Review – Spider-man: Homecoming (2017)
Review – Spider-man: Homecoming (2017)
Run Time: 2hrs 13mins
Directed by: Jon Watts
Produced by: Kevin Feige
Written by: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers.
Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Jacob Batalon Marisa Tomei and Zendaya
Release Date: July 7th 2017
Production company: Marvel Studios
Full Spoilers Retrospective Review
Tone
Tom Holland was the first truly teen Spider-man at 19 when he showed up in Captain America: Civil War. Much to the joy of Kevin Smith, the first onscreen wall crawler with a comic accurate, Queens accent.
Spider-man: Homecoming wall crawls on similar paths to it’s predecessors. Homecoming isn’t an origin story like the previous franchise starters, but it’s not much further down the line. It’s easy to forget that this Peter lost his uncle and father figure in the last year. All of his scenes with Marisa Tomei as Aunt May are light and sweet but don’t have much substance. None come near the one with Aunt May after Uncle Ben’s funeral in the first Rami film.
He has a closer friendship with Ned than the ones seen with both Harry Osborns in past films. The two spend all their time together and seem well liked by their classmates. Flash is still there to pick on Peter but he’s more of a frenemy than a physical bully. It’s an interesting take on their rivalry. Peter pines over Liz Allan while a thinly veiled Mary Jane hangs in the wings played by Zendaya.
Genre
Spider-man: Homecoming applies the half-another-genre style of MCU films and that other half is teen comedy, specifically the ones made by John Huges. A homage to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off damn near beats us to death at one point. It does work quite well, there’s plenty of fun interactions and most scenes are spun in a entertaining fashion, only getting serious when needed. Like most MCU films, humour can feel forced. Peter as Spider-man commandeers (really steals) Flash’s car and ends up wrecking it which. I get that they’re showing Peter as an inexperienced web slinger. Or maybe just the logistics of web swinging across Queens which they did earlier in the film to great effect, buuuut this just felt wrong.
Review – Spider-man: Homecoming (2017) continues below
Pete’s feelings for Liz and his pursuit of her seem equally light and superficial but that does track as puppy teenager love. They only have dramatic weight when It’s revealed who Liz’s father is. Young Spider-man’s main concern is a fear of missing out on Avengers action, since Tony Stark hasn’t made him a regular team member after Civil War. Peter’s either being left on read by Happy or he’s dealing with the douchiest version of Tony brought to life by Robert Downey Jr. Who makes an inappropriate joke about Aunt May that left a bad taste in my mouth. He just comes across as mean to the young Spidey, as he mishandles the new superhero’s concerns about the Vulture’s crew. A shame because I still think he gave one of his best and most relatable performances as the character in Civil War.
Ironlad
Spider-man being Ironman junior is the biggest complaint held against the MCU’s wall crawler. Which I get, Tony has been shown as having a bigger impact on this Peter’s life than Uncle Ben had in the MCU. Maybe this web head, is a little too focused on Ironman but that’s just this version of Spider-man. We can still celebrate how he’s similar to a more classical interpretation and be excited about where he’s going to go that’s different. This universe started with Ironman and if the Sony/Disney relationship continues to work, it will be passed on to Holland’s Spider-man, these choices make sense.
Review – Spider-man: Homecoming (2017) continues below
The gadget equipped Stark suit drew a sizeable amount of criticism which I also get. I do however respect that Peter taking to his AI, Karen, was an attempt to translate the streams of thought and oddly speech bubbles that would come out of the neurotic Spidey in the comics. The translation of his emotive eyes from the page being dampeners for his heightened senses as well as fancy goggles is a smoother transition but Karen and Peter’s chats weren’t all bad to be fair.
The Birdman
The Vulture had always been a dorky Spider-man villain, most of the earlier ones were but this old man in a bird costume never got an edgy revamp that removed him from the goofy section of Spidey’s rogues’ gallery. That is until this film. Adrian Toomes is grounded by Keaton’s gruff performance. His repositioning from engineer to hard-ass boss man of a salvage crew who gets hard done by Stark’s business deals, gives him a believability and ties to the greater MCU.
The Tinkerer who is on his crew (as well as two different Shockers) repurposes Chitauri tech from the battle of New York to make Toomes the Vulture. With heftier wings than Falcon and Keaton playing the part like an angry Dad, this Vulture is very menacing. After he has been to revealed as Liz’s father to Peter, we are filled with tension as he deciphers the budding superhero’s dual identity on the car ride to the Homecoming dance. Giving us one of the best scenes of the MCU as well as one of the best onscreen examples of a date with a scary father.
Visuals
The composition of the cinematography is mostly MCU standard, some highlights but a lot of unimaginative shots. It’s aided by fantastic photorealistic digital effects that blend with the gifted acrobat Tom Holland and his stunt team. The action is on point, and is well worth a rewatching scenes to pick up the specifics of what happens so quickly before your eyes. The great suit design reminiscent of the Steve Ditko Spider-man and just being able to see Spider-man do whatever a Spider-man can is a treat, but it’s clear that isn’t a film with as much visual character as the Rami films.
In summary
In reviewing Spider-man: Homecoming I find that while we have another villain with a personal connection to our hero, new versions of supporting cast we’ve seen before, repeating themes of romance and responsibility. There’s still enough new and different that it’s fresh and doesn’t feel like a tired retreading. Holland’s performance with the writing give us a true boyish charm that previous Spider-man franchises lacked. Tom Holland’s Spider-man draws heavily from Brian Michael Bendis’ Ultimate Spider-man comic, a well renowned retelling of the Spider-man story, and it shows. This film felt like a fresh six issue arc by a new writer and artist, despite all my nitpicks.
SPIDER-MAN™: HOMECOMING
If you enjoyed our Review of Spider-man: Homecoming (2017) then leave a comment or rate it yourself below.
What did you think of the eagerly awaited Spider: No Way Home trailer? Fellow BGCP writer Daniel Boyd wrote a things missed article for the trailer you can find here and the BGCP: Disassembled Podcast discussed it in episode #25 that you can find specifically here on Youtube and here for all other platforms.
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