Spider-Man: Homecoming

You can also now read Mike’s review of the film here!

If you think you had Spider-Man fatigue, you’d be wrong. “Spider-Man: Homecoming” takes us back to a young spidey in a film that takes place just after the events in “Captain America: Civil War”. After Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) agrees to let nephew Peter Parker take part in Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr) “internship”, we see him get restless while waiting for his next mission and in the meantime taking on the petty crime that happens in his neighbourhood. After uncovering a deadly weapons plot led by Adrian Toomes aka The Vulture (Michael Keaton), alongside his team of criminals including Aaron Davies (played by a very impressive Donald Glover) and ‘The Shocker’ (two versions played by Bokeem Woodbine and Logan-Marshall Green), Spidey alerts Happy (Jon Favreau) and Stark but is basically told to keep out of it and await the call for his next mission. But as he itches to put on his new and improved suit every night, Parker can’t keep that promise and takes on the thieves himself. The weapons prove a little too much for just one hero, but Parker being the good guy he is can’t stay away, and plots to foil the mission with the help of his best friend Ned (played by Jacob Batalon, and also one of the standouts of the film).

Keaton plays the role of the key villain The Vulture, and in the midst of creating and stealing deadly weapons, has a Spider on his back looking to thwart his plans. Keaton plays the role very well, and his suit of armour is quite impressive. Throughout the film, despite being Spider-Man’s nemesis, Toomes reveals the human side of himself, which in turn uncovers something quite rare in a superhero film that is prominent throughout “Homecoming” – the life outside the costume.

The trailers for “Homecoming” put the movie at risk of becoming the Iron Man show, but the good news is, this isn’t the case. While Stark plays the role of Peter Parker’s mentor, as a part of the Tony Stark internship that we saw him get at the end of the “Civil War”, we barely see Iron Man, or Stark for that matter, and the movie plays more of a “coming of age” plot line as Spider-Man goes off on his own to prove himself Avengers-worthy.

The graphics and special effects are near perfect. They’re not overdone, and unlike some other recently released films, the green screen isn’t able to be spotted. One of the big ticks is that it does “just enough” in terms of special effects. Spider-Man jumps around and scales walls where necessary, and every explosion and battle is impressive without overdoing it.

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” is honestly surprising. It’s a family film disguised as a superhero flick, and it’s the perfect balance of action and comedy. It reintroduces us to our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, the grounded hero we need that knows where he’s needed, wants to help the little guy and doesn’t kill everyone else in the process.

Holland is young. And it shows. But he’s the right age to play the Spider-Man who is still learning his capabilities and at the same time prove his worth to Stark and Happy, but also his classmates and potential love interest Liz (Laura Harrier), while also juggling school commitments and adhering to Aunt May’s house rules. He has that innocence and caring nature where he’s just trying to please everyone as well as fit in amongst his peers. It’s just as much as coming of age film as a superhero one. Not only that, but Holland is charismatic and humorous, and plays a hero we can all relate to, as he tries to help those around him while also perhaps neglecting to help himself.

The beauty of this film is that all the best bits aren’t spoiled in the trailers. There are a few laugh out loud moments that are really context driven, and some action sequences that really fly on the big screen, so it’s worth getting to the cinema to see this gem. Plus, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is infinite times better than the horrible poster, so don’t let that sway your decision to go.