Spider-Man: Homecoming

 

Spider-Man is back. Again. Sony's beloved, but deeply flawed, original trilogy of films left an indelible mark on those who grew up with them. The subsequent "Amazing" reboot did nothing but disappoint, even if Andrew Garfield's central performance was very good and offered some much better females characters (don't get me started on Kirsten Dunst's Mary-Jane). After The Amazing Spider-Man 2 failed to set the world alight (more on that film in the Side-Notes section at the end), Sony struck a deal with Marvel Studios to bring everyone's favourite web-slinger into the fold of the Marvel Cinematic Studios. After making his enjoyable debut in Captain America: Civil War, things certainly looked optimistic with Tom Holland bringing a youthful energy to the role. So. Is it worth seeing yet another take on Spider-Man when we are now up to our third incarnation of the franchise in 15 years?

Fortunately, the gamble has produced the best film in the franchise since the much lauded second film. It might even be slightly better. With very little to no time given to explaining Spider-Man's origin story (this is a major benefit to the film, by-the-by), we launch straight into Peter picking up his life after the events of Civil War, eagerly anticipating the call from Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). He hopes that one day he will be asked to become a true member of the Avengers. Despite his eagerness, things never seem to take off for Peter though. In between trying to find a date for the prom, studying and hanging out with his equally goofy friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon), Peter keeps on trying to find his big break as a superhero. However, Peter picks up on shady deals and powerful weapons spreading across New York, which he traces back to a mysterious arms-dealer, Adrian Toomes a.k.a. the Vulture (Michael Keaton). Seeing his opportunity to finally prove himself, Peter dives head first into the mystery ...

The absolute highlight of the film is Tom Holland. He was already lovable in Civil War but Homecoming gives him real time to shine. In an age of depressing superheroes, bearing under the weight of some mythic expectations placed upon them (i.e. Batman v. Superman), it is just so refreshing to have a superhero who is actually happy to be a superhero. Whoever hired Holland deserves a raise. He rides the perfect line between nervous energy, quiet vulnerability and razor-sharp wit. The best compliment I can give Holland is that when he gets in the suit, he actually feels like the same character - something that the others films (in particular with the Amazing series) struggled with. From his early scenes of filming a video diary of his time with the Avengers to haplessly trying to talk to love interest Liz (Laura Harrier) to the final moments of the film when he makes several heroic decisions, Holland just sells every moment. It works as part of a back-to-basic ethos for the film that emphasises fun and the right elements that makes Spidey tick. Director Jon Watts concentrates on the making the film feel as revitalized as possible and pretty much every choice is the correct one.

There are some truly inspired re-imaginings of the classic Spider-Man characters. One my favourites is  Flash Thompson. Flash in the comics was a dunder-headed, football-playing idiot who used his brawn to terrorize Peter. However here, as played by Tony Revolori, Flash is more of a social bully, able to get under Peter's skin using his smarts and 'charisma' as opposed to his muscles. Michelle (Zandaya) is also a fun character, reminiscent of Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club. She's dry, awkward, very intelligent and supplies many of the unexpected laughs in the film. Surprisingly, the new character I enjoyed the most was Ned, Peter's loyal and just as geeky friend. The film has comedy in droves and this mostly stems how goofy our 'loser' characters are. It's genuinely sweet and the high school setting is one of the unexpected highlights of the films. Homecoming even has a half-way decent Marvel villain (something these films always struggle with). Since the film doesn't spend part of the run time dealing with the origin story, more chances are afforded for characters moments for Peter and fleshing out Keaton's take on the Vulture. He's sympathetic yet conflicted, recalling Norman Osbourne's arc in the original film and presents a real challenge for Peter to overcome. Iron Man is also used only sparingly, as he is mostly used to subtly reinforce the "with great power, comes great responsibility" ethos of the character.

I finally have my John Hughes inspired superhero film!

What many audience members remember about the original trilogy are the set pieces and Homecoming does not disappoint in this department. From Spider-Man climbing up the Washington Monument to save his friends to desperately holding a split ferry together with his strength and web-shooters, there's plenty to keep audiences engaged. Most importantly, Homecoming gets what should makes Spider-Man stories tick - the conflict between Peter's responsibilities. He successfully secures a date for the prom but ends up having to pull out to stop a villain from pulling off his fiendish scheme. All the best of the webslinger's stories rotate around scenarios such as this and Homecoming manages to build action scenes that are satisfying, small-scale and emotional. Peter's struggles are always at the center. With a steady pace that balances just the right amount of thrills, humour and tension, the film builds to a genuinely surprising twist that actually had me flawed a little bit. The rest of the plot is fine - it's maybe spread a little bit too thin but the film makes up for this in every other department.

Spider-Man: Homecoming took me by complete surprise. The film is bright and colourful with a light (maybe slightly too light) plot that is anchored by an excellent performance from Tom Holland, above and away the best Peter Parker ever committed on-screen. The film just reminded me about how much I love Spider-Man as a character. Homecoming is a blast that I enjoyed a lot more than I expected to.

Side-Note

Spider-Man is a hocky and very campy little film that I have a lot of nostalgia for. Honestly: the camp factor is what I enjoy about it. Sam "Evil Dead" Raimi tapped into the pure comic book nature of the stories and brought it fully to life. Tom Maguire, much criticised, just is Peter Parker from the moment you see him running after the school bus. Plus, there's William Defoe over-acting to the max, so you can't go wrong. Is it cheesy? Yes, but it's all the better for it. Spider-Man 2 is the perfect sequel to the original and improves upon it in every way. Alfred Molina is excellent as Doc Ock and everything just has a much higher quality. The conflict between Peter Parker and his Spider-Man persona is great and the set pieces are some of the series' best. Spider-Man 3 is every bit the mess it is made out to be. I don't hate as much as some (it's no X-Men 3...) but it is still a disappointing conclusion to series. I'm going to beat on a dead horse but dancing emo Peter Parker is just ... no. The Amazing Spider-Man is a slight improvement on 3, with great central performances from Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, but the plot is mostly bland and the film struggles to establish just who their Peter Parker is. Is he geeky or a hipster or is he lonely or yet also confident or skater or genius? He's just too many things in one - at least Tobey was just nerdy and awkward. The tone is the biggest issue, riding the line between goofy and funny to dark and serious. Plus, the film thinks it is too "cool" to say "with great comes great responsibility", which is a major misstep. So while some things are better, e.g. the love interest, Gwen Stacey, but the fundamentals of the character are just .. wrong. It's an ok film overall though. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is pretty bad. This one gets a little bit of a free pass by some - I'm not so kind. My abiding memory of this film was watching on the plane to New York, trying to stifle my laughter into my in-flight pillow at all the unintentionally funny moments. The film is a mess through and through. Poor execution, bad villain and a ridiculous third act. It tries to be all things Spider-Man but ultimately fails at being anything.