Spider-Man: Homecoming – Movie Review
In the past sixteen years, the “Spider-Man” film franchise has been rebooted twice. After the original Sam Raimi trilogy, Marc Webb helmed the reboot and its’ sequel. “The Amazing Spider-Man 1&2” failed to impress audiences, so Sony worked a deal with Disney that allowed the web-head to take part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The deal also allows Sony to release stand-alone “Spider-Man” films. This is honestly the best route that could be taken, because any superhero fan knows that Spider-Man belongs in the same word as Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, and the rest of the Marvel heroes. Now that I got that out of the way, it “Spider-Man: Homecoming” any good? Yes it is, but it’s not great.
First off, Tom Holland was a great choice to portray Peter Parker/ Spider-Man. He is in the right age-range, unlike Andrew Garfield. He is also believable as a high school student. This is important because the film spends a great deal of time with Parker dealing with school and friends. Parker’s lack of maturity also plays a big part in the story and again, Holland nails it.
Another plus for “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is the threat level of the film’s villain. Michael Keaton’s sympathetic Adrian Toomes/ Vulture is the perfect bad-guy for Parker to take-on while he is training to become a hero. Despite Tony Stark insisting that Peter tackle minor crimes like stolen cars and such, Peter feels he is ready to go bigger. Of course, Peter isn’t ready and things don’t go all that smoothly.
I love how the film opens with the aftermath from the first “Avengers” film 8 years earlier and shows us how the events in New York affected Toomes. This is a man who was just trying to not only support his family but also keep his employees working. He understandably blames Tony Stark for the direction his life has taken.
What I really liked about “Homecoming” is how director Jon Watts was able to perfectly blend a superhero movie with a high school comedy. I would say it felt like the film had more in common with “Kick-Ass”(structure wise) rather than the older “Spider-Man” films. This is a good thing. It actually felt fresh. Thankfully, the studio decided not to go with an origin story again. Everyone knows how Peter Parker became Spider-Man and we had no need or desire to see that story told again.
As much as I did enjoy “Homecoming”, it’s simply not perfect. The film runs 133 minutes and there were numerous times where I felt it lagged. I strongly feel a tighter runtime, could have made for a much more solid film. Despite that issue, I still recommend “Homecoming” to the comic book fans as it’s the best big screen outing for the character since 2004’s “Spider-Man 2”.
By: Marc Ferman