Spider-Man: Homecoming Dir: Jon Watts

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Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keato, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey, Jr.

Toby Maguire? Andrew Garfield? Now Tom Holland? Yep that’s right, the sixth Spider-Man film in 15 years has arrived, and this one is directed by Jon Watts.

The film also stars Michael Keaton who plays the infamous Vulture, who is somewhat of a ‘bird-man’. Get it?

In this film we are introduced to a Peter Parker who is still in high school. He has normal high school kid problems,getting to school on time, going to homecoming and a bunch of other things while struggling to be Spider-Man. This is exactly what makes Spider-Man awesome, he is a normal kid who has everyday problems. Tom Holland juggles Peter Parker and Spider-Man incredibly well. The character is innocent yet naive and I couldn’t be happier with this incarnation of the web slinger.

Before I continue I need to take a step back. After the news dropped that Sony struck a deal with Marvel that allowed Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe I was ecstatic. But then my hopes and dreams were crushed. I remember standing in the carpark at work feeling ‘crap’ knowing that Andrew Garfield had been dropped as Spider-Man. I was affected for days. Deeply scarred. Garfield was Spider-Man, he even looked like him in the comics. Google it! He was my Peter Parker, he was perfect. Now saying that doesn’t mean that Toby Maguire didn’t do a great job, he did! I grew up with him as my Peter Parker.

Then just to rub more salt into my already gaping wound, they decided to recast him. What?! Captain America Civil War featured a new young Spider-Man. Who was this Tom Holland? I was a little cynical, and as soon as he came on the screen the cynicism disappeared. The audience loved him. And so did I. If I’m being honest, still now I find myself wondering what it would be like to see Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker acting opposite Robert Downey Jr…

Now back to Spider-Man Homecoming. Is it any good? Spider-Man Homecoming isn’t good, it’s fantastic, it’s original and it’s not the Spider-Man fan boy in me saying that. This film is downright hilarious. Firstly, it’s not an origin story. Thank God. I feel like I’ve seen Uncle Ben die as many times as Bruce Wayne’s parents. That’s a lot.

Peter is struggling with being more of a Spider-Boy, as Stark has given him a techno suit literally with the training wheels on. A Frustrated Peter Parker wants to be taken seriously, but Mr Stark wants him to take one step at a time rather than jumping in the deep end. Will Peter listen? Nup, no way. This sets him off on his own crazy journey, which leads to Peter/Spider-Man attempting to track down and take down ‘The Vulture’ and his Cronies. As I said, this isn’t an origin story but it is a film about Peter evolving from Spider-Boy to Spider-Man, he grows in this film. Not physically, but more mentally and emotionally.

The action scenes are epic, and surprise surprise this film’s finale isn’t a world ending event. Thank God. The film is just as much about an internal journey as it is about action and fighting. This goes for Keaton’s Vulture as well. There is a depth to his character that surprised me. What about the score? The score by Michael Giacchinno (Jurassic World, Dr Strange) is alright, but it lives in the shadow of Danny Elfman’s Spiderman 2002 soundtrack/theme.

Overall the film is funny, action heavy and is more character focussed than many of the previous Marvel films. Tom Holland did his job and I know he’s here to stay, but I can’t help but wonder… what would an Andrew Garfield-led ‘Amazing Spider-Man 3’ with a few cameos from Robert Downey Jr accompanied by a Danny Elfman score be like? We can only dream.

Allan George

The 13th Floor
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