It’s no secret that I love anything Spider-Man related, so it sure was a surprise when I saw the MCU version of Spider-Man for the first time in Captain America Civil War. His appearance was all the more enticing and when I heard he was gonna have his own separate adventure titled Spider-Man Homecoming. There was a lot of hype but also a little bit of worry as to how this movie would stack up among the other Spider-Man cinematic ventures. Lucky this movie does everything it can to make for another entertaining chapter for the MCU and though I would say it's not my favorite Spider-Man adaptation, it's still a really good one regardless.
Taking place shortly after the events of Captain America Civil War, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) or Spider-Man has been swinging around New York helping out the common folk as best as possible while also balancing his normal day life of High School and keeping on good terms with his friends and his Aunt May. Although he loves being a crimefighter, Peter believes he's ready to join the big leagues with the Avengers even despite Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr) rebuffs feeling he doesn’t have what it takes. Everything changes when Peter discovers a group of people selling alien-like weapons that were salvaged and repurposed from the New York battle of 2012. Sooner or later Peter finds that all of this business is being led by The Vulture who is actually Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton). An old construction worker who has been put down by the government after the Avengers battles against evil forces. Now it's up to Spider-Man to put a stop to his illegal selling before it gets out of hand but it may prove to be more than young Peter Parker can handle.
We’ve seen Spider-Man many times before in entertainment, some are much older and some are rather young. In fact, the MCU version of Spider-Man is still in High School which allows for many interesting challenges that come with it. They play around with the idea that Peter Parker wants to take on more challenges but is still an impatient and eager teenager who thinks he can do things that the avengers can do. This creates an interesting conflict that past Spider-Man movies haven’t tackled quite in the same way and it makes for interesting character growth. Of course there will be plenty of action and adventure to go around but the film never forgets to develop its characters through the many challenges and character flaws they face weather it's focused on the heroes or the villains.
Tom Holland does a great job at creating a very flawed and over-confidant but still likable character that is easy to root for. It's amazing to think how Holland is actually british but he is so good with his american accent that it's very hard to tell the difference. Another surprise from the cast of characters is the main villain Adrian Toomes A.K.A The Vulture played by Micheal Keaton. At first I thought Keaton as an MCU villain would be disastrous, but his commitment and understandable character motives make him one of the more relatable villains in the MCU.
Of course this is an MCU movie, so we can expect nothing but top notch action and visuals and this film certainly doesn’t disappoint. This movie makes great use of Spider-Man’s new found powers now that they have been updated by Tony Stark and there are many clever visual uses of how Spider-Man uses his webs that are creative and overall cool. One of the highlights with the cinematography would be at the beginning with Peter documenting the events of his time during Captain America Civil War in a typical Youtube-ish documentation which is very playful and gives us insight into the personality of young Peter Parker. There are also many highlights such as the scene with the ferry and the final battle on an airplane with the vulture. Bottom line, this movie has no shortage of engaging action moments that are both epic and fun.
It's crazy the amount of movies that have been scored by Micheal Giacchino as not only would this be the second time since Doctor Strange that an MCU movie would be scored by the almighty composer, but the score itself at the same time is both epic and captures the feeling of being in a Spider-Man movie. While the music may not have the fresh uniqueness of The Incredibles, there are still plenty of great tunes that work greatly with the action and adventure of moments in the movie.
Although I will admit that it doesn't have the heart of Guardians of the Galaxy movies or the epic large scale of The Avengers, Spider-Man Homecoming still proves its worth with a story that is relatable and greatly action packed with a ton of laughs to keep the adventure enjoyable. This is another good edition to the MCU and while it's still debatable if this is truly the best Spider-Man movie, I think most of us can agree that it's still another enjoyable adaptation of our favorite web slinging hero.
(Final Grade: B+)