Third time we have an All-New Peter Parker, with All-New challenges, All-New cool gadgetry, All-New relationships, and All-New villains to tackle, AND IT WORKED OUT!
"Spider-man Homecoming" is truly a return to form for what people like about the character while also establishing a new tone with him being a young 'un and a hero in training in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Like always, the plot is simple: Peter Parker must try to balance his time as a crime fighter and an average high school student while he must foil the dastardly plot of an evil villain. What adds new wrinkles and twists to this formula is the fact that Peter is young and stays in high school throughout the movie. His youth leads to a different playfulness to the character as well as a burning desire to prove himself to the adults (and heroes) of his life...which for the most part leads to disaster. In a similar way to how the "Parker Luck" was in full effect in "Spider-man 2" as Maguire's Peter ran into mishap after mishap, scenes where the current Peter's inexperience with the whole "superhero" thing is painfully evident and that just works out perfectly. The audiences who are familiar with what the character can do and yet is hampered by how new to everything is to him just want to see him succeed. Additionally, the casual moviegoers can always root for the underdog, something they have done ever since Rocky Balboa got into the ring. In addition to this new spin on the character, the amount of cool gear he has this time around really puts the previous Spidermen to shame. This Spidey's Stark-made suit, previously glimpsed at in "Cap 3: Civil War " has all sorts of wonderful cool stuff, including an advanced Siri to help him figure everything out...including his love life? Surprisingly though, there is a time in the movie where he has to abandon all the high tech and really slum it with a homemade costume, which also gives Peter his time to shine since he has to prove to himself, the villains, and the audience he is still...spectacular without the fancy super suit.
The definitive tie to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony Stark, was part of this film's massive draw as the ever charismatic Robert Downey Jr. never disappoints as the billionaire playboy with the fancy suits. While some people were worried that this might mean he hogs the spotlight, there was not much screentime with him to distract the crowd; it is still Spider-man's movie first and foremost after all. All in all, he does play a fairly decent mentor to Spidey, trying to be the cool uncle and connection to the bigger world of heroes beyond the little bit of New York that is the friendly neighborhood. With that said though, a large part of Peter's characterization in the early parts of the movie is him trying to get Senpai to notice him. While that is not a completely bad motivation as a character, it does kind of detract from Spidey's own honorable character traits, with the idea that most of what he does is a cry for a parental figure.
The supporting cast does an excellent job as well. His "surprisingly attractive aunt" plays this role less as a surrogate mother figure as the other actresses who have portrayed this character before, and more like a cool older sister, made even more acutely aware with Peter never calling her "Aunt" May and just sticks to calling her "May." Peter's best friend is surprisingly not a vaguely menacing Osborn this time but a fat, nerdy, Filipino dude who even though is an established character in comics canon plays much more like another Spider-man's best friend, who is a fat, nerdy, Korean dude. His mannerisms and quirks really give Peter more of a confidant, giving them a dynamic which was sorely lacking in the previous incarnations. As for the rest of the familiar characters, oh wait! Not familiar anymore since some got age-lifted, race-lifted, and all in all changed. Especially with an "original" character played by Zendaya, is pretty much Trini from the recent Power Rangers movie as she is SUCH a teenager with attitude. It's as if her only purpose in this movie is to provide snarky comic relief in random scenes, and that's totally fine.
The villains this time play the more relatable, street-level, but credible threat. The best part is the complete departure from megalomaniacs or psychos whose evil sides are unleashed by science fiction accident; this villain's motivation is the working man's bad guy, one who is trying to provide for his family without being a common criminal thug. And of all the residents of Spidey's rogue's gallery I never thought I'd learn to care about, it was the Vulture. No longer is he a decrepit old man in a funky green animal cosplay but Michael Keaton channeling equal parts Batman and Birdman with a high tech flying suit with impressive wingspan. Of particular note is how his relationship to Peter changes as the movie progresses and to say how would be to completely spoil the flick. Definitely one of the top bad eggs that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought forth to distract us from the heroes discovering about themselves and conquering their own demons (The top tier in my book are Loki and David Tennant as Purple Man; this Vulture is somewhere around Kingpin level.).
Overall a fine picture to reintroduce the world to the friendly neighborhood wallcrawler. Heart, fantastic action, decent humor, a cool villain, and an after-credits scene that mocks you like Deadpool did last year for waiting so long, this movie is a blockbuster to bust all blocks.
For a creative overview from a fellow movie-reviewing friend that lists three pros and three cons, please go here.
For a simple yet somewhat entertaining (somewhat spoiler filled) review, go here.
For funny yet spoilery synopsis disguised as a trailer, go here.
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| And he succeeded...kinda...we'll see how it goes. |
