We finally got our first Marvel Studios co-produced Spider-Man movie, and it was worth the wait. Spider-Man: Homecoming is the best Spider-Man movie to date. Just narrowly beating out Spider-Man 2. My only complaint is that I feel they played the movie a bit safe. The Marvel movie formula works, but I wish they would try and shake it up a bit.
Spider-Man: Homecoming starts out with a quick recap of the events of Captain America: Civil War from Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) perspective. He then waits to hear from Tony Stark about his next mission while becoming the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man we have all come to know and love. Along the way he gets in a fight with some guys with super weapons. To protect his city he is going to have to track down and take out the maker of these very dangerous weapons.
Did you see something I didn’t mention in the plot above? That’s right Peter never gets bitten by a radioactive spider, and there isn’t yet another Green Goblin. Spider-Man: Homecoming is not an origin film in the classical sense. Peter is still new to his powers, and not far along in his superhero career, but those looking forward to Uncle Been dying while saying something about power and responsibility will be disappointed. It is very refreshing.
Tom Holland is the best Peter Parker we have had on screen. Which is saying something. Both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were pretty good Spider-Men. Even if their movies weren’t. All of the backup cast was great as well, and obviously Michael Keaton is going to be good no mater what movie he is in, so it is no surprise that he is fantastic as the blue-collar villain Vulture. His performance keeps the character from becoming a one-note throw away villain.
Honestly, like I said above my only complaint is that Spider-Man: Homecoming can be a little too Marvel-y. It fits in very well with the other Marvel movies, but that is because it is very much like the other Marvel movies. It is a weak complaint I know, but after sixteen movies it would be nice to see something fresh and new from the studio.
For everyone that was excided to hear that Marvel Studios would be taking the reins for at least the next few Spider-Man movies, Spider-Man: Homecoming is the movie they hoped it would be. It is funny and charming, and it brings in a lot of Marvel cameos and Easter-eggs to find and enjoy. Just don’t expect something new and different. It is like buying a Snickers at the grocery store, very good, but you know what you are getting.