It’s hard to believe that in the last 15 years we’ve had 3 different incarnations of the friendly neighborhood on the big screen. It all started with Sam Raimi’s original film,Spider-Man which, along with X-Men, paved way for a new wave of cinema focusing on superheroes. However, as evidenced by the increasing backlash against the recent outings (The Amazing Spider-Man series), it’s been made clear that audiences want something different while still maintaining the same fun that the original comics had.
Spider-Man: Homecoming, directed by Jon Watts, is the first Spider-Man film to be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker, the spectacular friendly neighborhood. Also starring are Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei and a host of power house actors like Robert Downey Jr. and Michael Keaton. The film follows Peter after his glorious introduction in last year’s Civil War as he goes back to school.
Starting off with a quick introduction to the film’s antagonist, Adrian (Keaton), the film quickly gives us another glimpse at the airport battle during the events of Captain America: Civil War, this time from Peter’s (Holland) perspective. He is quickly dropped off back in Queens and is told he will be called if the “next mission” requires him to do so. Peter spends his days at high school and fighting the everyday petty crime from time to time. While he years for Tony Stark’s (Downey Jr.) aforementioned call, he never receives one, giving him thoughts of whether he is still good enough to be an Avenger, which some might say instills a fear of inferiority complex in him.
The first tune that you hear when the film starts is a more updated version of the classic Spider-Man theme song (this one), and this clearly sets up the vision that the film is going to aim for. While in development, the filmmakers made it clear that they were trying to make the movie have a John Hughes vibe. For those of you who don’t know, Hughes was an acclaimed film director famous for doing teen-comedies such as The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and so on. This influence can be easily seen in the final film as Peter continuously struggles with typical teen problems alongside his superhero adventures. Although it must be noted that the comedic nature of the film does not lower any stakes during its more thrilling sequences.
Michael Keaton, as the film’s antagonist, gives a worthwhile performance as Adrian Toomes (better known as his alter-ego The Vulture in the comics). We get to see his motivation behind taking up the mantle of a villain and while his transformation from mild-mannered worker to a terrifying villain in a bit too quick, the third act instantly puts him higher than any other baddie Spider-Man has ever faced in his big screen adaptations. To compare, I would put him about as high as Dr. Octopus (from Spider-Man 2). The Vulture has a genuine dread about his look and with the characterization and performance, it’s safe to say that he is one of the more memorable villains that has come out of the MCU, something which sadly cannot be said for most of the antagonists that this sprawling universe has given us.
To hammer home the point that this truly is a Spider-Man in the MCU we have Robert Downey Jr. make an appearance as Tony Stark, and while his role isn’t as big or attention grabbing as many people had thought out to be, he certainly plays a big role in shaping up the future of this young hero. By this point it is evidently clear that Iron Man is the poster boy (man?) of the MCU and it’s nice to see him in a more restrained role, props to executives at Marvel who, unlike some other studios, put story first and cash-grabbing next.
It’s clear that Sony made the right call in sharing the character rights with Marvel as this venture has proved to be as successful, if not more, as everyone had hoped it would be. Now only time will tell if the upcoming Venom stand alone will benefit, or at the very least make use of this unprecedented deal. Till then, we cannot wait to see Tom Holland return as everyone’s favorite wall-crawler in next year’s Avengers: Infinity War.
P.S: Just in case you were wondering, there are 2 post credits tags scenes. We highly recommend viewers to not miss them at any cost !