Spiderman: Homecoming is the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the third Spiderman reboot/franchise. Ever since the second Sam Raimi Spiderman films, which featured Tobey Maguire in the titular role, the character has been subject to much worse films. Spiderman 3 has more value as an unintentional comedy than a viable action movie, while the Sony reboot with Andrew Garfield did more to insult Spiderman fans than entertain them. So now here we are, andMarvel's ever expanding universe has gotten its hand on one of cinema's earliest and most popular heroes with hopes of turning him into an Avenger or something. Tom Holland is the latest to take up the mantle of the titular hero, and he is flanked by Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man and Michael Keaton getting to play Birdman for real this time.
This movie is actually pretty good. Much better than I expected. While it may not have the same freshness and charm of the first two Raimi films, it does rank fairly high in the Spiderman movie hierarchy. Homecoming has a different approach than practically every Spiderman movie before it in that it decides to forgo the "origins" of the character, such as the spider bite, Uncle Ben's death and pretty much every other beat that has been hit before by previous entries. It doesn't try to rehash the character's history in different ways than its predecessors, opting to skip it entirely and focus on a version of Spidey who already has a firm grasp on his abilities. Holland's Spiderman is not a finished product however, as he is supposed to be just fifteen years old and has a lot of growing up to do. Homecoming is more about Peter Parker growing up and learning about the responsibilities of becoming a hero, and the emotional fortitude and mental strength required to do so. As a result, the film is better for it. The film focuses more on what it means to be Spiderman and how he can evolve into a great hero, not on how he became the hero in the first place like the previous franchises. Homecoming also benefits from Holland's appearance in Captain America: Civil War, or Avengers 3 which is basically what it was. Spiderman was called upon by Tony Stark to help him fight against Captain America, and the web slinger proved his worth and held his own with Marvel's greatest heroes. A teenage kid got to fight with the world's finest heroes and was then sent home to his normal life in Queens. Homecoming recaps this with a very clever and entertaining opening sequence and it does a great job of putting us in Peter's mindset for the film: a boy determined to prove himself in terms of character, not extraordinary abilities. Holland does a great job of capturing the nerdy gleefulness of the character, but also Spiderman's desperation to prove that he was what it takes to be a hero.
As we all know Marvel can't let us ever forget that all of their films are connected, so Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man, essentially the face of the MCU, is ever present as Spiderman's mentor. He is the one who Peter most respects and seeks the admiration of. As always Downey Jr. is great as he operates as Stark in cruise control at this point, and he does help serve as a key motivator for Peter. Michael Keaton also gets to don a Bird Costume for the first time since 2014's oscar winning Birdman, though it is much less meta this time around. Keaton plays The Vulture, a disgruntled former head of a salvage company, turned alien weapon's dealer who has personal vendettas against Stark and the Avengers. As Spiderman's main antagonist, Keaton thrives as he sheds a relatable light on the villain and also plays the role with his natural charisma.
Spiderman: Homecoming is serviceable. It provides a fresh take on Spiderman but doesn't reinvent the super hero film wheel. Holland is great as a much younger Spiderman, and Keaton and Downey Jr. are very good as well. Homecoming provides moments of comedy sprinkled in amongst the well done action. The plot is small scale enough, befitting the teenage hero, and also not too bogged down in Marvel world building, to be somewhat believable. Overall, a pretty solid, perfectly enjoyable comic book movie.
B+