Directed by: Jon Watts
Release date: July 7th, 2017
Rating: 10/10
Spider-Man: Homecoming is Spider-Man’s first solo film in the MCU. After the events of Civil War, Peter Parker has to go back to school; as well as being a full time superhero.
I love this movie. I think it perfectly encapsulates both of Spider-Man’s attributes. Where as Toby Maguire was a great Peter and Andrew Garfield was a great Spider-Man, Tom Holland is both. I’m glad that they decided to go with the younger Spider-Man rather than the high school senior we get in both other film incarnations. Part of what makes Spider-Man so popular and relatable is the fact that he’s a kid. Starting him off in his sophomore year of high school gives him someplace to go in future movies where he’s still a kid.
Speaking of youth, this film takes very heavy 80s coming-of-age movie influences in both the style it’s shot as well as the music. I think it’s the perfect blend of 80s vibes and modern technology.
This film breaks away from the villain problem that Marvel often has. The Vulture is both intimidating as well as relatable to the viewer; all the best villains are. Played perfectly by Michael Keaton, he is one of the best antagonist I’ve seen in Marvel films. Bad guys that have understandable motivation and also an imposing and threatening presence are some of the best and most remembered.
Where I think this movie has some issues is its reliance on Tony Stark. Yes, it makes sense since Tony is the one who recruited Peter to go to Germany in Civil War; but I think that the studio should’ve had more faith that Spider-Man alone would be enough to sell tickets. His major inclusion in the story feels like the studio saying, “Hey you guys know Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man right? Well here he is. In this movie. You have to see it now.” While I don’t have an issue with him being a part of the story, I think it should’ve been downgraded to maybe a cameo or offscreen motivation for a majority of the movie. There are plenty of good standalone Spider-Man stories that they could’ve told, I just don’t think that they needed Iron Man as much as they used him.
Other than that, this film is fantastic. I love the aesthetic that it has as well as the acting both from Tom Holland and Michael Keaton as Spider-Man and The Vulture respectively. Spider-Man is such a staple of Marvel as a whole so to see him come back to their studios after over a decade in a film as good as this is is amazing.