Matt Reviews - Spider-Man: Homecoming

WARNING: Spoiler-Man, Spoiler-Man, Does Whatever a SPOILER Can

Oh, Spider-Man. What a long and winding road we’ve taken to get you here. First a trilogy of well-received movies, only to have it end in a disappointing, overstuffed final installment. Then, the first reboot of two movies - divisive, to say the least - that ended in a disappointing, overstuffed final installment. And now, here we are: Spider-Man is finally part of a greater Marvel universe on the big screen, just like in the comics.

Except, you know, Aunt May is young and hot in this one.

Following the events of Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is still fighting crime on the streets of New York utilizing the suit given to him by Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). But being Tony's protege isn't exactly what he thought it would be, as he hasn't been recruited into any big Avengers missions since Civil War. Peter wants to spread his web-wings to prove to Tony, the world, and himself that he can be a superhero on par with Iron Man. Fortunately, he is given the opportunity when he stumbles upon a criminal ring that salvages and sells technology from superhero battles, led by vengeful construction worker Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), a.k.a. “The Vulture” (even though nobody calls him that in the movie). But Peter may be in over his head dealing with his big league threats, but it could also mold him into the hero he needs to be. On top of this superhero stuff, Peter also has to deal with normal high school drama, including bullies, trying to impress his crush Liz, and finding a date for the big homecoming dance.

So let me start off by saying that this is the Spider-Man movie I’ve been waiting for. Not the knock the other movies in their own portrayals of the Spider-Man universe, but I feel that this movie resonates with what first comes to mind when I think of Spider-Man. It’s got a young Spider-Man, someone who actually looks like they could be in high school, unlike the 20-somethings that have played him in the past. He’s funny, he’s awkward, he’s got this wide-eyed naivety about the world and what it takes to be a superhero. His overconfidence about jumping into action is both his greatest strength and weakness. He even goes back to save the Vulture from dying at the end. How often do you see movie superheroes actually try to save the villain? Usually the villains just dispose of themselves while the heroes nonchalantly shrug and move on.

Tom Holland perfectly nails everything that makes Peter Parker great, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that he is my favorite live action Spider-Man. He’s funny when he wants to be, he’s serious when he has to be, and that scene when he’s buried under all that rubble, in pain, calling out for help before he gets his second wind...If you want proof that this kid has got what it takes to be an actor, look at that breathtaking, painful scene.

I think another reason it feels so much more like what I love about the comics’ Spider-Man is how intertwined everything is with the idea of a high schooler being a superhero. The other movies barely had Peter in school, and when they did, it was all about him leaving for college or other great things. There was still drama with his personal life, but it was missing the stressful aspect of being a student as well as a crimefighter. In this movie, Peter has to balance his superhero career while also worrying about school dances and academic decathlons.

"What are you?"
"I'm Birdman."

Even the twist involving the villain - yeah, didn’t expect that trope here - is tied into the high school motif. Was it a bit much for the movie to reveal that the Vulture is actually Liz’s dad, especially since such a connection is nowhere in the comics? Yes. Am I still chuckling at the absurdity of Peter going to Liz's house only to have the movie's main villain open the door? Absolutely. But in weird way, it kind of works. It’s kind of like how in Sky High, the main villain turns out to be the protagonist’s first love interest and classmate. It just fits with how everything revolves around the concept of Spider-Man having teenager drama as well as superhero drama.

So on that topic, let’s talk about the villain for a moment. Marvel has had a track record of having repeated uninteresting antagonists in their movies, but that has started to turn around in Phase 3 of the MCU. I thought that Zemo from Civil War and Ego from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 were both intriguing, compelling villains, and I think we can add the Vulture to this exclusive list. At first, I didn’t think I was going to like him. He wasn’t in the movie enough during the first half to really make an impact on me, and he only had the vaguest implications of a motivation. But after the reveal that he’s Liz’s dad, he started to grow on me a lot more. He’s a man who’s doing all this to support his family, no matter how low he has to stoop. Kind of a Walter White-ish figure in this regard, but with a better code of honor. He provides a nice parallel to Peter, as they’re both people who are hiding secrets that could endanger their families. He’s smart, too, being able to deduce Peter is Spider-Man by piecing together small details (unlike in previous movies where the villain just picks up a camera with “Property of Peter Parker” on it). I also thought it was an intriguing concept to make him a person who used to clean up after superhero battles before Tony Stark ran him out of business. Not only does this give him a blue collar, everyman perspective of the MCU, but it also provides a neat little door for connections between Spider-Man and the greater MCU. Plus, he’s played by Michael Keaton, and who doesn’t love a little Michael Keaton in their life?

