Review of Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) by Dana F — 09 Jul 2017

Finally! This is the third iteration of Spider-Man in 15 years, but this reboot stands head and shoulders above the others. It's easily the best of all the Spider-Man films to date - to the point where I really wish the others never existed at all.

And best of all, it's FUN! The movie doesn't waste any time with the origin story (correctly assuming that everyone already knows everything about that by now), and picks up right where "Captain America: Civil War" left off - with Peter Parker continuing to discover and expand on his Spidey skills, and experimenting with his new pimped-out suit developed by Tony Stark himself.

Many familiar faces like Tony's pop-up in this film, but they are side notes, as the film is firmly planted on developing Spider-Man as a solo character rather than making another Marvel ensemble movie.

Tom Holland is perfectly cast, playing Peter with the wide-eyed wonder of a green kid who's trying to navigate his way through the trials and tribulations of both superhero-dom and adolescence, doing his best to balance his spidermanning with high-school responsibilities.

This movie is actually a weird mix of a superhero flick and a teen coming-of-age dramedy... but it works, since Peter is, after all, a teenager. Though the run time is about 20 minutes too long, it moves along well, mixing plenty of fun action scenes with strong character development, plus a generous amount of humor peppered throughout.

This film captures the character's playfulness and sense of humor better than any other Spidey film. Gone are the days of the brooding, conflicted Spider-Man... this one knows how to have a good time.

What I was most relieved about with this movie is that finally, for once, there is a decent villain. Spider-man villains have always been just so goddamn awful, but thankfully, this one is done right - a single villain with clear motivations and reasonable 'powers', played to perfection by Michael Keaton.

The character is a worthy foil for an inexperienced Spider-man, just daunting enough to be a challenge for him. The title's overt reference is to Peter's high-school homecoming dance, but I like to think it also references the character's long overdue return home, back in the warm embrace of Marvel Studios.

He's back where he belongs, and it's a welcome homecoming indeed.