Review of Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) by Alva3901 — 06 Jul 2017

The enduring presence of Spiderman on the big screen over the past fifteen years presumably caused a little fatigue once news spread of the third depiction of the crime-fighting hero. However, Spiderman: Homecoming fails to induce such feelings as the exuberant Tom Holland masters the role as Peter Parker in almost every way. After seeing him briefly in Captain America: Civil War and now under the wings of Marvel Studios, the introduction of Spiderman into the ever-expanding MCU proves to be an incredibly entertaining ride.

Spiderman: Homecoming is a very well directed film, as Jon Watts gives us a joyful adventure of the teenager Peter Parker who troubles to find the balance between his personal and superhero life. Still consumed by the actions he took against the likes of Captain America in Civil War, Peter Parker becomes a desperate man, hoping to join the Avengers and impress Tony Stark aka Iron Man, who acts as his mentor. It is with this mentality that he becomes entrenched into the Spiderman persona that has severe ramifications on his social life, both at home and at school. And as the nerdy and unpopular teenager, he uses his hidden persona to define his own sense of duty and morals. As seen in one of the trailers, Tony Stark chastises Peter, quoting, "If your nothing without this suit, you shouldn't have it". Tom Holland develops great chemistry with Robert Downey Jr in all their scenes, however, Tony Starks appearance doesn't shy away from the fact that this is a Spiderman film. This is a film that is grounded to Spiderman, and Spiderman only.

His high school story was very intriguing to watch, as we meet Ned (Jacob Batalon) who aids Peter Parker as his nerdy and funny best friend, Michelle (Zendaya) as the quirky, yet the lonely student who stands in the background, and Liz (Laura Harrier), Peter's accessible love interest. With Spiderman, Peter becomes less involved with the school, causing dysfunctional relationships to occur between him and many other students. Likewise at home with Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), who we see Peter become more distant with her as his agendas begin to take over.

The main villain, the Vulture, is unlike many of Marvel's villains, in that he is the most human out of all of them. He despises the rich and the powerful messing up the lives of those below them, in this case, Tony Stark and he cares deeply about his family, wanting to do everything in his power to keep them safe and happy. His backstory, seen in the opening of the film, and the effects of his actions proves that Adrian Toomes (his hidden persona) has more redeeming qualities than one might expect of a villain. Michael Keaton brilliantly plays the role, adding hidden depths rarely seen in a Superhero villain.

Overall, the action was solid, yet the film serves better as a character-driven story rather than the usual action we tend to see in other Marvel movies which may disappoint some fans. However, comic book films are about the characters and Spiderman: Homecoming accomplishes that extremely well. Tom Hollands gifts us with a great performance of the crime-fighting, friendly neighborhood Spiderman, accompanied by a great villain acted superbly by Michael Keaton, and a host of secondary characters that really complete a very well written film.