SPOILER FREE
Before going into my thoughts on Homecoming, let me first reflect on the past big screen Spiderman efforts that came and went. Before seeing this movie, I considered the 2002 Sam Raimi film with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst to be the definitive take on the classic web slinger I grew up loving the Fox cartoon of. Raimi's trilogy not only felt like the superior Spiderman films made in comparison to the Amazing Spiderman ones, but they also had something the Amazing Spiderman films were severely lacking in and that's heart. Spiderman 2 remains one of the definitive Superhero movies ever made as it tackles Peter's struggle to balance out his two lives both as Peter Parker and the other as Spiderman. While Spiderman 3 is unquestionably the worst film out of the Raimi series, ending the trilogy with a whimper in many fans eyes, it still works as a somewhat satisfying closure to that trilogy as it completes the Peter Parker and Mary Jane arc. While I did not dislike Marc Webb's darker and more cynical interpretation of the character with his Amazing Spiderman movies, I found them to be reasonably entertaining, but lacking essential things that made Sam Raimis Spiderman films so special with audiences such as them having heart and feeling like they're having fun with the material. Whereas I felt Tobey Maguire was the superior Peter Parker, Andrew Garfield was the better Spiderman. If one takes the two sides and mesh them together, they would have the ideal Peter Parker/Spiderman. When I heard the news that Tom Holland was going to play Spiderman, I wasn't sure what to make of him as I felt there was too many rebooted attempts with the character along with him feeling a bit young for the part despite Peter being of High School age in the comics. That all changed once I saw his brief role in Civil War, which was not only hilarious but spot on with the teenage aspect of Parker's character as well as being refreshing. Having seen what he could do with the character in Civil War, I had more faith in Spiderman Homecoming going into it. Now that I've seen the movie and a few weeks have gone by where I can look back and reflect on it's ups and downs, I can say with both proudness and satisfaction that the ups more than greatly outweigh the downs.
Spiderman Homecoming is easily the best Spiderman movie since Sam Raimi's 2002 original classic and is the true reboot the series needed since 2007. Everything feels fresh and new with this film as opportunities to further explain Parker's teenage years is opened along with the potential of covering new ground with villains not yet explored in the Spiderman cinematic universe. What makes Homecoming such an exciting and worthy addition to the Spiderman franchise is how it brings back the fun spirit of the character and the energy that Raimi's films possessed, particularly his first two installments. Tom Holland proves to be a terrific successor to Tobey Maguire both as Peter Parker and Spiderman, looking more like a natural High School student compared to Andrew Garfield, who always felt too old for the part. Michael Keaton proves once again that if you cast him in the role of being a villain, he shines in a way that's more surprising to audiences than if he plays a regular good guy. Keaton is great here and gives Vulture an interesting character complex that come switch a shocking yet clever twist involving his character in the middle portion of the story. One of his best acting moments in the movie involve a scene in a car between him and Peter Parker, a fantastic moment that brings out the intensity as well as the brilliance of Keaton's performance. Marisa Tomei does a fine job playing a younger Aunt May than what audiences are originally accustomed to in previous interpretation but her performance remains effective. As far as the supporting cast goes, Jon Favreau shines as Stark's right hand man Happy Hogan as he carries some of the films more humerous moments. Zendaya steals the show as Peter's awkward friend Michelle, and Jacob Batalon as Parker's friend Ned, and Laura Harrier as Peter's love interest Liz. What makes this supporting cast effective is how much they make you care about their characters as well as engaging you in Peter's journey to learn how to be Spiderman without relying on the suit. The supporting cast brings humor and tons of energy to the film with Liz's romance reminding audiences of the romance between Peter Parker and Mary Jane in Sam Raimi's film. On a technical aspect, the special effects are visually impressive along with an effective musical score that's good but not as strong as Danny Elfmans iconic 2002 Spiderman theme. While the overall story structure of the film may feel all too familiar as audiences have already been exposed to two prior origin stories, Homecoming contains a High School saga that audiences become attached to and want to see play out with later films. It also jumps straight into the action by ditching the traditional origin story of Peter Parker becoming Spiderman and covers an arc of s young High School kid trying to juggle two lives with one being a regular High School student with teenage priorities such as falling in love, and the other being a superhero whose trying to realize his worth without needing the suit. One of the most effective scenes in the film that essentially sums up the entire film is when Tony Stark tells Peter Parker that if he really needs the suit in order to be Spiderman then he shouldn't have it. Coming after one of the films biggest set pieces, that line carries the weight of the film on it's shoulders as it presents the heroes struggle to become his own man while desiring to please Tony Stark in hopes of becoming apart of the Avengers team.
