Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) (Movie Review)

  2012’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” was intended to be a launching pad for a new live action films series centered around our favorite web-headed hero, and truthfully, I was on board with it. Unfortunately, it didn’t amount to more than one sequel, which I found to be perfectly decent, but everyone else was quick to right-off as the first truly bad Spider-Man movie. It got mixed reviews and made less money at the box office then any of its predecessors. Thus, the damage was done, the series was canceled, and it meant rebooting the franchise once again, which really annoyed me at first. I hated the thought of starting the hero’s story over again from scratch, for a third round, and in a very small-time span. 

The one difference between this third Spider-Man and his two predecessors is that he would be part of Marvels Cinematic Universe, and the thought of seeing him alongside the likes of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and The Hulk actually got me more excited than either of “The Amazing Spider-Man” movies did. Tom Holland then made his triumphant debut as the wall crawler in the 2016 movie “Captain America: Civil War”, and even though he was only a side character, I immediately fell in love with this portrayal, and instantly declared this my favorite Spider-Man I’ve ever seen in a movie. So, things were starting strong, but how would he do in his own film? Well, the following year saw the debut of “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, the first of the web-heads new series, and strait to the point … this was his best movie sense 2004’s “Spider-Man 2”. Many even view this as the absolute best Spider-Man movie, and while I personally don’t think it delivered the same punch as 2004’s “Spider-Man 2”, it’s unmistakably in the same ball-park, and in general one of my favorites from Marvels Cinematic Universe.  

 

  Let’s first do a quick recap of the “Spidey” events of “Captain America: Civil War”, in which the young Peter Parker was recruited by Iron Man to go on a mission. However, he wasn’t just selected for his amazing powers, as Tony Stark saw a truly selfless young man who’s just trying to do whatever good he can, even if it’s only in small measures. Now eight months later, Iron Man wants to keep some distance from the web-head, not out of disappointment, or lack of caring, but because he genuinely views the young Spider-Man to be a potentially better hero then even himself. Thus, he wants him to just keep looking out for the little guys, and help those that the Avengers can’t always be there for. On the opposite side of this coin, the larger than life events of “Civil War” have left Spider-Man wanting to do more, go on bigger missions, and finally prove himself a worthy Avenger. Thus, when he discovers a small band of thieves selling illegal weapons laced with alien technology, he takes it upon himself to put a stop to their enterprise, but in doing so, he ends up causing more problems than he solves. To make matters worse, his actions against the weapons dealings lead to our hero confronting his first real enemy, a deadly winged scavenger called The Vulture. Caught in the middle is his High-school life, best friend, and a girl named Liz, whom he has a crush on. The first thing I loved about this premise is that it’s the first in a new Spider-Man series, but the story it’s not a re-tread of the same formulaic origin tale.

  Before I get lost in the many wonderful details of the film, lets first look at the hero himself, Tom Holland as Spider-Man. After three different film series, this was the first Spider-Man performance that felt absolutely perfect on all grounds, as he was outstanding in equal measure as both Spider-Man and as Peter Parker. While I do still have a lot of love reserved for Tobey Maguire’s portrayal of Peter Parker, I also found him to be a boring superhero. Andrew Garfield on the other hand was very entertaining as Spider-Man, but mediocre when out of the costume. 

Tom Holland shines across the board, he’s full of energy, full of heart, and is brimming with personality. His age also plays a big part in bringing the character to life, as it always felt the model example of a young kid beneath both the costume and his title of “man”. Another element this film got right was the costume, as it both looked great, and even added to the narrative structure of the film. Initially, Spider-Man is given a slick new costume, which has its own A.I, added gadgets, and even power enhancements. However, he lets the novelty of this new suit go to his head, and he ends up becoming a little reckless. We eventually get to a point where Iron Man takes the suit away from him, which forces our hero to go back to this pathetic old costume that isn’t as flashy, which again serves the narrative. Typically, the big moral for Spider-Man is “With great power comes great responsibility”, but this film conveys something completely original ... “If you're nothing without the suit, then you shouldn't have it”. That was so refreshing, and poignant to the narrative of our heroes story. What I love most about this film is the simplicity, yet relevance of Spider-Mans story. “Spider-Man 2” was all about the sacrifices a hero has to make, while “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is about never loosing sight of what made you a good man to begin with. On a side note, I absolutely loved all the added details of Spider-Mans suit, including the stealth drone, taser webs, A.I with a built-in personality, and I’ve always wanted to see Spider-Man’s web-wings in a live action movie.   

