Spider-Man: Homecoming

Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Hannibal Burress, Kenneth Choi, Jennifer Connelly (voice), Chris Evans
Directed by: Jon Watts
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Peter Parker (Tom Holland) wants to join the Avengers but is stuck in high school. He sees his big break to prove himself when a masked criminal (Michael Keaton) pulls off a series of robberies in New York.

Review:

Tim: I was beyond ecstatic when Disney and Sony reached the deal to include Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was a brilliant move and Spidey's scene-stealing turn in Captain America: Civil War proved that Marvel knew how to handle the character in ways no other studio could match. So, I was incredibly excited for Spider-Man: Homecoming. And what we got was a really good movie, but certainly not as great a film as I was expecting. Some of this may be due to franchise fatigue, but Marvel made some odd choices in this film as well. I still had a blast with this movie, but what worries me is that this now the 3rd Marvel Cinematic Universe movie that I wouldn't consider great. That hasn't happened before.

Let's start with some of the positives. Casting Tom Holland and putting Peter Parker firmly in high school was a brilliant decision. This is the heart and soul of the character and it works better than the much older Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield versions. It also gives this film a totally unique feel in the larger MCU- we've never seen a teenager dealing with incredible powers like this before. Holland is terrific as Parker- he's funny, he looks young enough, and he makes for a likeable character. It was interesting giving Parker a close high school friend and their banter did create some legitimately funny moments.

I also have to give credit to Michael Keaton as the Vulture. First off, Keaton is a brilliant choice. He's such a talented actor and did an incredible job bringing this character to life. I loved seeing the Vulture on the big screen. It felt refreshingly different than seeing the same Spider-Man villains portrayed again and again. The Vulture was a cool villain and I loved how his story connected to the larger MCU. He was also involved in the film's biggest twist, which was so very cool.

Here's some of my complaints. The biggest one is that the character of Spider-Man strayed far too far from his roots. This is shocking, because Marvel typically knows their characters better than anyone else (as you might expect). The shocking issue is that there's no sense of "With great power comes great responsibility". That's totally absent here and I don't just mean those words. Peter's motivations here are to show he can join the Avengers. His motivations are purely selfish. He goes out and fights crime not because it's the right thing to do, or out of a sense of guilt about his uncle (hallmarks of the character). He does it because it would be cool to join the Avengers and hang out with Tony Stark. It's an approach to the character that embraces the worst stereotypes of the Millennial generation. That was frustrating.

Some of the other changes were just bizarre. Having Parker tend a school for the ultra intelligent was interesting, but it makes characters like Flash Thompson significantly less effective. Bullying is bullying no matter who does it, but it feels like visceral when it's coming from another "nerd". It just felt so strange. And don't even Zendaya and whoever the hell she is supposed to be. It was just a bizarre tweak of a character when there was no reason for it, other than to be "edgy and modern". It simply didn't make sense to me. Casting Laura Harrier was the opposite- bringing Liz Allen to life was a brilliant move- she's a lesser character and her update here made sense. The Zendaya thing simply didn't (Who is she supposed to be??).

It was certainly cool seeing Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark here and I appreciated the connection to the larger MCU. That was important for this film. However, the larger role of Happy and the inclusion at the end of Gwyneth Paltrow made this feel like Iron Man 3.5. The connections were important, but we could have used fewer of them.

I know these complaints are minor fanboy quibbles, but they add up to a weird feeling with this film. It's certainly unique, but I'm not sure this was the best version of Spider-Man we could have gotten. Jon Watts does a decent job of directing this film, but it certainly isn't in my top 4 Spider-Man movies (which shocks me). Some of this may truly be due to franchise fatigue. Spider-Man has always been my favorite comic book character, but this is the fifth film and third iteration of the character in 15 years. That's a long. Some of the luster has come off this character. That sucks, but it's the reality.

While I have many complaints about this film, I need to stress that it's still thoroughly entertaining and fun. It's a different take, but it's not an unenjoyable one. I had a good time with this film and would certainly watch it again. It's quite unrealistic to think that the MCU will always put out great movies. I think this one is certainly good, but it's not great. With Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 both falling below the magic "greatness" line, this is a bit troubling. Hopefully this series turns things around and gets back to the greatness we've come to expect. Still, Spider-Man back under Marvel's control? That is pretty amazing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Captain America: Civil War