"Spider-Man: Homecoming" is the first Spider-Man film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, this is the sixth Spider-Man movie (the three Sam Raimi films and the two Marc Webb films). Spider-Man has had no shortage of film adaptations, but this will be the first time a Spider-Man film will exist in a cinematic universe and share time with other heroes. The film is directed by Jon Watts, who's an indie director without a lot of experience directing blockbusters. However, this seems to have been a wise move on the part of Marvel, because it gives the film a unique feel and energy not really found in the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film feels very different compared to the other Spider-Man films, which helps us accept the fact that this is the second time rebooting the series.
The film makes the smart decision and avoids retelling Peter Parker's (Tom Holland) origin story. Instead, Peter is early in his career as Spider-Man and is told to focus on stopping low-level street crime by his mentor Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). When Peter comes across a new threat, however, in the form of Adrian Toomes/The Vulture (Michael Keaton) who is making his living off of selling the alien weapons that were left after the Battle of New York in "The Avengers" on the Black Market. When Peter is mostly ignored by Tony, who doesn't feel the threat is serious enough, he attempts to bring down The Vulture by himself, while attempting to balance his personal life and his academic high school life.
This film is full of great performances from the supporting cast. Zendaya gives her character Michelle a very dry and sarcastic personality which is very enjoyable to watch. Jacob Batalon plays Peter's friend Ned who has this dorky earnestness that makes him lovable and sympathetic. Marisa Tomei gives Aunt may more of a "kooky aunt" performance, which feels more realistic compared to the grandmother figure she is often portrayed as. However, the two heavy hitters of the film are Tom Holland and Michael Keaton. Tom Holland is currently my favorite Spider-Man/Peter Parker by combining the right amount of social nerdy awkwardness and wise cracking. Michael Keaton manages to make Toomes both threatening, a little funny, and surprisingly sympathetic.
The film's dialog is very well written and funny. A few jokes fall flat here and there, but overall the film maintains quality comedic writing and timing. The film is well paced and I have to give special credit to the editor because this is one of the best edited MCU films out there. The film is also very colorful and vibrant. The film, most of the time, is made to feel more like a John Hughes high school comedy and that works well with Spider-Man. The film also briefly explores Peter's struggle with maintaining a personal life and doing his duty as Spider-Man, which is what I loved about "Spider-Man 2" so much. However, the films main theme is that of Peter growing into a mature young man who must learn to be a great hero and do what's right even when he doesn't have the advantage of his suit. It's his desire to do the right thing that makes him an effective hero.
Some of the flaws I have come in the form of the action. The action scenes worked overall, but some were obviously better than others. Some were shot well while certain shots feature Spider-Man moving a bit too rapidly to focus. Some of the action shot at night was a little hard to make out at times, But overall I felt the action scenes worked well and did the job. Out of all the Spider-Man films this one, in terms of tone and look, feels the most like a Spider-Man comic book. While I don't think this was the best Spider-Man film (The first and second Raimi films had a bit more depth and more focus of Spider-Man as a character) this is perhaps the one I have had the most fun in. The film was a joy to watch and I hope Tom Holland has a bright future playing our favorite wall-crawling arachnid.
Score: 9 out of 10
Look Out! Here comes Spider-Man!
