Spider-Man Homecoming Review
Film Review by Mark Holmes
Beware Minor Spoilers Ahead
|
After five films & one cameo you wouldn't blame even comic fans if they were a little underwhelmed at the thought of another Spider-Man movie.
Despite Tom Holland's excellent cameo in Civil War fatigue after the poorly received Amazing Spider-Man films could have been expected, however, John Watt's truly sensational Spider-Man : Homecoming should blow the cobwebs away (see what I did there) and install new life in the cinematic version of the wall crawler. Watt's has sensibly made a film so far removed from both Sam Raimi & Marc Webb's series. In fact, homecoming is so different from its predecessors aside from the name and shooting webs it's as far away from those films as you can imagine. We start off with Michael Keaton's Toomes', soon to be known as the Vulture, his business (cleaning up after superhero battles, this initial scene is set just after the first avengers) is inadvertently closed down by Tony Stark's damage control initiative with the government, leaving Toomes and his crew unemployed. With no money Toome's is forced to use the alien wreckage already recovered into something less than savoury and thus a villain (although one made out of circumstances than downright evil) is born. |
We then hook up with Peter Parker, a smart opening scene sees the events of civil war played back through his video diary and selfies, it's a nice way of reintroducing him, his journey to Berlin & stealing Cap's shield in the airplane hangar battle. This is filmed obviously in a handheld way that the scene of Ant Man becoming Giant Man seen from afar reminded me of something from Matt Reeves Cloverfield.
As a reward for his endeavours in Civil War Peter is given a new suit and a pep talk from Tony Stark 'don't do anything I would do and don't do anything I wouldn't do' are Spidey's mentors words...words over the course of the film he doesn't quite take heed of...
Peter, having had a taste of the superhero life badly wants it again but has to console himself with 'little man jobs' such as apprehending purse snatchers & people stealing bikes, forever waiting for a call from either Tony or his bodyguard Happy Hogan (a returning & excellent Jon Favreau) that doesn't arrive, despite his frequent messages to them both.
Between saving the day Peter is still at school, hanging out with fellow nerd Ned (Jacob Baton), school rebel Michelle (Zendaya) & Peters high school crush Liz (Laura Harrier).
Baton does well as Peter's friend, asking him about his powers & having some excellent lines (one in particular at the end is extremely funny) while Laura Harrier does well with a limited role, the real standout for me with Zendana as Michelle, channelling Ally Sheedy as Allison in Breakfast Club, her protesting rebel who may or may not have a secret crush provides excellent comic relief & some foreboding of what might happen to her character in the future.
Having discussed all the above I haven't even managed to discuss Peter's rather snazzy new suit, complete with AI 'Karen' (think a female Jarvis crossed with an Amazon echo) and over 939 different webshooter combinations, most used in fight scenes & to comic effect.
Without giving too much away, Watts does what many people were predicting, a Spider-Man film channelling the breakfast club, but he does it so well. Themes such as arrogance, responsibility, friendship and fitting in with people are all addressed, making Peter's development from the start of the film to the end very satisfying, you really do feel that he has learned something at the end. This is also a Spider-Man in training, he hasn't mastered his powers, he doesn't really know what he's doing yet & that is exciting to see on screen.
The film also does contain some very nice cameo's & Easter eggs which I won't spoil here. What you also recognise, which you see to an extent in Civil War, is the benefits of having Spider-Man in the MCU, having him pair up with multiple other marvel characters is just so fun, the possibilities of him here really are endless & Sony would be crazy not to have Spider-Man continue in the MCU past the initial deal struck.
If there are negatives, Marissa Tomei's Aunt May gets limited screen time, a scene with her and Tony would have been nice and the climatic battle was a little underwhelming. Michael Keaton's Vulture performance is party hammy part menacing and is adequate more than memorable. However at the end you get a great new part of the MCU and a really fantastic Spider-Man movie which I have to say, it's even better than Sam Raimi's first two movies (yes really).
Spidey is back and the is truly better than ever
We then hook up with Peter Parker, a smart opening scene sees the events of civil war played back through his video diary and selfies, it's a nice way of reintroducing him, his journey to Berlin & stealing Cap's shield in the airplane hangar battle. This is filmed obviously in a handheld way that the scene of Ant Man becoming Giant Man seen from afar reminded me of something from Matt Reeves Cloverfield.
As a reward for his endeavours in Civil War Peter is given a new suit and a pep talk from Tony Stark 'don't do anything I would do and don't do anything I wouldn't do' are Spidey's mentors words...words over the course of the film he doesn't quite take heed of...
Peter, having had a taste of the superhero life badly wants it again but has to console himself with 'little man jobs' such as apprehending purse snatchers & people stealing bikes, forever waiting for a call from either Tony or his bodyguard Happy Hogan (a returning & excellent Jon Favreau) that doesn't arrive, despite his frequent messages to them both.
Between saving the day Peter is still at school, hanging out with fellow nerd Ned (Jacob Baton), school rebel Michelle (Zendaya) & Peters high school crush Liz (Laura Harrier).
Baton does well as Peter's friend, asking him about his powers & having some excellent lines (one in particular at the end is extremely funny) while Laura Harrier does well with a limited role, the real standout for me with Zendana as Michelle, channelling Ally Sheedy as Allison in Breakfast Club, her protesting rebel who may or may not have a secret crush provides excellent comic relief & some foreboding of what might happen to her character in the future.
Having discussed all the above I haven't even managed to discuss Peter's rather snazzy new suit, complete with AI 'Karen' (think a female Jarvis crossed with an Amazon echo) and over 939 different webshooter combinations, most used in fight scenes & to comic effect.
Without giving too much away, Watts does what many people were predicting, a Spider-Man film channelling the breakfast club, but he does it so well. Themes such as arrogance, responsibility, friendship and fitting in with people are all addressed, making Peter's development from the start of the film to the end very satisfying, you really do feel that he has learned something at the end. This is also a Spider-Man in training, he hasn't mastered his powers, he doesn't really know what he's doing yet & that is exciting to see on screen.
The film also does contain some very nice cameo's & Easter eggs which I won't spoil here. What you also recognise, which you see to an extent in Civil War, is the benefits of having Spider-Man in the MCU, having him pair up with multiple other marvel characters is just so fun, the possibilities of him here really are endless & Sony would be crazy not to have Spider-Man continue in the MCU past the initial deal struck.
If there are negatives, Marissa Tomei's Aunt May gets limited screen time, a scene with her and Tony would have been nice and the climatic battle was a little underwhelming. Michael Keaton's Vulture performance is party hammy part menacing and is adequate more than memorable. However at the end you get a great new part of the MCU and a really fantastic Spider-Man movie which I have to say, it's even better than Sam Raimi's first two movies (yes really).
Spidey is back and the is truly better than ever