Spiderman Homecoming is a fun and highly entertaining film that's worthy of bearing the Spiderman name, even if the film feels a bit grounded at times within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite the movie making the most of it's limitations within the grand scheme of things, it sometimes relies too much on the Marvel Universe to appease to the fans. Examples are moments where Captain America makes appearances throughout the film in hilarious training videos for Parker's High School. While those moments were hands down hilarious, they felt a bit excessive at times and only really served to remind people of the universe Homecoming is tied down with. Tony Stark's presence in the film is effective and adds to the mentor aspect of the film, despite some of his scenes feeling unnecessary at times and detracting from the overall focus of Parker's arc. It's not the key scenes such as Stark lecturing Parker about the suit that's the problem, it's the smaller moments in between with Stark that are unnecessary (As well as special cameos from those close to Stark). Another issue with the film that I had despite it being very strong is the advanced Spiderman suit that Peter wears throughout the film, even allowing it to talk to him. In hindsight that looks cool on film but as far as it goes with the overall story, it makes the audience question if Peter has any powers at all or is it the suit that allows him to be Spiderman. As far as Homecoming goes, it's perhaps the best Spiderman film since the 2002 movie but if one had to choose between the two films to decide which is the better Spiderman movie, I'd have to go with Sam Raimi's film. My reasons being that Spiderman has a stronger musical score than Homecomings although I did appreciate the Spiderman theme they introduced at the opening of Homecoming, a superior villain although Keaton is awesome he still pales in comparison to William Dafoe as the Green Goblin, the love story between Peter Parker and Mary Jane is more memorable and iconic compared to the relationship between Peter and Liz. However the twist involving Liz's family dynamic later on in the story makes their romance intriguing and the nods to Raimi's earlier film such as the upside down kiss homage during the elevator scene is a nice touch. Despite some of Homecomings issues, the film does an exceptional job of rebooting the character and story for the Marvel universe while managing to be surprising and providing it's own surprise twists for audiences. Whereas one didn't really feel much excitement at the end of Amazing Spiderman, one can't help but be excited and looking forward towards Spidermans future in the Marvel universe with the end of Homecoming and it's big end credits sequence which indicates the plan to assemble the sinister six for the future sequels. The main reason the Spiderman from 2002 is a better film than Homecoming is because it doesn't feel tied down to a universe nor confined to the other movies plots, and is free to be its own origin story with heart, the latter Homecoming more than retains as well as it's energy making it feel a bit refreshing for audiences. Even though the film doesn't surpass the original comic book classic, Spiderman Homecoming is a welcome addition to the Marvel universe, and proves to be the reboot the Spiderman franchise needed.
