Well, here we are again. Third time’s a charm hopefully?! Spider-man is back in a brand new way with Marvel finally taking the reins over this much beloved character. People have been yearning for many years to see Spidey come into this world full of Avengers and we now might be about to fully realise those dreams. Yes, I definitely understand the common thoughts of derision regarding the fact that this is our third Spider-Man in 15 years. But with the character finally arriving in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I believe we have great cause for optimism this time around! We got a brief taste of it in Captain America: Civil War, but Homecoming is the first big chance to see if the knee-jerk reactions praising Tom Holland as the ‘best Spider-Man ever’ have any truth to them.
Having said that, I kind of don’t really know what to expect with this movie. I have never been the world’s biggest Spider-Man fan in the world but have enjoyed most of the past films just fine; and being such a big fan of superhero movies, I was always going to go and check this movie out and hope for the best!
Spider-Man: Homecoming is directed by Jon Watts, and stars Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr, Jon Favreau, and Jacob Batalon.
(LAST WARNING FOR POTENTIAL SPOILERS!!!)
Story
Spider-Man: Homecoming takes place in a post-Civil War world where 15 year old Peter Parker (Holland) struggles to find his true identity upon his return home. Desperate to help and make a difference in the world; Parker has to realise exactly what the world needs from Spider-Man, and what he needs from Spider-Man.
Right from the very early scenes we know we are going to have a lot of fun with this Spider-Man. The home-made video footage that Peter films of his trip to Berlin in Civil War is one of the films true highlights. It just lends a total sense of innocence and for someone who not long ago went through high school, an excellent feel of relatability.
I also liked how the main threat for the film wasn’t a potentially world-ending threat. I often prefer films when they have a tighter focus on a small scale conflict, such was the case with this film. For a lot of the film Vulture is relegated to the background as the priority is placed on watching Peter come into himself as Spider-Man. And even when Michael Keaton is given the chance to snarl and intimidate; his character isn’t trying to bring cataclysmic destruction. I always feel that this makes the story all the more personal.
Whilst I think that the focus on Peter’s journey of self-discovery was an excellent decision for the narrative of this film; I also feel like that it fell at the last hurdle. When Peter attempts to beat Vulture (Keaton) on the boat and fails; he is given a stern talking to by Tony Stark (Downey Jr) about taking unnecessary risks, being too headstrong and going out on his own. By the end of the film he is praised by Tony for learning his lesson and changing his ways. However I strongly disagree with this. In my opinion, the final battle and showdown between Peter and Vulture is no different in his method; it is just that this time he was able to succeed. He still went out on his own and was just stubbornly headstrong. I have no problem with this; but if the film is trying to place emphasis on him learning lessons and becoming more responsible, he should have done that before being able to succeed.
Unfortunately I think that this is another story great in concept but struggling a tad in execution. The film ultimately feels a good 20 minutes too long, and doesn’t quite wholly commit to the storylines featuring Peter at school. Rumour was that Marvel wanted a ‘coming of age’ film while Sony wanted to focus on the action, and it feels like the movie hasn’t quite achieved the balance it was trying to between the two.
SCORE – 7/10
Characters
I can say this with complete confidence that this movie has the worst Spider-Man ever put to screen in a live-action film. (Ha ha I’m so clever). By that I mean that in this movie Peter Parker is a character that clearly has limited experience in life, let alone trying to be a superhero. I thought they did a great job at capturing the essence of what a 15 year old kid would do if he had grown up watching Iron Man and Captain America, and then suddenly developed superpowers. A kid with a tremendous amount of intellect and skill, but still a kid all the same. For that I give a lot of credit to Tom Holland’s performance, but also the performance and writing of Jacob Batalon’s character Ned; Peter’s best friend. It gave this aspect of the movie a very grounded touch despite the obvious fantastical elements.
As somebody who has little to no knowledge of the source material, it’s hard for me to say how accurately Tom Holland’s casting and performance was to the comics. All I can say is that while I really enjoyed his work in the film, it’s still too early to make a definitive call as to who is the best incarnation of Spider-Man in film.
Michael Keaton came in and did exactly what you would expect from him. He’s menacing yet charismatic, tough yet cool, and delightful to see on screen. I also enjoyed how the movie made a determined effort to show the audience his character’s point of view. They made a character with real depth as opposed to an over the top cartoonish villain.
Despite all of the mass hysteria in the lead-up to this film, rest assured, this is not the Tony Stark show. Robert Downey Jr is lightly peppered throughout the film and has an Obi-Wan Kenobi-esque role with Peter. This was something I thought was used to great effect by showcasing his tremendous development since 2008’s Iron Man, and fitting into the MCU as a whole. Tony is emphatic that Peter needs to take responsibility for his actions and not follow Tony’s former destructive ways. A character trait that has been building over the past few years and set to hit breaking point in next year’s Infinity War. Jon Favreau is probably in the film more than RDJ and while he doesn’t do a great deal. His snarky attitude always brings a much welcome comedic element.
Apart from the main stars of the film; the supporting cast all also come to play without either detracting or adding to the film in any major way. Marissa Tomei isn’t given quite enough screen time to really have an impact on the film but still gives enough to show potential for her to have a fairly powerful influence over Peter in the future.
I think that out of Peter’s fellow classmates, Zendaya as Michelle probably impressed me the most. Quirky, funny and dry as a bone, the eleventh hour reveal that she goes by ‘MJ’ has me pleased that she has a larger role ahead of her.
