Movie Breakdown: Spider-Man: Homecoming
Pre-Screening Stance:
Even with Spider-Man’s very entertaining appearance in Captain America: Civil War, I’m still somewhat leery of Spider-Man: Homecoming. Here’s hoping that Marvel having more control than Sony will be enough to fully make the character watchable again.
Post-Screening Ramble:
Right before my screening of Spider-Man: Homecoming started, I wondered if I had already seen the movie. I thought about the over-revealing trailers and whether or not the film had any surprises left. I also thought about the superhero fatigue I’m currently experiencing and how even if the movie is good, will it do anything that hasn’t already been done? Thankfully, the answer here turned out be YES. Spider-Man: Homecoming is the best film to rumble into theaters so far this summer.
The movie picks up just after Captain America: Civil War. Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is home in NYC and the only thing he has on his mind is a second mission with Tony Stark (and The Avengers). School, his one friend and any other responsibilities, it’s all noise to Parker, and he spends his time watching the clock and impatiently waiting until he can hit the streets as Spider-Man and attempt to further prove himself. Meanwhile, there’s a fella named Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) who is trying really hard to keep his illegal alien weapons business in NYC off of the Avengers’ radar. As you’ve surely guessed, the two collide as Spider-Man & Vulture.
That’s the basic plot, and I won’t note anything else. As for those trailers that showed too much, they do somewhat come into play while watching Homecoming. Because of them it really isn’t hard to sort of piece together what’s going to happen next, but thankfully there are a handful of surprises. Also, what’s in those trailers is just snippets of full scenes, and I think you’ll be thrilled with the way everything fully plays out. Trust me!
Anyhow, here’s what I think really makes Homecoming work – it never lets you forget that Peter Parker/Spider-Man is a kid. He’s a sophomore in high school who can’t talk to girls and is generally clumsy. Parker is also just like any other kid in that he wants to be treated like an adult. It’s this struggle for Parker that’s the core of Homecoming, and it really does well to keep the film grounded and to make it feel like a standalone effort. Yes, there’s plenty of flashy action pieces and MCU connections to be had, but the inexperienced and overly eager Peter Parker/Spider-Man is what makes those scenes – and the film itself – memorable. It’ll be interesting watching the character grow from here.
Somehow someway Spider-Man: Homecoming completely rights the ship for the web-slinger AND manages to avoid doing it in a way that comes off like an origin story or just a setup for the next MCU film. What a triumph. See it a couple of times.
One Last Thought:
There are a couple of characters that make their return to the MCU in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and I have to admit that I really enjoyed seeing them around again. I guess that just goes to show what Marvel has managed to build over the years – even the “small” people in their films tend to hold weight and aren’t just filler.
