Spider-Man: Homecoming is set two months after Peter Parker's exciting encounter with the Avengers in
Captain America: Civil War. Parker's returned to his humble home of Queens, New York so that he may balance his life as an average high school student and the friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man under the watchful eye of Tony Stark. Trouble emerges when Parker discovers salvaged alien tech exchanging hands on a black market to be utilized in a series of heists and Peter realizes it's the opportunity of a lifetime to garner Stark's praise and prove he's deserving of joining the Avengers.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is drastically different from any of the wall-crawler's previous outings for a number of reasons. One, it's the first time the web-head's had a chance to swing around the greater Marvel Universe and I felt the MCU references and tie-ins were handled rather tastefully. Two, none of the other Spider-Man movies have really dealt with Peter Parker's time in high school and Homecoming hits that ball out of the park, not to mention how refreshing it was to see a Spider-Man movie that wasn't bogged down with the long-established origin story.
Jon Watts directs Homecoming in the vein of a John Hughes teen comedy, going as far to give one of those memorable movies a shout-out. From beginning-to-end, Watts is able to place viewers on the ground level of the Marvel Cinematic Universe while in the headspace of a teenager facing difficult dilemmas. Watts maintains the upbeat attitude well into the two hour thirteen minute runtime considering Homecoming is one of Marvel's funniest ventures yet!
Most of the humor is situational, derived from practical occurrences Spidey's never really found himself in before, and the screenplay penned by Watts, Johnathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers makes great use of these moments as strategic sources of comedic relief. The writers find inventive ways to playfully prod at the web-slinger as circumstantial comedy continually comes to the surface and the fresh take on Spidey is oddly the most faithful swing from source material audiences have ever seen.
Spider-Man has always been one of my favorite superheroes so I can't express how delighted I was to finally see him realized to his fullest potential. I've never really been a fan of Tobey Maguire's take on the web-head and Andrew Garfield's portrayal of Peter Parker just didn't seem nerdy or awkward enough. I was hopeful Holland would deliver both sides of the troubled teen based on the glimpse we got in Civil War and boy was I right (more on that in a moment)! Almost everything about this iteration reminded me of the classic comics and hearing Michael Giacchino's orchestral arrangement of the trademark theme as a backdrop to the Marvel Studios intro gave me chills.
Homecoming's action doesn't slouch either with some satisfactory sequences interspersed amidst the high school drama. While there's not anything that will hold a candle to the airport battle in Civil War (something I'm unsure will be surpassed till
Avengers: Infinity War at the very earliest), I was earnestly entertained from start-to-finish. Among other technical components, there's competent costuming, proficient production design, and the visual effects made Spidey's web-slinging, swinging, and wall-crawling appear to be incredibly authentic.
Despite my overwhelming enthusiasm, I had a few concerns about Homecoming based on the marketing material and am relived to see none of my worries translated to the big screen. For starters, the trailers relied so heavily on Tony Stark that I was slightly concerned the movie might as well. I was never in the mindset this would be Iron Man 4 but I did feel the movie might lean a little too heavily on that crutch or RDJ would take over all the scenes he shared with Holland. Just so you don't walk into this movie thinking it's the Stark show, I'll inform you that a majority of his scenes have been prominently featured in the trailers but there's enough under the table that you won't feel cheated.
I also thought the trailers seemed to reveal some pressing plot points but rest assured, there are some terrific twists left in store. If you haven't seen any trailers though, I would avoid them if at all possible. Oh, and that image included above that's been prominently displayed in nearly every trailer IS NOT featured in the movie in any capacity so I'll let you know that now rather than be disappointed while watching the flick.
The final source of unease materialized when I saw the suit Stark fabricated for Peter had a seemingly infinite number of convenient features. However, they serve a story purpose and weren't nearly as excessive as I thought they would be instead coming off as a couple bells and whistles to top things off.
One thing that definitely won't let you down though is Tom Holland's turn swinging around New York. Holland expertly embodies the crucial characteristics necessary to portray the dual identities Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Holland exhibits an authentic awkwardness and excitability to his Peter Parker that's never as over-exaggerated as Maguire or unbelievable as Garfield. Not to discredit the actors who came earlier but Holland brings a youthfulness the predecessors were never able to.
His Spidey has a energetic exuberance about him that any teenager with those powers would display, he's more enthusiastic than Maguire but he doesn't get too quippy like Garfield. To make matters even better, Holland is the youngest actor to portray the web-head to date. Despite being 20 years of age, Holland sells the youthful nature of Parker and you'll buy into the fact he's in high school. He also demonstrates some extraordinary acting chops opposite more experienced actors, never getting overshadowed by RDJ, Marisa Tomei, or Michael Keaton but challenging them all to play ball.
Surrounding Holland are an excellent assortment of adolescent actors who each offer eccentric personas around Midtown High including the likes of Jason Batalon, Laura Harrier, Zendaya, Tony Revolori, Abraham Attah, and Angourie Rice as the nerdy Ned Leeds, lively Liz Allen, madcap Michelle, brash Flash Thompson, aloof Abe, and bratty Betty. Batalon in particular stood out as not only a fantastic friend but an endearing presence. Laura Harrier's Liz locates a tricky balance between being the popular senior and Peter's down-to-earth captivating crush while Zendaya doesn't have much to do but snap snide, sarcastic remarks.
Donald Glover also has a minuscule supporting role outside the high schoolers, worth noting simply because of the actor's profile right now. Especially when you compare his screentime to all the speculation surrounding his casting. However when onscreen, he showcased trademark charm that I can't wait to see him wield as Lando Calrissian in the untitled Han Solo spin-off.
In the adult camp, Marisa Tomei reprises her role as a youthful iteration of Aunt May and I've gotta say Tomei's May makes her mark. She's unique when compared to the precursors based on age alone, which factors not only into some humorous gags but also weaves its way into the narrative. This May is looking out for Peter not only as a maternal figure but also in trying to help Peter with his social life and I liked how she factored into Peter's story.
Along his journey, Peter receives muddled mentorship from Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark and Stark's assistant Happy Hogan, played by Jon Favreau. RDJ puts forth a cool disposition, exhibiting the confidence that gravitated audiences towards Iron Man in the first place while Favreau's Happy is as charming as ever. Oddly enough, I think Favreau may have had more screen time than RDJ but both are excellent in the capacities utilized.
Meanwhile, Parker finds himself up against the villainous Vulture portrayed by none other than Batman himself, Michael Keaton. Keaton's a high caliber actor so the gravitas he carries onscreen enables Vulture to be menacing and his alter-ego Adrian Toomes to come across as a relatable everyman. Keaton flies Marvel forward in terms of their universe's villains by depicting a multifaceted malevolent force. He's not quite up to the heinous heights of Loki but don't discount the Vulture on his status as a B-level member of Spidey's rogues gallery.
Spider-Man: Homecoming won't be in theaters till July 7th but you'll definitely want to conserve your web-fluid so you can swing into theaters for this one. In the meantime, I highly recommend checking out
Baby Driver if you're searching for something to see this weekend (you can read my review by clicking on the blue hyperlink). To spin all my thoughts into one contrived cobweb,
Spider-Man: Homecoming is easily the most entertaining incarnation of the web-head since
Spider-Man 2. Glad you finally made it home Spidey!
Film Assessment: A-