  Naturally one of my favorite things to talk about in a Spider-Man review is the villain, and this time it comes in the form of The Vulture played by Michael Keaton. I was initially skeptical about The Vulture as a villain, because the concept of an old man flying around in a bird costume always came off as silly to me, and I couldn’t imagine it working for a second in a live action film. Much to my surprise, not only did The Vulture surpass my low expectations, but he also added something to the film that was very refreshing and unique. Whenever he fly’s off into the night, he doesn’t really act like a super-villain, he doesn’t have any evil goals, he thankfully isn’t another victim of a science experiment, he’s just a normal guy trying to make ends meet, and by scavenging weapons, he makes some coin to provide for his family. 

That was such a welcome concept for a villain, and while it didn’t excuse his actions, it did make me identify, and even sympathies with him on some level. The Vulture costume itself was a terrific upgrade from the comics, but it still kept the same feel of the character. There were also some striking visuals, especially seeing him perched on the roof of a building like a predator ready to swoop down and strike at his prey. Of course, I initially found it amusing that Michael Keaton, the most famous actor to play Batman would be casted as a Spider-Man villain, but I was not prepared for his performance. Needless to say, Michael Keaton knocked my socks off. He was menacing, intimidating, but also kind of witty, and theatrical. This is one case in which the villain didn’t need to rely on a cool costume design to come off as exciting, because every second Michael Keaton was on screen, he just owned the spotlight. I loved his energy, I loved how he just threw himself into this performance, and very naturally he fit the role.

   My personal favorite addition to this movie was the care and development of Peter Parkers High School world. I absolutely loved this setting, I loved the atmosphere of it, I loved all the different students, teachers and how they played off each other. In essence, Peters high school setting became a living, breathing character in of itself, and it gave the movie its own special identity. In fact, my favorite of Spider-Mans TV shows was “The Spectacular Spider-Man” series, which also made his high school setting feel like a character, and as a result, it made “Spider-Man: Homecoming” feel the closest to a live-action adaption of my favorite web-swinging animated series. 

Even the setting of Queens felt like a character, and I enjoyed all the little details, like Peter being a close friend with the manager of a small corner store. Speaking of friends, let’s talk about Peter’s high school buddies, who all add something special to the experience. Peter’s best friend Ned was a great addition, as he was charming, and I liked that he was the only one to know his secret identity. Usually in this situation, the person discovering his identity is a big deal to the narrative, yet Ned from beginning to end is just a normal, goofy pal, unlike Harry Osborn of the previous films who was anything but an average person. I really enjoyed Zendaya as the classmate “MJ”, who’s this socially awkward kid that no-one can figure out, and she’s always popping up at the most random places. At last we have Peters high-school crush named Liz, and I really admired the simplicity of their relationship. I always felt that the previous movies shoved the romance in my face, while this relationship was still relevant, but kept to the side lines, and it just made me care more. There was something sweet about their brief interactions that made me genuinely want to see them get together, and I really liked that Liz was just a normal, sweet high-schooler.

   Of course, one of the key ingredients to any Spider-Man film are the action scenes, and once again, this is where “Homecoming” stands apart from the other films in series in a very special and unique way. This film has no shortage of entertainment, but it takes a different approach from the more traditional fight scenes. My favorite action set-piece of the movie is when Peter’s friends are trapped in an elevator at the top of the Washington monument, and we see Spider-Man desperately racing to the top to save them before the elevator supports give way. This happens mid-way in the movie, where in other Spider-Man films we’d see our hero in an exciting fist fight with the main villain.

Yet, I was far more engaged just by watching Spider-Man attempt to scale this tall building in an effort to rescue his friends. It was tense, suspenseful, and still featured all the cool acrobatics and fun you’d expect from the character. Another unique, yet highly entertaining sequence was when Spider-Man chases down this van with the illegal arms dealers. The catch is that this chase is set in an area without any tall buildings for our hero to web-swing through, which was both funny and a unique situation that we’ve never seen him in before. The chase ends with his first encounter with the villain, and while they don’t have much of a fight, it’s still highly satisfying, and I loved that the action leading up to it was akin to something from “Ferris Bueller's Day Off”, right down to a visual reference in the background. The closest we get to a traditional Spider-Man action set-piece is the battle on the boat, which was cool, but truthfully, I didn’t like it as much as everything else that came before it. Still, seeing our hero use his webbing to try and bring the ship back together was great, and echoed back to the train scene from “Spider-Man 2”, in which he used his powers in an effort to slow down an out of control train.  

  Now while this movie absolutely works as a standalone Spider-Man movie, it also works great as part of Marvels Cinematic Universe. It’s all shown from a unique perspective as The Avengers aren’t the focus, yet we see the impact they made on the world around them. It’s so cool to see how the little people of the world view the super heroes that live among them, and one of my favorite little details was seeing a small group of school girl’s discus which Avenger they’d want to date. 

