London Film & Comic Con 2017 Review

Howdy ladies and gentlemen how’s it going? Well, today I’m doing another review, not of a film review (even though I really should have seen Dunkirk by now haha) but an event review as over the weekend I had the opportunity to revisit London Film & Comic Con for the first time in two years and I just had to talk about it on this blog. And while I was only at the convention for one day I have a fair amount to cover to so let’s get going!

Now for those unaware, this convention is to do with films, TV, comics and video games. But the big focus is primarily on the special guests who attend, most people who go are normally coming to meet the celebrities who are there for talks, photo sessions and autographs signings. Otherwise, you can buy a range of merchandise including, clothes, toys, anime and manga, DVDs, comics, artwork, posters and so on. In addition to that, you can play video games new and old, see writers and artists of comic books or take pictures of cosplayers. So now I shall talk about my experience.

Video Games

Firstly let me cover the games that I played which wasn’t much but it’s still worth mentioning. Can I just say that I was gutted to see how little representation the games side of things got at this convention, not to say that this convention has had a strong gaming presence, however, since 2014 it is like the people who have run the convention have made this element of the convention smaller with each passing year. And that sucks. I did appreciate the variety of games they had on display whether it was the Minecraft stuff, the retro side with stuff like Mario 3, Sonic 2, Mario Kart 64, Super Bomberman 2 and a few others, and they even had a section dedicated to virtual reality games which were cool too. I only played two games though, firstly there was Smash Bros for Wii U and you know I had to play it, so I got into a match with three exceptional players who all gave me a run for my money as we played on random stages with all the stage hazards which made for some proper tense and fun matches. I don’t get to play Smash in a competitive manner much since university so it was cool to do some local multiplayer and get that rush of excitement/adrenaline in my system again even if I won only one out of the four matches I played. So then there was the tournament which I signed up for just for jokes, and though there were only around 10 players, I somehow fought my way to the final and won. It was so surreal and wonderful to win a competition with a game I’m actually good at. 😛 Other than that I played Super Mario World and realised how out of touch I am with the game mechanics and the feel of a Super Nintendo controller haha, I still really love that game but good gravy I suck at it these days. Oh and I have to give mention to the Bomberman tournament, that was so intense stuff man! I have never seen such speed and strategy applied to Bomberman before and it was awesome to watch.

The Cosplayers

Now I LOVE cosplayers mainly because they are dedicated fans who dress up and show their fandom in an upfront manner and if they are the hardcore types then they normally create their costumes themselves and they look so accurate to the source material that it boggles the mind. Since about 2015 I’ve stopped taking pictures of cosplayers because I’m too lazy, that being said, this time around I made a conscious effort to take pictures as some of the costumes were so elaborate, creative and accurate to the source material that it was mental. From all of the Rey and Kylo Ren people to the Rick and Morty’s, I also saw numerous women dressed as Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn. There were plenty of Spider-Men and Deadpools and so much more. The one person that I wish I’d taken a picture of was a guy dressed as Spidey from Spider-Man: Homecoming and his stark Spidey suit were so accurate to the film that it almost hurt my eyes! 😛 Anyway check out my pictures below:

The People I Met

So yeah the main reason I came to this convention was to meet some famous people, like a lot of other people haha. But seriously some of these people are individuals I’ve hoped to see in the flesh for years. So firstly there were two people from the Power Rangers: Time Force series and they were Kevin Kleinberg and Michael Copon who played Trip and Lucas. They are two of my favourite rangers of any PR series and I got to meet them, get their autographs and talk to them too, and they were so nice and kind especially Kleinberg. But then right next door to them was Selwyn Ward who played T.J. in Power Rangers: Turbo and In Space, he’s one of my all-time favourites and getting to talk to him was the best!

Here’s me with Kevin Kleinberg and Selwyn Ward, such amazing dudes!

Next up I met Phil LaMarr and got his autograph and also got to gush about how much I loved his worth and also got to thank him for coming back for Samurai Jack season 5, and he was SO cool and nice and he even shouted “AKUUU!” for me as well which was the best. So much happiness. And later on after standing in many lines I got photos with not only Tricia Helfer but also the Benedict Cumberbatch!