Spiderman Homecoming is easily the best Spiderman movie since Sam Raimi's 2002 original classic and is the true reboot the series needed since 2007. Everything feels fresh and new with this film as opportunities to further explain Parker's teenage years is opened along with the potential of covering new ground with villains not yet explored in the Spiderman cinematic universe. What makes Homecoming such an exciting and worthy addition to the Spiderman franchise is how it brings back the fun spirit of the character and the energy that Raimi's films possessed, particularly his first two installments. Tom Holland proves to be a terrific successor to Tobey Maguire both as Peter Parker and Spiderman, looking more like a natural High School student compared to Andrew Garfield, who always felt too old for the part. Michael Keaton proves once again that if you cast him in the role of being a villain, he shines in a way that's more surprising to audiences than if he plays a regular good guy. Keaton is great here and gives Vulture an interesting character complex that come switch a shocking yet clever twist involving his character in the middle portion of the story. One of his best acting moments in the movie involve a scene in a car between him and Peter Parker, a fantastic moment that brings out the intensity as well as the brilliance of Keaton's performance. Marisa Tomei does a fine job playing a younger Aunt May than what audiences are originally accustomed to in previous interpretation but her performance remains effective. As far as the supporting cast goes, Jon Favreau shines as Stark's right hand man Happy Hogan as he carries some of the films more humerous moments. Zendaya steals the show as Peter's awkward friend Michelle, and Jacob Batalon as Parker's friend Ned, and Laura Harrier as Peter's love interest Liz. What makes this supporting cast effective is how much they make you care about their characters as well as engaging you in Peter's journey to learn how to be Spiderman without relying on the suit. The supporting cast brings humor and tons of energy to the film with Liz's romance reminding audiences of the romance between Peter Parker and Mary Jane in Sam Raimi's film. On a technical aspect, the special effects are visually impressive along with an effective musical score that's good but not as strong as Danny Elfmans iconic 2002 Spiderman theme. While the overall story structure of the film may feel all too familiar as audiences have already been exposed to two prior origin stories, Homecoming contains a High School saga that audiences become attached to and want to see play out with later films. It also jumps straight into the action by ditching the traditional origin story of Peter Parker becoming Spiderman and covers an arc of s young High School kid trying to juggle two lives with one being a regular High School student with teenage priorities such as falling in love, and the other being a superhero whose trying to realize his worth without needing the suit. One of the most effective scenes in the film that essentially sums up the entire film is when Tony Stark tells Peter Parker that if he really needs the suit in order to be Spiderman then he shouldn't have it. Coming after one of the films biggest set pieces, that line carries the weight of the film on it's shoulders as it presents the heroes struggle to become his own man while desiring to please Tony Stark in hopes of becoming apart of the Avengers team.
Spiderman Homecoming is a fun and highly entertaining film that's worthy of bearing the Spiderman name, even if the film feels a bit grounded at times within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite the movie making the most of it's limitations within the grand scheme of things, it sometimes relies too much on the Marvel Universe to appease to the fans. Examples are moments where Captain America makes appearances throughout the film in hilarious training videos for Parker's High School. While those moments were hands down hilarious, they felt a bit excessive at times and only really served to remind people of the universe Homecoming is tied down with. Tony Stark's presence in the film is effective and adds to the mentor aspect of the film, despite some of his scenes feeling unnecessary at times and detracting from the overall focus of Parker's arc. It's not the key scenes such as Stark lecturing Parker about the suit that's the problem, it's the smaller moments in between with Stark that are unnecessary (As well as special cameos from those close to Stark). Another issue with the film that I had despite it being very strong is the advanced Spiderman suit that Peter wears throughout the film, even allowing it to talk to him. In hindsight that looks cool on film but as far as it goes with the overall story, it makes the audience question if Peter has any powers at all or is it the suit that allows him to be Spiderman. As far as Homecoming goes, it's perhaps the best Spiderman film since the 2002 movie but if one had to choose between the two films to decide which is the better Spiderman movie, I'd have to go with Sam Raimi's film. My reasons being that Spiderman has a stronger musical score than Homecomings although I did appreciate the Spiderman theme they introduced at the opening of Homecoming, a superior villain although Keaton is awesome he still pales in comparison to William Dafoe as the Green Goblin, the love story between Peter Parker and Mary Jane is more memorable and iconic compared to the relationship between Peter and Liz. However the twist involving Liz's family dynamic later on in the story makes their romance intriguing and the nods to Raimi's earlier film such as the upside down kiss homage during the elevator scene is a nice touch. Despite some of Homecomings issues, the film does an exceptional job of rebooting the character and story for the Marvel universe while managing to be surprising and providing it's own surprise twists for audiences. Whereas one didn't really feel much excitement at the end of Amazing Spiderman, one can't help but be excited and looking forward towards Spidermans future in the Marvel universe with the end of Homecoming and it's big end credits sequence which indicates the plan to assemble the sinister six for the future sequels. The main reason the Spiderman from 2002 is a better film than Homecoming is because it doesn't feel tied down to a universe nor confined to the other movies plots, and is free to be its own origin story with heart, the latter Homecoming more than retains as well as it's energy making it feel a bit refreshing for audiences. Even though the film doesn't surpass the original comic book classic, Spiderman Homecoming is a welcome addition to the Marvel universe, and proves to be the reboot the Spiderman franchise needed.
9 out of 10
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