SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING REVIEW

Feels like ages since I've done a review, came pretty close to doing one for Transformers: The Last Knight but that was so bad I couldn't muster the strength or the enthusiasm, in case you haven't seen it, don't. its a 3/10 at best.

Okay, so back to the business at hand, Spideys back folks!!! and as a Spider-Man fan I was totally excited for this movie, here's a quick excerpt from my review on Spider-Man's Marvel Studios debut in Captain America: Civil War;

"Honestly, when I found out that Marvel Studios had agreed terms with Sony to involve spider man in civil war and then oversee a couple of films afterwards I wasn't so psyched, a feeling, probably shared with a lot of Spider-Man fans, I thought the character’s story had been over-told and it was just going to be another rehash of Marvel’s most popular superhero, but man, Tom Holland’s representation of the web slinger is...and I don't even think it’s premature to say this, the best spider man ever! This is the spider man, the way he was meant to be; Not overly nerdy as Tobey Maguire or as cool as Andrew Garfield, this guy falls right in between them and God the jokes! an element of spider man I never thought any of the previous iterations really captured. Spider man’s first appearance in the MCU was glorious."

And it certainly was, however I may have called it out a little too early on the whole best Spider-Man ever thing, quite early indeed, now that I've had the privilege of seeing Spidey's first movie in the hand of his creators, for most part of it, it wasn't the most mind blowing Spider-Man movie but it was a different direction, slightly compelling but not totally enough to win me over.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Homecoming begins with a prologue after the end of The first Avenger's movie and then doubles down to events after Captain America: Civil War, the movie effectively starting from that first 'glorious outing'. Peter Parker (Tom Holland) after having a taste of what it's like to rub shoulders with some of the world's finest heroes is rearing to go for more action, his previously mundane life doesn't just cut it any more, unfortunately for poor Peter there's a dearth of any action going on these days, that is, until on one of his very many uneventful city patrols he happens on an ATM jacking, with the criminals using seemingly sophisticated and devastatingly powerful weapons, Peter is curious to get to the bottom of this and it leads him into a path of self discovery as he learns what it truly is to become a superhero learning most importantly that the suit doesn't make the man, but its the man who makes the suit. Its truly a noble story arc and seems to underlie what being a superhero truly means but it's an arc which has mostly been covered by the previous iterations with the now famous line 'With great power, comes great responsibility'. 

Now I'm all up for change, and Spider-Man: Homecoming had quite a lot of noticeable changes from the Spider-Man mythos clearly a result of being the 3rd reboot of Spider-Man in the last 15 years (that's literally a new iteration every 5 years) so carving a niche for itself and distancing itself from the previous versions is a feat I do not envy Marvel Studios for, however I assume they pulled it off to the best of their abilities, unfortunately not every Spider-Man fan out there appreciated this (myself included) some of these will be deconstructed in the paragraphs to come. There are just so many things to praise & criticize about Homecoming, but rather than state the obvious, I'll just go for the jugular; stating the biggest changes.

Spider-Iron-Bat-Man?

First off, this Spider-Man was waaaaaaaay too techy, he felt like a crossbreed between Batman (gadgets) and Iron Man (suit). for me this was a big misstep by the studio, Peter Parker has always been a smart kid and he's managed to get along fine by himself in terms of his crime fighting equipment. Tony Stark giving him his now iconic suit was a change from what we know and it really should have stopped at that, the AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the suit should certainly never have happened and the spider drone (which was pretty cool should have come in a later installment and should have been Peter's Idea) this Spider-Man seemed like a watered down version of Iron Man almost, which is a shame because with Spider-Man (like Superman), its always been more of the man than the suit. However, I liked the nod to the first Civil War comic in which Tony Stark offers Peter-Parker an upgraded mechanical spider suit (to which the latter declines) at the end of the movie, I thought that was nice.

Finally...A Compelling Villain.

