He's also had quite the journey on-screen thus far, with three Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire films hitting from 2002-2007, and two Marc Webb/Andrew Garfield films hitting in 2012 and 2014. This probably puts me in the minority of superhero movie fans, but I never liked Raimi's vision of the character or how those movies played out. I thought his version of Peter Parker was a dopey putz, that the love interest had zero chemistry, and that the vision of a 1950's #MAGA-esque New York was hokey at best and offensive at worst. (Don't even get me started on the whole web shooters thing) I actually vastly prefer Andrew Garfield's version of Peter Parker and the Amazing Spider-Man films, even if #2 was a total mess which absolutely necessitated scrapping the whole thing.. not least of which because Andrew Garfield was a 28 year old dude pretending to be a high school kid. In the midst of Spidey's various travails over at Sony (for those of you that don't know, Marvel declared bankruptcy in the 90's and sold the film rights for its most powerful properties - Spider-Man went to Sony, while the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Daredevil, and Punisher all went to Fox) Marvel Studios built a juggernaut that has become the home of churning out quality superhero flick after quality superhero flick. Sony and Marvel/Disney (somehow) successfully negotiated a deal for Spider-Man to join the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Spider-Man appearing in Marvel films and Marvel co-producing Spider-Man films for Sony. The newest version of Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland, made his triumphant debut in last year's Captain America: Civil War, and honestly stole the show. This flick has been high on my anticipated movies list ever since.
So Spider-Man: Homecoming marks the debut of Tom Holland's Peter Parker in his own flick, with his own Aunt May (played memorably by Marissa Tomei), within the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe populated by the likes of Iron Man and Captain America.
The Good: In my estimation, this is the definitive vision of Spider-Man that we've had in movie form. There are enough changes to keep things fresh while simultaneously perfectly capturing the feel of what makes Spider-Man such a continually appealing character. Unknown director Jon Watts really knocks this one out of the park, as his Spider-Man flick transcends your ordinary superhero flick to become a memorable coming of age tale inside of a Marvel movie. Peter Parker can barely keep his life together while struggling to juggle the demands of crimefighting, high school. academic decathlon, and keeping his identity a secret from his friends and family. This version of Peter is equal parts nerd, brilliant, determined, motor-mouthed, and an epic screw up. It feels right. Wisely, this flick skips over Spider-Man's origin, as no one needs to see another Uncle Ben (or Thomas and Martha Wayne for that matter) get shot. We're thrown into a world where Spider-Man already exists and has been operating for months. The film brilliantly positions itself within the wider MCU by slipping in between the margins of existing stories, establishing a memorable and believable villain in Michael Keaton's Vulture, and positioning Spider-Man within the wider world of the Avengers. The plot is equal parts John Hughes and Iron Man, in a brilliant blending of genres that further demonstrates the flexibility and worth of the superhero film. The cast is charming top to bottom, with Holland bringing charm, wit, likability, and a ton of humor to his version of Peter Parker, and supporting characters Ned (Jacob Batalon), Liz (Laura Harrier), Flash (Tony Revolori/Lobby Boy), and Michelle (Zendaya) all perfectly rounding out the high school ensemble. Hannibal Burris and Martin Starr have memorable supporting roles, Marisa Tomei's Aunt May is warm and funny, and Robert Downey Jr. basically IS Tony Stark at this point. The star of the show, for me, is Michael Keaton. In a universe that's been populated by "meh" villains, Keaton's Vulture is a rich and fearsome villain who's equal parts Walter White and Obediah Stane. This flick is, top to bottom, an absolute blast, and also asks questions that seem to be fundamental to the "haves" and "have nots" of the larger MCU.
The Bad: my main complaint is that, for as great as Keaton's villain is, his plot ultimately doesn't make sense. The film WANTS him to be a sympathetic figure, but at the end of the day, he broke too far bad for him to feel like a TRULY worthwhile foil. There are a lot of scenes with Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan that just feel like too much given that even I don't care about Happy THAT much, and I'm the biggest Marvel nerd I know. All in all, though, it's tough to complain too much about what is ultimately one of the best times I've had at the movies in years.
Ultimately, this film is an absolute blast. Full of laughs, full of charm, you'll be grinning from ear-to-ear while (hopefully) appreciating some great performances, excellent action sequences, and a plot that seems to move much, much faster than the 2 hr 15 min runtime. For my money, this is one of the best Marvel movies yet (top 5 for sure), which makes it more than worth your time if you're a fan of Spider-Man, Marvel, or superheroes even a little.
9/10
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