Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Review

133min

Genre:     Comic-book, Action, Adventure

Director:  Jon Watts

Cast:       Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr., Michael Keaton…and more

Writers:   Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts… and more

-Synopsis-

After entering the superhero fray during the ‘Avengers’ family quarrel, ‘Peter Parker’ struggles to balance his powers with new-found responsibility while navigating the treacherous waters of adolescence, only to be confronted by a dangerous anarchic force who threatens the city in this long-awaited return of your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man to his spiritual home at Marvel.

The complexities of getting Marvel Comics superheroes onto the screen has become the stuff of legend in the 21st century movie business, with 20th Century Fox having the rights to the ‘X-Men’ and ‘Fantastic Four’ franchises while Sony owns the ‘Spider-Man’ series, meanwhile the emergence of Disney’s Marvel Studios and their ‘Cinematic Universe’ revolutionised the genre and an entire industry. Now Sony and Marvel join forces again—after Parker’s brief but impactful introduction in last year’s ‘Captain America: Civil War’—to bring the beloved ‘Spidey’ further into the MCU fold and give this third web slinger in seven years, a shot at solo glory.

After impressing in period adventure dramas ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ and ‘The Lost City of Z’, plus of course bursting onto the scene last year as Spider-Man himself in ‘Captain America: Civil War’, young Tom Holland finally gets a shot at leading man fame as Peter Parker—a typical 21st century teen with extraordinary abilities living with his implausibly attractive aunt ‘May’ (Marisa Tomei), struggling to suppress his Avengers-sized ambitions under the watchful eye of unlikely father-figure ‘Tony Stark’ (Robert Downey Jr.) and his assistant ‘Happy Hogan’ (Jon Favreau), who mean to keep him a humble friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.

With a desire to prove his worth to his peers, his high school crush ‘Liz’ (Laura Harrier) and the world, and spurred on by his best friend ‘Ned’ (Jacob Batalon), Peter will learn some life lessons—including that with great power comes great responsibility—as he’s set on a collision course with the ‘Vulture’ (Michael Keaton), a dangerous and resourceful villain who takes full advantage of the mistakes and excesses of Stark Enterprises and The Avengers.

Ever since the 2002 release of Sam Raimi’s solid but unspectacular ‘Spider-Man’ and its regrettable subsequent sequels, many film and comic-book fans alike have hungered for a film which truly does justice to the beloved comics while thoroughly entertaining an audience—and since the completely unwarranted but contractually obliged 2012 series reboot starring Andrew Garfield, many have wondered what a Spider-Man film sprinkled with Marvel magic dust might look like.

Now thanks to producer extraordinaire Amy Pascal, Sony temporarily hands over the creative reigns to Kevin Feige & co., foregoing the now too familiar Spider-Man origin story for a straight jump into the formative adventures of Peter Parker—while Marvel retains its Midas touch for funny, hugely entertaining, culturally relevant and integrated superhero romps.

‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ is a hoot from start to finish and has most of what you might want or expect from a marvellous Marvel proposition, but with an element of classic high school dramedy thrown in the mix, only updated for the 21st century with plenty of social media and pop culture references—plus quite a bit of self-referential humour and a diversity of characters which reflects modern multi-ethnic New York city.

The film is expertly integrated into the MCU but not fully and has more than enough to work as a standalone movie, and most importantly leaves plenty of room to flow into Sony’s own planned Spider-Man cinematic universe, which will include the ‘Venom’ movie starring Tom Hardy. As you might expect the visuals are impressive and the action-set pieces accomplished, complimented by a funky soundtrack and yet another score from the new king of blockbuster composers Michael Giacchino—but everything is infused with a measure of charm and humour that’s pitch perfect and makes the film jump off the screen beyond previous Spider-Man efforts, illustrating the defining factor in Marvel’s magic cinematic formula.

Tom Holland lights up the screen and proves a superstar in-the-making with a boyish charm and an earnest personality that draws you in, supported by a cast of youngsters that only a select group of tweens and millennials might be familiar with, but with potential star power themselves.

Meanwhile the veterans of the cast are charismatic and reliable as usual, with Robert Downey Jr.’s revelling in Tony Stark ego during his brief screentime, while Michael Keaton once again proves as commanding a screen presence as there is with his unique physicality and intensity, and just as accomplished as a winged super villain as he was a caped crusader—but Jacob Batalon is the true revelation here as Parker’s best friend, confidant and ‘man-in-the-chair’ Ned, stealing every scene he’s in as the most genuine comic relief of a piece which needs little.

Director Jon Watts and the producers certainly aren’t re-inventing the wheel with ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ —despite a clever narrative and character twist we never saw coming—but they’ve polished it up so nicely that we’re more than willing to forgive a film which plays it this safe, particularly when it’s this damn enjoyable and finally gives us a Spidey we can really get on board with. Let’s just hope Sony will learn a few things during their collaboration, if only through osmosis, and here’s hoping they can maintain the quality when their Marvel safety net is long gone. Now if only 20th Century Fox could join the party . . .

The Bottom Line…

Charming, funny and hugely entertaining throughout, ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ is by some distance the best cinematic outing for Peter Parker to date. Marvel proves that their magic touch is so strong it can travel across movie universes and studio boundaries, taking full advantage of an eclectic cast and turning a pretty standard standalone superhero narrative into what might prove to be the most unashamedly entertaining comic-book film this year—setting Spidey up for a near future with Marvel, and perhaps a promising distant one alone.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Ant-Man (2015)

A convicted cat-burglar is given a chance at redemption in the eyes of his estranged daughter when he’s recruited by hero scientist Hank Pym to wear a suit that shrinks him in size, while blessing him with dynamic abilities and the help of an ant army, together they must pull off a caper to save the world from Pym’s megalomaniacal former protégé.

Directed by Peyton Reed and starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly among others.

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