Spider-Man: Homecoming - Movie Review
After six theatrical releases and now three reboots, Spider-Man is back! How did the Web Head fair in his first solo MCU outing? Here's my take on HOMECOMING.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is directed by Jon Watts and is another addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but the first solo Spider-Man film under this established movie world's umbrella.
Synopsis & Background Check
After his reintroduction in Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker is just trying to get through his everyday high school life, including homework, competitions, and girls, while he balances being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in the eyes of the public.
My first recollection of being in a movie theater, I was six years old and watching 2002's Spider-Man directed by Sam Raimi. From then on, I've always had a connection to the character, as well as an admiration. Peter Parker and Spider-Man are both endlessly relatable, it's the reason the property has been rebooted three times now.
Without a doubt, this is the best Spider-Man has been since Spider-Man 2. Homecoming does prove dividends as it brings the Web-Slinger back into the fold of MCU while delivering an extremely entertaining, fun origin story, without the traditional origin.
Tom Holland absolutely captures the essence of everything Peter Parker and Spider-Man should be. There's a lot of innocence to the character, Holland is in the midst of learning how to become a hero. We, as an audience, are learning just as much as about Peter/ Spider-Man as he is in the film. In a way, Homecoming is essentially a coming-of-age story, very much in the same sense as Sixteen Candles.
As much as Homecoming looked positioned to be the "Spider-Man & Iron Man Show", it simply isn't the case. This is first and foremost a Spider-Man movie, with a small dash of Tony Stark. Robert Downey Jr. is once again great as Stark in this minimal role. Downey is the mentor to Holland's Spider-Man, he teaches Peter the values and the repercussion of being a hero.
Spider-Man's main antagonist is the on-screen debut of Adrian Toomes, better known as The Vulture and he is easily the best MCU villain in recent memory. Michael Keaton is fantastic, he gave a very captivating, but intense performance. There's also a surprisingly amount of a depth to his character; depth that is rarely explored in past MCU entries. There's reason to care and even understand Keaton's portrayal of the Vulture.
Per usual, MCU films always have a great amount of humor and wit to their stories, but it particularly shines brighter in Homecoming. Not only because the comedy is good, but the way the wisecracks are intertwined during the action is classic Spider-Man and it is done very effectively.
Final Take
All in all, Spider-Man: Homecoming is a very entertaining, witted, and lighthearted adventure into the life of the new, young Web-Crawler. Homecoming is a great change of pace from the past Spider-Man entries. Everyone knows Uncle Ben's famous last words and Homecoming doesn't waste any time dwelling on that. This film is concerned with building the character of Peter Parker/ Spider-Man and having fun with his story, not the "universe" building.
I'm going to give Spider-Man: Homecoming an "A-" on the movie grading scale. We've come a long way since Emo Peter Parker and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The good ol' days of the bad ol' days are definitely behind us now!
As always, thanks so much for reading and make sure to stay posted to Frank’s Takes for more reviews. Until next time, keep it 100.