Though there is one little problem I still have with Vulture’s concept in this movie. Apparently, Toomes and his crew have been stealing salvaged tech since after the Chitauri invasion, but apparently have been able to lay low all this time without raising any sort of alarm. I know the movie shows how careful Toomes’ gang is with their heists, but is this movie really telling me that nobody in the 4-or-whatever years since the first Avengers movie ever caught a glimpse of a giant winged man flying through the night skies? There were no crackpot reports of a “Bird-Man of New York” floating around? Those wings aren't exactly silent, and have you seen the size of them?

Also, as a side note, the film says there’s been eight years since Toomes lost his job right after the Chitauri invasion. And if The Avengers happened in 2012 and this movie takes place in 2016, not long after Civil War…someone on the writing team skipped out on math class.

As more trailers were released for the film, I – along with several others on the Interwebs – grew concerned that Robert Downey, Jr.’s presence in the film would overshadow poor Tom Holland, and that Tony Stark would effectively turn Spider-Man: Homecoming into Iron Man 4 (Guest-Starring Spider-Man). But surprisingly, Tony isn’t even in the film for all that many scenes. He’s there just enough to remind everyone Tony Stark is Peter Parker’s mentor, with some scenes of his father figure relationship with Peter as he berates or encourages his behavior. Funnily enough, I think Jon Favreau (playing Tony’s bodyguard Happy Hogan) is in this movie more than Downey, and he didn’t even direct this thing.

"What do you mean Cumberbatch was a better Sherlock Holmes?"

I think Downey’s presence in the film is generally how I feel about the MCU connections here: they’re there, but not obnoxiously so. Before Civil War, I was totally okay with the idea of Spider-Man not being in the MCU. I thought it would be cool if he was, but it wasn’t totally needed, as I felt that Spider-Man works perfectly fine on his own, secluded from the greater Marvel Universe. After all, it worked out well for the Raimi films and the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon, for example. But while this film and Civil War cemented Spider-Man’s place in the MCU, the references to the greater universe were kept to a comfortable level. It was still a Spider-Man story with Spider-Man characters in a Spider-Man world, just occasionally they would throw in a PSA featuring Captain America talking about puberty.

But hey look, Gwyneth Paltrow’s back as Pepper Potts! That’s bigger than Zendaya basically being confirmed as Mary Jane Watson, right?

Spider-Man: Homecoming reminds me a lot of The Spectacular Spider-Man, one of my all-time favorite superhero cartoons. It shows a lot of the drama that comes with being Spider-Man, and how choosing superhero responsibilities over a social life has impacts on Peter’s relationships with people like Liz, Ned, and Aunt May. It features a ton of characters that are cheeky references to future supervillains or other impactful figures in Peter’s life. Whereas The Amazing Spider-Man 2 tried something similar, this movie feels more organic in how it introduced future characters from the comics, and didn’t feel like it was dropping in a ton of plotlines that would never be finished.

I don’t really have a lot of major complaints about the film. Mostly, my grievances are nitpicks. However, repeatedly during watching this film, it was painfully obvious when Spider-Man was a CGI creation. The suit just looked so flat and not textured at times, and looked more like a model from a Spider-Man video game for the Wii. I had hoped that they would fix the suit’s effects from Civil War, but alas. The design of the suit itself I have no problem with, though I do kind of miss the raised web design of the previous movies.

And I've complained before about how uninspired Marvel's post-credit scenes have been as of late, but this movie has probably the funniest one to date. It's a brilliant payoff to the "Captain America PSA" running gag, and is commentary on par with something you'd see in a Deadpool movie.

This isn’t just your run-of-the-mill superhero movie. It’s a teenaged coming-of-age story wrapped up in the trimmings of a superhero movie. It’s the story of a young man finding his place in his world, a young man proving what he’s worth, a young man who can also climb walls and shoot webs from his wrists. It’s like if the kids from Weird Science got bit by a radioactive spider (but not the kid that was played by Robert Downey, Jr.).

In short, Spider-Man: Homecoming is thus far my favorite Spider-Man movie, and I’m ecstatic that the web-head has finally found a home where he can truly shine. Can't wait for the sequel, which will most likely be called Spider-Man: Winter Semi-Formal.

Let's all just take a moment to remember that THIS is seriously the movie's official poster.
Yeesh.

Final verdict: 9/10

On a more somber note, Joan Lee – the beloved wife of Stan Lee – has just passed away. She was always an inspiration to Stan, and helped him out immensely when he was distressed and uninspired about his career. Without her influence, we may not have had many of the memorable characters brought to comics, film, and television from Marvel and Stan Lee. May she remain excelsior even from the great beyond, and my heart goes out to Stan.