Spider-Man: Homecoming

The latest Spider-Man movie had an odd combination of lowered and yet sky high expectations. Lowered because the Amazing Spider-Man series was so poorly received by fans and critics that Sony agreed to partner with Marvel Studios and grant them creative control in exchange for the character's inclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But, once Marvel did get involved the expectations for the character's second reboot shot up again, due to the studio's great track record and reputation. Thankfully for the character's future Spider-Man: Homecoming was embraced by fans and critics but the question remains whether or not the film was aided by Marvel's influence, bad memories of Spider-Men past, or flashes of Sam Raimi's first two films.

Fresh off his stint on Team Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker is feeling restless. Despite a powerful new suit courtesy of Tony Stark and his phenomenal power set, Peter is sidelined to ground level crime-fighting instead of being an Avenger (as he hopes). But when a group of illegal salvagers begin building and distributing new age weapons using alien technology, Peter believes he's found his ticket to the big time and takes it upon himself to take the criminals down.

At this point saying Spider-Man: Homecoming is a good movie isn't a groundbreaking statement. The film is funny, charming, the actors all turn in great work, and the set pieces are superb. That said, fans of the original Spider-Man movies will notice a thematic and tonal departure.

See the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies take place as Peter enters adulthood where he has to learn, and relearn, the responsibility that comes with his powers usually through a failure. Guilt is his defining attribute.

By contrast, Spider-Man: Homecoming is about impatience and maturity to suit the fifteen year-old character. While he's relatively popular in his neighborhood, his time with Iron Man has Peter hungry to be an Avenger and handle bigger problems, since to his mind he's already done this before. He wants to join the adults and demonstrates his immaturity by diving headfirst into dangerous situations without backup, defying orders from Tony, and neglecting his life as Peter Parker. I think older fans will have fluctuating opinions on this approach, but I was a fan. We've already seen Tobey Maguire straight-faced sincerity, and Andrew Garfield's bipolar jumps in tone from breezy to emotional so watching Tom Holland as a kid who can't drive try to find a balance in his life and determine what's best for him and his future feels fresh. Admittedly this means that the emotional investment in Peter's heroics isn't as epic as was in Spider-Man, since a lot of the character work is surface level, but it's a welcome new approach with great possibilities moving forward.

As I mentioned the cast, including a suitably diverse student/faculty body at Peter's school, is excellent across the board. Tom Holland is effortlessly charming as Peter and captures his awkwardness both in and out of the suit, Jacob Batalon gets tons of laughs as Peter's confidente and right hand man Ned, and bit players like the acerbic Zendaya, Tony Revolori's Flash Thompson, and Marisa Tomei's Aunt May. Likewise, Robert Downey Jr. manages to be true to his established Tony Stark character while still operating as a father figure to Peter.

But if we're handing out acting trophies the prize has to go to Michael Keaton as the Vulture. It's really hard to put together a villain that's somewhat sympathetic and intimidating without being a psychopath, and he pulls it off beautifully.

Action-wise it's frenetic and a lot of fun with plenty of references to classic Spider-Man stories. Lots of insane acrobatics with a big emphasis on web attacks rather than standard hand to hand brawls. What's interesting is how many of the set pieces pull Spidey away from the comfort of city-scapes in favor of scenarios that limit his abilities like small rooms, suburban streets, and even mid-air battles. That's not necessarily a critique, but I'm hoping for more action in the streets of New York moving forward.

While not revolutionary or better than the character's signature incarnation, Spider-Man: Homecoming is a light and welcome change of pace to the superhero genre and to Spider-Man himself. Worth a watch.