It’s finally July, and one of the most anticipated movies of the year is here. Of course, I’m talking about Spider-Man: Homecoming. Keep reading for our spoiler-free review.
At first, I thought it was going to be really difficult for me to review this movie; the franchise has so much history that you can’t avoid comparing it to everything that has come before it, and I didn’t think I was going to be able to pull it apart from all it’s history.
On one side we have the Spider-story: This is the second reboot and sixth movie featuring the friendly neighborhood (seventh if you count Captain America: Civil War) in only 15 years! So, of course, everybody is going to compare Tom Holland’s performance with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. On the other hand, this movie is part of the grand-franchise called the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it obviously has to be compared to all the movies comprising the MCU.
So, I said to myself “write a fair review, clear your head, forget everything else and focus, enjoy it and keep in mind what it is: a movie that can stand on its own.” Fortunately, the creative team made an amazing job and I did not had to worry at all, as Dan Slott said it: this is a done-in-one movie, about Peter Parker’s world, not the Avengers’ world. Now let’s talk about the movie.
The movie’s early focus is on Peter’s life: his school, his best friend Ganke Ned Lees, and his life as a superhero, constantly waiting and hoping to get back in action on a mission with the Avengers. This movie is about Peter’s life in New York, with the usual teenage struggles, plus the ‘I’m-a-new-hero’ struggles. Of course the movie has a very healthy dose of action, but it is not what drives the plot. And that is amazing.
I loved seeing this new, young Spider-Man, finding his place in the world, learning to be a superhero, finding out-of-the-box solutions to his problems. It’s a different perspective, as he doesn’t have to struggle with paying the rent or getting the approval of his girlfriend’s father. Instead, he is simply a student, dealing with teenage crises and finding his role as a hero. Tom Holland gives a great performance that could not have happened before this specific time, as he’s only 21, and so young enough to be a fan of Spider-Man/Maguire and Amazing Spider-Man/Garfield. His performance is great because he is genuinely reacting to the plot, being young and excited about being Spider-Man, both in the movie and in the real life, he deserves all the praise he gets. Some people might say that he is not the definitive Spider-man, and only time can tell, but in this movie he fully embraces the character and shows us what he is made of, making a great argument for his case.
One of the best treats of this Spider-Man is his creativity. Although he doesn’t really know how to be a superhero, he has learned his powers and mastered his web-blasters (at least on the easy-mode), and he manages to make creative solutions in his everyday life. He still has a lot to learn, but at least he knows how to learn.
Seeing the trailer, I was very worried that Tony Stark were possibly going to be around all the movie, making it a buddy-action flick, instead of a movie about Peter Parker. Gladly, I was wrong: Iron-Man appears only when needed.
So, who steals the show? His fellow classmates – specifically Liz, Michelle, Flash and Ned. They are every bit as funny as you would expect but also, they are grounded, realistic characters. Everyone gives a great performance, from Zendaya’s weird, dry character to Tony Revolori’s fresh take on Flash, from a jock to a smug, rich guy. But it is Jacob Batalon who deserves an honorary mention, because I felt so very identified with his character, getting awed by everything hero-related, like anybody in real life would do, and making the theater laugh every time.
One of the best thing about this movie is the diversity of the characters. The love interest is an incredibly talented black girl, we have Asian, Indian and Muslim representation. This is a new perspective of the world, where everyone is welcome to be part of it.
Continued below
Marisa Tomei gives a very good performance and, while some people would like an older, wiser kind of Aunt May, she delivers an enjoyable performance, a more dynamic character for this modern take. Robert Downey Jr’s performance was the only one that felt a little off to me in the film; perhaps Downey has just played Tony too many times, but his heart didn’t appear in it at times.
Michael Keaton gives a great performance as the Vulture. He plays an incredible villain, and gives a masterclass on acting, making the character really scary, despite not having any powers. Thanks to his experience, Keaton delivers one of the best villains on the MCU; he knows what he wants, he is intelligent enough to know how to get it and, most dangerous of all: he has a plan.
But the movie not only have tense moments, it’s also a very funny movie, I’m betting that Watts got a lot of help from the script. The story is credited to Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Hey, he’s Sam from Freaks and Geeks!) and they have experience doing comedy, you may know them for their box office hit Horrible Bosses. You might think that a team-up between a horror director and comedy writers could easily end up on a mess, but not in this case, they managed to make it work, and greatly. I won’t say anything about the plot of the movie, but I think the screenplay is a well thought-out piece of cinema, with some plot-twists that I personally did not expected.
Finally, do you remember the scenes on Captain America: Civil War where Spider-man looked a little “rubbery”; almost as if they added him on a rush? Well forget about that, the special effects here are top-notch, those scenes on the ferry and the plane from the trailer are spectacular. But our hero is the best thing of the CGI, he is pure gold, he might be the fastest Spider-Man yet, doing acrobatics and jumps all over the place, and the effects never lose consistency. I can’t remember any scene where I said “hey that looks fake!”. Instead we have really good textures and pieces that stand out, like Spider-Man’s eyes or some scratches on Tony’s armor. It’s very impressive.
TL;DR: final score
So, Spider-Man: Homecoming is an amazing movie, with great acting overall, a really good script and impressive special effects. It’s one of those movies that you want to see in the cinema again and again. It’s a great addition to the Spider-mythology, and an awesome movie all by itself.
And that’s our review, what do you think about the movie? So, tell us what’s on your mind on the comments below!