It’s a side of this cinematic universe never explored before, and it made this world feel all the more real as a result. I also loved how the film opens with a recap on the events of “Captain America: Civil War”, just from Peter’s perspective of taking in the experience. Another fun detail was seeing those bank robbers dressed as the Avengers, which lead to some funny Spider-Man quips. The film also makes terrific use of a Captain America cameo by having him appear in several amusing little high school PSA’s throughout the film. I also liked this cold opening set just after the battle of New York from "The Avengers", as it set the ground work for our villain, while highlighting how tight the present day story is with the MCU. At last, this film absolutely nailed Tony Starks involvement in the film as a father figure to Peter, without making this an Iron Man crossover. The marketing certainly made it look like Iron Man would play a big part, but he’s thankfully seen sparingly in the film, yet contributes just enough to be relevant to our heroes story. It was almost like a passing of the torch, as Iron Man was the golden child of the MCU, the one who started it all, but Spider-Man was always Marvels mascot in the comics, and now the web-head is ready to be the new poster boy of the series. On that note, I enjoyed seeing some Iron Man alumni like Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts in small, but sufficient roles. Actually, I never thought I’d see Pepper Potts in an MCU movie again, so it was a real treat to see her and Tony tie the knot.  

  We also have common Spider-Man movie clichés that are given an effective retooling in this film. For example, we eventually learn that The Vulture is also the father of Liz, the girl Peter Parker is crushing on. While the concept of someone close to Peter also having a tie-in with the villain has been done to death, it was the execution of this revelation that was so effective. 

The scene in which the Vulture gradually discovers Peter’s superhero identity was riveting, and it leads to one of the most unique conversations I’ve ever seen between a hero and villain that I’ve ever seen in a superhero movie. While he threatens Peter the same way any villain would, he also talks to him the way a dad would talk to a young man dating his daughter. I liked that he was grateful to Spider-Man for rescuing his little girl, and genuinely wanted him to treat Liz to a nice date, but he also won’t hesitate to kill him if he interferes with his plans again. It’s such an interesting dynamic, and it makes this one of the best hero/villain relations of any Spider-Man movie thus far. 

I also loved how the Vulture keeps us guessing in regards to what he’ll do next knowing Spider-Man’s identity. We see him keep the secret to himself from other criminals but we don’t know if it’s out of a new formed respect or if he’s got a personal vendetta. By the way, the criminal who approaches him is one Mat Gargan, who we comic fans know as The Scorpion. Now I’ve been waiting to see the Scorpion in a live action movie ever sense the first film, as he’s always been one of my all-time favorite Spider-Man villains. So, I really hope that this is a sign that the Scorpion will be appearing in this new series. The film also makes great use of featuring the Shocker as a small B-Villain. Most fans hate when multiple villains are crammed into one film, but this worked very well, as Shocker was never a main villain from the comics, and wasn’t treated any differently in this movie. In fact, he was just an interchangeable henchman that never reached the same A-Villain status of the Vulture, and that little bit of extra evil always adds some nice flavor to a superhero film.

  Even the climax is very unique, as it progressively builds, and covers a range of different locations. It all starts at the high school Homecoming dance, then escalates into a scuffle in the parking lot with Shocker, then a car chase to the Vultures base where our hero and villain have another exciting exchange, and the action just keeps building from there. The most impactful moment of all is when this finale re-creates one of the most iconic moments from all the Spider-Man comics. Said moment being when our hero is trapped under fallen rubble, he’s in pain, exposes his vulnerable side, yet reflects on what his true strength is, and finally emerges as the hero he always was on the inside. It was a short, yet very powerful moment that really captured the spirit of the source material. Spider-Man and the Vulture then have their big showdown in the sky, with a clocked ship being the main set-piece. It’s absolutely riveting, and it presents our hero with yet another unique challenge, as his powers are severely limited when combating the tense wind conditions. The two then wrap up their battle on the beach of Coney Island, which is effective enough, but one distracting little detail is that the backdrop is a theme park, which neither of our players touch. Personally, I’ve always wanted to see a superhero battle in a theme park setting, and this would have been a perfect opportunity to do something there. Still, despite not taking advantage of a theme park setting, this was still a riveting final battle that stands apart as a great one in the Spider-Man series.    

    

  In the end, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” doesn’t reach the same emotional highs, or even subtext present in “Spider-Man 2”, but I still find it to be the most “fun” of the web-heads movies to date. It’s colorful, funny, exciting and effectively fits within Marvels Cinematic Universe, while never losing its identity as a standalone Spider-Man movie. Truthfully, Spider-Man was always the superhero of my childhood, and I don’t think any other Spider-Man movie has made me feel more like a kid again then this film. Despite being limited on memorable battle scenes, it’s still a lot of fun, and just a real delight to experience. The cast is great, the villain is memorable, and over time, I could see this becoming my favorite of Spider-Mans individual film series. Lets just hope the sequels can maintain the same spirit and charm that makes “Homecoming” a winning entry in this lone running franchise.

Thanks for reading my review of “Spider-Man: Homecoming” ... and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!   

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