Sunday, July 19, 2020

Retroactive review: Spider-Man: Homecoming

9/10

I really like this movie.

At the time of its release, Spider-Man Homecoming was my favorite Spider-Man movie. (Now it's Spider-Verse). It is such a fun film with a good combo of humor and action. Now, fans of Spidey's more tragic and angsty side may not like the fact that this is more of a generally crowd-pleasing, popcorn film. However, after five movies that were big on tragic events, I was okay with this being more lighthearted. 

This is one of the most natural feeling of the SM movies. I liked the original trilogy, but it did have a retro feel and the Amazing films lacked a concrete identity. After five films, this movie does a surprisingly good job of re-inventing Spidey. There is a lot more of a focus on Peter Parker (Tom Holland) as a regular teenager in a regular teenager environment. The movie also manages to provide drama in Pete's life without resorting to the picked-on-nerd cliche. Now, he's in a school for science and technology instead of a regular high school and it's an interesting place to watch. Another nice twist is changing Flash Thompson (Grand Budapest Hotel's Tony Revoleri) from a jock/physical bully to a preppie/verbal bully. 

Holland does a great job as an earnest, very well-meaning Spider-Man. However, the film's one flaw lies with the main character. Peter Parker is supposed to be an awkward, not-quite-mature teen, but he can be so impetuous and delusional here that it can get annoying. Not a deal breaker, but that side of Parker could've been toned down.

The Vulture (Michael Keaton) is a great villain. I liked that he was a more practical, down-to-Earth antagonist. There were no big plans of revenge or mass destruction plots, he's just a guy running a business, albeit a very crooked one. The character is multi-faceted, at times charming, sympathetic, and intimidating. I also feel that his villain outfit is such an inspired and eye-catching adaptation of the comic one.

The whole movie looks great from the well-lit look that shows a bright side of New York to some wonderful action scenes and effects.

I highly recommend this to any superhero movie fans.


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