In all, the cast all come to play. Tom Holland can’t put himself forward in the elite category of comic book castings. But we can all be thrilled that he has the role and eagerly anticipate what will come next.
SCORE 8/10
Production
At this current time, you pretty much know what you are going to get in a technical aspect with a superhero film. They’re pretty much always going to be finely crafted and extremely thrilling! For me it’s where the stories diversify where you are going to see anything dip below or soar above that modern baseline quality.
I thought that the editing of the first act in particular felt a little bit choppy for my liking. Given that the film didn’t follow the typical origin story formula, it kind of seemed like the movie was trying to do too much at once. It had to build up Adrian Toomes’ backstory and motivation, show us Peter’s everyday world, and establish where exactly in the chronology of the universe Homecoming sits. Not an easy feat mind you.
The look and the feel of Spidey’s various suits and abilities was as excellent as you could have hoped for. With the involvement of Tony Stark we get to see a wider range of toys for Peter to play with, and the CGI is able to deliver in a great way. Despite the high-tech quality of the gear, it still had a relatively raw feel to it which was just something a bit different than we have seen in the past. That goes without saying though. You know the level of excellence you are going to see in any of the MCU films so there was never any real doubt that the look of Spider-Man flinging himself around Queens was going to be thrilling. Besides it gets very easy to take special effects for granted in movies nowadays. From the design of the costumes of the characters to the spectacularly choreographed Washington Monument rescue, the creative minds behind these films never rest on their laurels and we certainly get our fair share of thrilling stunts and set pieces in the film.
Michael Giacchino also adds to his extensive catalogue of excellent scores with this film. He hits both touching and thrilling high notes with tremendous ease. An I have to also say as a final little footnote, that the way that the film opens with Michael Giacchino’s rendition of the classic Spider-Man theme put a massive smile on my face. Anybody who has hummed the Spider-Man tune at some point in their life will be hooked from that point on.
SCORE 8/10
Genre
I thought one of the major strengths of the film was how it was able to realistically tell a story about a superhero who is extremely relatable and flawed; without making the film overly dark and brooding. Yes the MCU has a fairly basic formula that most of its films follow for the most part. But I think in the past few films we have seen enough deviation from the norm too keep them fresh and exciting; and I certainly think this movie certainly continues that quite adeptly. A lot of the light-hearted fun comes from the earnestness of Tom Holland’s performance. The sheer joy that his and Jacob Batalon’s characters share whilst exploring super-hero life is a unique touch, and one that blends excellently with the thrilling action scenes to form an intriguing entry to this universe.
Unsurprisingly; the part that I think will be most contentious in the film is the humour. The MCU films have had a golden touch for witty dialogue and clever sight gags. I personally think that this movie falters a touch in that regard. Sure the movie was funny enough but it didn’t feel as slick and smooth as others have done. The jokes seemed a bit stilted to the point where it felt like the movie had to grind to a halt for a character to get a joke in before proceedings continued.
Overall this is a superhero movie that will appeal to a lot of fans, and make die-hard comic book aficionados very happy with this brand new iteration of one of their favourite characters.
SCORE 7.5/10
Enjoyment
It’s pretty safe to say that whilst there have been some pretty superb Spider-Man films over the past few years, I’ve never really ‘loved’ any of them to this point. Unfortunately, I have to say that this streak is set to continue for a little while longer. I can’t even really put my finger on what exactly didn’t get me over the line with this movie. Perhaps at this point I have to say that Spider-Man doesn’t really do it for me
Now it’s not like that I thought that this movie was particularly bad or anything, there are plenty of positives to take away! Tom Holland makes for an excellent Spider-Man in a world where the titular hero is a far different character from what we have seen before. The supporting cast performs excellently with the blend of fresh and veteran actors; and as is the norm with super-hero films nowadays. I just felt that the story wasn’t quite able to thrill and excite me the way that I was hoping it would. There wasn’t really anything in the story that gave me chills or took my breath away. Sure I had a decent enough time and enjoyed the film; but I guess I was hoping for just a little bit more.
As for where this film sits in my personal list of Spider-Man films? Well it’s a movie that I feel that I need to re-watch first before making any concrete calls, but unfortunately it’s far from my favourite. Unfortunately if I were to also rank the Marvel Cinematic Universe films it also sits in the lower third of those too.
Look, at the end of the day, I had a perfectly fine time watching this movie and I don’t want to lead you astray at all. I think this is a movie that a lot of people will really love because there is plenty of good in film! Just for me, nothing that quite reaches the mark of great.
SCORE 7/10
Overall Rating
Spider-Man: Homecoming is the sixteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and certainly one of the most anticipated. Leading up to this, many fans wanted to see the Peter Parker they all loved from the comics growing up; and I don’t think many will come away from this movie disappointed.
For a movie that can at times seem to follow the basic super-hero film formula; at its core I think Jon Watts and co. succeeded in crafting a movie diverse enough to stand out from the ever growing crowd of comic book films. Led excellently by Tom Holland, we get to see a Spider-Man who is vulnerable and flawed; yet extremely innocent and relatable. Which to be able to pull off all of that in a movie that still feels so upbeat and light is a super impressive feat.
It’s not the perfect movie that many wish for, and it even might not be as strong as I was hoping for in the end; but it’s a sign that the character of Spider-Man is in good hands with this new Marvel/Sony partnership. And with a sequel and Infinity War to come next for the character, I think we can all be excited about ol’ Spidey’s future. Because his first step film, gets the tick of approval.
75% Approval Rating
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