Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) – Review

Does whatever a spider can.

Yo, this be Reuben. This is just gonna be brief, but oh well, a review’s a review, eh? This particular review’s of the new Spider-Man film, Homecoming, which after Captain America: Civil War introduced the new Spidey to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he’s got his own film — and it’s pretty good.

I’m far from in love with Homecoming, as it’s got a lot wrong with it, but it’s still a fun–

*record scratch*

Milo here, hijacking this sucka for the good of mankind.

Indeed, while my methods may be unorthodox, Reubs has gone on holiday for 2 weeks and by the time he gets back, this won’t be half as relevant, we’re already a month late as it is! So I’m taking over this review and plotting to kill him for leaving it unfinished — there will be words. And, of course, I know you can’t get enough of me, he said sarcastically.

As the pleb said, since Colombia have finally relinquished the Spidey rights back to his rightly home (“homecoming”, eh??????), he has been introduced into the MCU in the form of a somewhat cameo in last year’s Captain America: Civil War, which, of course, meant he needed a solo film — BECAUSE WE ALL LIKE THAT BOX OFFICE MONAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!

Now, while I wasn’t keen on Tom Holland’s portrayal, frankly, after the average The Amazing Spider-Man, and it’s god-awful sequel, I’m just happy to see the character back in capable hands, even if we don’t capture the quality of Sam Raimi’s original trilogy, now dig on this:

I couldn’t find the proper one, but I think this suffices…

Taking place after the events of Civil War, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has been given a high-tech supersuit by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), which he uses to fight local crime while waiting for his next call of duty. When a new, high-tech criminal surfaces (Michael Keaton), Peter is faced with not only a new foe, but a chance to prove himself to his new mentor.
Personally, the plot was immediately refreshing from the fact that we didn’t have to sit through another scene of Uncle Ben dying, with the whole backstory element being completely skipped, leaving the character a lot of room to develop further than its previous two iterations. Though it wasn’t a multi-layered, carefully woven masterpiece of a plot, it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, and it served its purpose well as a solid backbone for the action to build itself on.

As I said, I was in the minority of people who weren’t very impressed with Holland’s debut as Spidey in Civil War and thus was very wary when going into this thing. However, I found myself pleasantly surprised by his performance, with the British-born actor nailing an American accent to the point where I was genuinely surprised when I learned of his actual heritage. As the youngest of his predecessors, he was also actually believable as nerdy high school student Peter Parker, even he was still too confident for my liking. Overall, it just goes to show how first impressions mean diddly-squat.
His rival, Vulture, was played by the legend, who is having quite the comeback as of late, Michael Keaton. Now, while I thought that his character and writing was quite bland and uninteresting, taking the same route as countless villains before and, probably, after him, Keaton’s natural charisma pulled him through the role with very little a scratch. That being said, the character of Vulture was probably one of the poorest I’ve seen in the MCU since Thor: The Dark World‘s Malekith — yeah, I don’t remember him either. With a rogues gallery as famously large as Spider-Man’s, picking Vulture shows that they are really scraping the barrel when it isn’t even empty yet, and has me dreading the next Spidey on-screen adversary.

In supporting roles, we have Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark, the long bit of string that ties these movies together. Though, I, personally, love RDJ as an actor (and as a hunk o’ man (that’s a joke (kinda))), there are apparantly those who think his snarky, lovable asshole routine is running a little thin, if so, you’ll enjoy this movie. As a supporting actor, Tony Stark doesn’t have the chance to get grating, literally, he physically can’t. With him comes Jon Favreau, as Stark’s bodyguard, who is fine, he’s basically Vince Vaughn, but he’s not hopelessly irrelevant.
Along with minor roles from Zendaya (who is definitely not cool enough for one name) and Donald Glover (maboi Gambinoooooooooo), we have a really entertaining comic relief in Jacob Batalon, who plays Peter’s best friend Ned. Batalon’s performance solidifies Spider-Man as one of the downright funniest entries in the MCU, due to how different the humour is from something like Guardians or Iron Man, focusing on a more youth-centered approach. I know what you’re thinking, “that sounds literally like the worst thing, this kid is tasteless”, but I’m sure you’d find it just as funny as I did, even you, dad.

Gains.

Visually, like many MCU flicks, Homecoming took a relatively clean approach that, while all well and good, leaves me wanting more, especially after the visual masterpiece of Doctor Strange. It would be great to see Marvel step out of their comfort zone a bit more in the aesthetics department, because we’ve seen how it can work in spades. For example, Homecoming could’ve incorporated some kind of animation, which would go well with Spidey’s character. While I know that it might bring up some inconsistencies, and Homecoming isn’t an ugly film regardless, I’m getting to the point with these films where I’d welcome some kind of variation, especially a style change-up.

Even with that, though, Homecoming still manages to be furiously entertaining for a lot of its runtime, when the film isn’t being surprisingly funny, the action comes thick and fast-paced, with plenty of web-slinging throughout. I’m a sucker for big-screen action, so any MCU film is game for me, and Homecoming is no different, so I sat there, mindless chomping away at some Haribo Super Mix, and I was really entertained for a good couple of hours, which is all I want from these films. Although, I’m getting a bit sick and tired with the whole “guy using his big muscles to hold two big things together, and he’s, like, well tense and we zoom in on his face”-type deal.

Overall, Spider-Man: Homecoming was good fun. Tom Holland really surprised me in the lead role by being a likable and charming protagonist, completely unlike his time in Civil War, with a firm supporting cast behind him. The film also surprised me with how extensively funny it was, with a new take on comedy for the films in general, as well as kicking all of the ass. This is let down by generic visuals, a stroke-by-stroke story and an extremely weak villain, who was only saved by Michael Keaton being his sexy self.

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78/100

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Other MCU articles:

RANKED: Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies – Milo (written in mid-2016)
Doctor Strange (2016) – Jason’s Review
Doctor Strange (2016) – Milo’s Review (On Popcorn & Film)
Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015) – Milo’s Review
Captain America: Civil War (2016) – Milo’s Review
Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015) – Reuben’s Review
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) – Reuben’s Review
Ant-Man (2015) – Milo’s Review

Lots of hugs, kisses and lacerations

Milo.