Tom Holland’s lovable Spider-Man from Captain America: Civil War returns in his first solo outing, directed by Jon Watts. Spider-Man: Homecoming is the funny, relatable, action-packed Spider-Man film audiences weren’t sure they needed. With several Spidey predecessors, did we really need another Spider-Man movie?
When the result is a solid film with good acting, good writing, and Iron Man, I’d have to say that yes. Yes, we did.
Originally from England, Holland shines as the awkward and endearing Peter Parker as he tries to navigate both the superhero lifestyle and the unavoidable drama of high school, all while maintaining an American accent. There’s one scene in particular where Holland gives an emotional performance that, while brief, is convincing.
Michael Keaton is equally great as Adrian Toomes (also known as the Vulture). Marvel Studios doesn’t have a great track record with memorable villains for a variety of reasons, but the Vulture is definitely a step up. Keaton manages to be an intimidating, yet also sympathetic character with justifiable motivations.
Overall, the cast is well-rounded and gives solid performances. Everyone has at least one good line or quip and the film is genuinely funny, combining both physical and verbal humour.
Homecoming is set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and is unafraid of demonstrating this fact. With the appearance of other MCU characters such as Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), as well as key locations like Avengers Tower and stock footage from previous films, Homecoming nests comfortably in the expanding web of Marvel movies being spun. Even so, this film stands well enough on its own. It is a contained story and doesn’t get carried away with the star power of Downey Jr.
Homecoming effortlessly captures the essence of Peter Parker in his high school days but still leaves many components of his rich history to explore in future films. There were several scenes that felt like they were there exclusively for set-up, such as any scene with Zendaya Coleman’s character Michelle, but that did not detract from the film as those scenes were still mostly relevant to the plot or character.
Additionally, it is unavoidable with movies set in large universes to not drop hints and easter eggs for fans to catch or speculate about. That said, Watts does a good job incorporating the compulsory MCU and comic references without oversaturating the film.
One of the great things about Spider-Man is that it skips the origin story that audiences are most likely already familiar with (R.I.P. Uncle Ben) and dives straight into the kind of story that’s still at the beginning of a superhero’s journey.
Homecoming is fresh and fun to watch, even with the copious amounts of CGI that are quickly becoming the norm in the superhero genre. In 2D, it didn’t bother me at all.
Bottom line: Spider-Man: Homecoming is worth the watch and a fantastic complement to the MCU.
