit. He defeats Vulture by believing in himself and using his heart.
Tom Holland gives a exhilarating performance as the web slinger. Safe to say he's my favorite Spider-Man. Especially that he wants to play the character forever is a major plus. He was a funny and at times awkward Spider-Man he truly embraced the lovable character.
Zendaya gave such a strong performance as Michelle. Although she was more of a background character. She delivered some great zingers. Plus she shockingly reveals at the end that her "friends" call her "MJ." Which what we already knew she would end up being MJ although she wasn't the romantic interest in this film. MJ will eventually hook up with Peter Parker. Zendaya and Tom Holland's chemistry is electric so I'm all for it.
Marisa Tomei plays the young and attractive Aunt May. They play up her good looks in the film multiple times. Tomei played the aunt role well. I agree with Marvel's decision to cast someone younger. The dynamic between them was better because of their ages. I would expect Aunt May to have a bigger role in Homecoming's sequel. The ending would be a good place to start with her character development...
Donald Glover played a great minor role as Aaron Davis. A criminal who wants to buy the alien tech from Toomes goons. His character has a funny encounter with Spider-Man. While giving him some great advice. They included Glover in the film after his 2010 campaign to be the next Spider-Man. They made a great decision because Glover is a brilliant and entertaining actor.
Keaton did a phenomenal job as Vulture. His character wasn't the normal villain and the case could be made that he isn't a true villain. Toomes just wanted what was best for his family. He was tired of the billionaires and superheroes getting away with everything. He was a regular guy who became a super-villain. I would say Keaton has been one of the most compelling MCU villains yet.
Jon Watts is a relatively unknown and young director. He did incredible work on Homecoming. Hopefully they let him continue his vision for the sequel. Screenplay was witty and creative. It was written by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers. The score was fantastically composed by Michael Giacchino.
The characters in this new iteration of the franchise have bright futures ahead. I was bum that the post credit scenes weren't major to the plot or the future of the MCU. One was Vulture vowing his revenge on Spidey. The other was a comedic post credit about "patience" from Captain America.
Kevin Feige previously stated that he would take the Harry Potter route with Spider-Man showing him getting wiser and older in each film. I would enjoy to see multiple films centered around Spider-Man. I also can't wait to see what the Phase Four Avengers look like. We all know Tom Holland's Spider-Man will play a huge part in that.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is refreshing in a world full of comic-book movies. The film helps the larger scale of the MCU. Being labeled as a second reboot is a tough challenge. Yet Marvel did what they set out to do. They brought one of their most beloved characters home. It was truly a great homecoming.
Homecoming is my favorite incarnation of Spider-Man. Although I enjoyed Tobey Maguire's portrayal as Spider-Man. I like Tom Holland's version the best. I wouldn't mind seeing Tobey Maguire make a cameo in Homecoming's sequel that would be a nice treat for the fans. Especially fans of the Sam Raimi trilogy.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is colorful and dynamic story of Peter Parker and his journey of becoming a better person, and a better superhero. The film offers plenty of humor and action. The film leaves both Marvel fans and regular moviegoers amazed.
