Friday, I got to see the new Spider-Man movie, so here's my short (non-spoiler) review of it. First of all, it was really well done. Tom Holland is an excellent Peter Parker and the storyline's really good. It gets back to the fun roots of the character, which I've been waiting for, and it felt a lot lighter than some of the previous Spider-Man movies have been, which is much better for the way the character works. Peter Parker's more fun, sassy, and lighthearted than a lot of main comic book characters, and I'm glad they've gotten back to that side of him.
My favorite part of this movie though, without a doubt, is Peter Parker's age. Tom Holland was only 20 during filming, but he looks younger, and the movie never tries to make Parker seem like an adult stuck in a kid's body. He's a high schooler who has gotten superpowers and decided to become a superhero. It brings to the forefront some really important points about Parker's interplay with other characters. His villains are typically adults who are much older than him, especially in this case with Michael Keaton playing the villain. He's a child trying to outmaneuver and outsmart adults. It also affects the way that his interactions with other heroes work. Iron Man, who we saw was taking on a mentor role in Captain America: Civil War, is put in the uncomfortable position of being the only potential father figure in Parker's life. Parker is forced to make very adult decisions in a world where the adult heroes are making relatively childish ones. He's juggling family, friends, high school, and being a superhero, and the movie doesn't shy away from it. As much as I loved Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man, he never fit into the high school setting, and Holland's does. Peter Parker is finally back where he belongs: his teenage years.
The movie has its problems. It is pretty youth-focused, which may not engage some older viewers and some side characters are underdeveloped, but overall, it was a good movie, and it's breathing new life into a character that has been redone time and again. The faults in this film can certainly be improved upon in the next, and it is more than worth a watch in the theaters.
