Released: July 2017
Director: Jon Watts
Rated PG-13
Run Time: 133 minutes
Distributor: Sony/Marvel
Genre: Action
Cast:
Tom Holland: Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Michael Keaton: Adrian Toomes/Vulture
Robert Downey, Jr.: Tony Stark/Iron Man
Marisa Tomei: Aunt May
Jon Favreau: Happy Hogan
Zendaya: Michelle
Donald Glover: Aaron Davis
Jacob Batalon: Ned
When Iron Man debuted in 2008, it opened an entirely new world of superhero movies: The Marvel Cinematic Universe. For a while, there, it was fantastic with films like Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America. It was all building up to the big movie of 2012: The Avengers. Oh, man, it was totally awesome. For the first time, we saw the biggest superheroes in Marvel’s lineup on the same screen together: Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk. The first Avengers film will go down in cinema history as one of the most iconic superhero movies ever made. After that, we were happy with whatever Marvel was throwing our way, at least until Avengers: Age of Ultron. What a disappointment THAT was. Ultron highlighted one of the biggest problems in many comic book movies: Having too much. The movies that came after Ultron were beginning to look a lot like each other. With the exceptions of Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy, people could be forgiven for mistaking one of these movies with the other. Unfortunately, Spider-Man: Homecoming doesn’t really do a lot to change that.
Thankfully, this is not another Spider-Man origin story. The film takes place shortly after the events of Captain America: Civil War. After the Battle of New York, a group of city contractors were tasked with salvaging and cleaning up the city. Adrian Toomes was the head of this group, until the government steps in and shuts things down. Shortly after, we see young Peter Parker on his way to school and blah, blah, blah. Fuck it. It’s another Spider-Man movie. It’s pretty much like everything else, except this time it’s set in a world where the Avengers exist and Tony Stark is mentoring Parker. This is the story: Parker is an awkward teenager with superpowers. He uses superpowers to help people. He runs into a villain that he has a personal connection with. Parker and said villain fight, Parker screws up, Tony Stark is pissed, kid loses suit and wants redemption and so on and so forth. The story isn’t anything new. I’ve seen a million times before. It’s just as predictable as every other MCU film.
What the film does have going for it, are its two leads played by Tom Holland and Michael Keaton respectively. Tom Holland really impresses me as Spider-Man. He first showed up in Civil War, and I really dug the character. Here, we get a more personal look at the character’s day-to-day life since his debut. Holland is not only a good actor, but he is physically capable as well. He does most of his own stunts thanks to his background in dancing and gymnastics. He’s a natural athlete. He does pretty good. Marisa Tomei is alright as Aunt May, even if she is a little young for the role. The real standout here is Michael Keaton as The Vulture. Keaton has been one of my favorite actors for YEARS. This isn’t his first comic book movie, either. That would have been Tim Burton’s Batman, in 1989. He is such an incredible performer. The character he plays is one of the most interesting and complex characters that I’ve seen in the MCU, and quite frankly, Keaton just knocks it out of the park. Robert Downey, Jr. is Tony Stark….what else can I say? This is another one of those things that highlights a major problem that I have with the MCU: Iron Man is in nearly everything. I get it, he’s an integral part of The Avengers, but does he need to show up in nearly every movie? Marvel does its damnedest to make sure you know you’re watching an MCU film.
In typical MCU fashion, the action is rather spectacular with an absolutely OBSCENE amount of CGI. I get that CGI is a part of the whole industry now, and it helps sell these movies as comic book movies. Quite frankly, I was hoping for more practical real-world stunts, given Tom Holland’s athleticism. There’s plenty of explosions and fisticuffs to satisfy most fans, but the problem here, is that it all feels too familiar. As far as the designs go, I really like the new Spider-Man suit. I like the way it looks. I also like the way that Vulture is designed. Obviously, they refused to use a green leotard, and opted for a more militaristic look for the character that works very well, and makes Toomes more menacing. Those wings are wicked awesome, I have to admit. The weapons that the villains use are pretty cool as they’re remnants of the alien invasion in New York.
Spider-Man: Homecoming was made by both Marvel and Sony as a collaboration, and it works some of the time. You know, I look at all these positive reviews of the film saying it’s one of the best comic-book movies of 2017 and the best Spider-Man film ever. Guess what? I don’t see it. What I see is yet another generic entry into a cinematic universe that I feel is over-saturated with over-the-top action films and not enough character-driven pictures. Look, I like Spider-Man, I love Tom Holland as Spider-Man. I want Spider-Man in a better film. Honestly, I think that The Amazing Spider-Man films were better than this. Then again, maybe it’s because I’ve seen far too much of the MCU these days. Black Panther is coming out next year, and I’m not overly excited for it, even though it looks interesting. The best comic-book movies I’ve seen this year were Logan and Wonder Woman. If it wasn’t for Tom Holland and Michael Keaton, Spider-Man: Homecoming would be a complete waste of time. I’m sorry, that’s just how it is.
My Final Recommendation: Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does pretty much what other Spider-Men have done, only not as well. 6/10