I've ranted so many times about Marvel's inability to give us a befitting villain since Loki, but my, they finally came through with Adrian Toomes/Vulture, I think there is no better villain, than that who believes in his own righteous crusade, a villain who pictures himself the hero of his own story, and when this is translated beautifully into a script there's no way you can go wrong, and that happened with Micheal Keaton's vulture who is a man driven by self preservation, a man willing to do anything it takes to provide for and protect his family, a dangerous man driven to the edge by his perceived unfairness of the system where the weak and poor are trampled upon by the elite, he was a man who just wanted to get a piece of the pie and he was willing to take it by force, a relatable man. As far as Marvel villains have gone this is one of the best, he wasn't just evil for the sake of it, he was a wronged man out to get his fair share. Also it has to be mentioned that the movie iteration of the vulture was a welcome upgrade to the character.

Waste Of The Shocker(s)

Herman Schultz has has never been Spidey's most cerebral equal but he's been quite formidable in a fight and that's why he's one of the most recognizable members of Spider-Man's rogue gallery, however to say the self named Shocker was used below potential and effectively wasted in this film would be an understatement and whats worse there were two of them, giving the writers the chance to change the character when Bokeem Woodbine took over the mantle from Logan Marshall-Green, sadly both very talented actors were wasted. Shame, now lets just hope the Scorpion is used to better cinematic effect in the future.

The New Mary Jane

Zendaya looking the part

There was a lot of criticism from hardcore fans over Zendaya's choice as the iconic red head Mary-Jane Watson, it was a gutsy move to change the race of the other half of one of comics' most known relationships, but I could understand the racial inclusion that was meant to reflect the world today (Flash Thompson is played by Tony Revolori, of Latin-American descent, Ned Leeds is played by Jacob Batalon of Filipino descent, even Aunt May gets a little shake up, now being Italian) and besides there were pictures of Zendaya as a red head which placated fans, until they totally deconstructed the character changing her personality from hottest girl in school to a weird kid who hides the fact that she's smart to stay under the radar, and she's definitely no red-head, its a total 360 which makes the character unrecognizable from the comics.

This is what we got!

However with all that being said, its still something that can be fixed, they're are still in the Ninth grade after all, so I'm guessing her more sophisticated and chic side develops before the end of high school. That's most likely the direction Marvel Studios will take with it.

At Fifteen (15), Tom Holland's (19) Spider-Man is the youngest Spider-Man we've had on and off the big screen, the two previous actors; Tobey Maguire (27 when he played the role) and Andrew Garfield (28 when he played the role) being much older, also while this Peter is a freshman in high school, the others seemed to be in their finals. It gives room for the character to grow in future installments into a more recognizable Spider-Man, something the studio no doubt intends to explore. However, the debate on who the better Spider-Man/Peter Parker was, was is ultimately up to you.

For most of Spider-Man's existence, like Daredevil he has mostly gone up against street level baddies, his Rogue Gallery mostly consisting of bank robbers, gangsters and get rich quick schemers turned super villains and its probably one of the things that endear him to the heart, he's just a young kid trying to stop the bad guys (although he's been a part of way bigger things and has faced more powerful villains). This trend continued in Homecoming which was cool, setting him up for the big league in Avengers: Infinity War.

Homecoming contained some great moments, but one above others for me, the kind I haven't seen in the genre for a while, Spider-Man is buried under an avalanche of debris and its a very human moment; he panics, he cries, he's scared, he's just a 15 year old kid, but then he sees a dual reflection (of Peter and Spider-Man) in the water and pulls some strength from it, he makes a decision to quit being pathetic, and rises (literally) above the fear and self pity to save himself, it highlights his physical and emotional strength and its probably the most powerful moment I've seen in a super hero movie since Batman's decision in The Dark Knight to take the blame for Harvey's death. It was relatable, pitiful and inspiring, a truly human and sublime moment showing that protagonists aren't without fear. Simple but powerful.

Spider-Man Homecoming was a good movie, a good superhero movie, with heart, a reminder of what being a superhero is all about, plus it looks simply fantastic visually, has a good script and certainly deserves some of the acclaim it has gotten, it's moral hasn't changed over the past 15 years and its definitely not the definitive Spider-Man movie, but there's no better person to tell you about the sacrifices a super hero has to make day in-day out than Peter Parker, plus there's still room for growth in future installments meaning it can only get better, after all he just got back home.

Reject Rating: 7/10

PS: Didn't you just love how they opened with a version of the 60's cartoon theme song?