I know I looked silly but I couldn’t help it, I was so happy. 😛

With Tricia Helfer, most people know of her from Battlestar Galactica, but I’ve come to love her from Lucifer and she was SO nice and kind, and I told her that I loved her work on Lucifer, ad she said they have a lot of fun on the show. Ahhhhh! I was so giddy. And then there’s Cumberbatch, my man, I’ve been such a big fan since 2012 when I watched Sherlock, then the second Hobbit film and obviously most recently Doctor Strange, he’s just amazing and getting to meet him in the flesh was a moment in time I’ll treasure forever. “Hey there buddy.” That’s what he said to me and I’ll never forget it. 😛 😀

My Overall Experience

My experience was solid, the lines to get into the building didn’t take nearly as long as they did in 2015, I was in line around 8.30am and was inside the main hall from around 9.15am and I was able to get a feel for the are, learn where certain people and stalls were set up. I also ran into an old friend I hadn’t seen for two years since the last convention we attended so that was great. I also had some cool conversation with some artists who were selling their comics and later on, I ran into two other friends later on who I had seen for ages, was such a nice surprise! For a lot of the day, I was just watching around trying to waste time until my photo sessions later on, whether I was playing games, talking to artists or taking pictures of cosplayers. I would say that the organisation of LFCC was far more efficient that the previous years that I went, lines and places for entry, autographs and photo sessions were much better than before. And the general placement of stuff was solid. That being said, like before I wish there was a better presence of video games with the variety of the games, consoles and bigger and better location for them. It also felt like the illustrators and authors got the short end of the stick as their location felt so separated from the action in the main halls both upstairs and downstairs, I wish there had been more people and a better location for them to stand out. And even though the lines were better than previous years, there was still some confusion and lack of organisation or help when it came to queues and knowing which batches you fell into.

 

In conclusion, London Film & Comic Con was pretty good. After two years it was good to be back in this convention, it has a different feel and vibe to it and thankfully there was so much more room to breathe and chill when compared to this year’s MCM London Expo. While there were certain things I would have changed, it was a solid convention for the one day that I attended, this is certainly a convention that needs a full weekend in order to experience everything on offer and I probably will be back next year hopefully. 🙂

So if you attended London Film & Comic Con this year what did you think? Did you go for one day or the full weekend? And if you didn’t go would you consider going next year? Whatever your thoughts are drop them in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review. Laters! 😀

 

What I’m Currently Watching #33

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to What I’m Currently Watching where I give you a tiny update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. This is week 33, and it has been a hella long time since I did one of these reviews, I apologise but hopefully, I’ll be getting back to more of these over the summer. Anyway today I’ll be giving you my late thoughts on Bojack Horseman, Castlevania and iZombie., oh and my more recent thoughts on Game of Thrones which will include spoilers! With that out of the way let’s talk about some TV! 😀

Bojack Horseman (Season 1)

Some of you may be surprised to know that I haven’t seen this show sooner, however, this show was one of those that you look at from a distance and you say “I don’t like the look of this.” For whatever reason, the look of the show didn’t appeal to me and the fact that there was such a level of hype surrounding it made it hard to approach. And so even though I have plenty of TV to start or catch up on, Bojack Horseman I wanted to watch because of the short episode length and easy accessibility because of Netflix. So I finished season 1 days ago and I have to say that I am surprised by how much I liked this show, and while it is no Regular Show or South Park in terms of the way it grabbed my interest, there’s something strangely addictive about the show’s premise and characters especially in the latter half of the season. The show starts out okay with the world, characters and stories that take place in this weird version of reality where humans and anthropomorphic animals coincide together, it is all very strange, loose, kind of funny but not consistently engaging. That being said the absurdity of the story involving the main characters kept me coming back. But once the show made its dramatic turn towards the latter side of the series it hooked me and became a far more engaging show. I love everyone in the cast especially Will Arnett who is just great as Bojack, and I also love Alison Brie and Aaron Paul too.

Castlevania (Season 1)

So around two weeks ago, I watched the new Castlevania show on Netflix and you know what? It’s alright. While I understand some people’s grievances with the show I still enjoyed it for the most part and wanted to see more. The show basically tells the story of the omnipotent Dracula, the questionable Catholic church, the passive Seekers and determined monster slayer Trevor Belmont. It has to be said upfront that fans of the games will get the most of this show, while the show does have a good few unique elements that allow it to be seen by people who have never played the games, there are certain elements borrowed from the games like Castlevania 3 that will enhance your experience if you know the mythology and references. At first, I wasn’t sure I was going to like the show because of the initial focus on Dracula and some of the dialogue, story and character material wasn’t that engaging. However, after a certain incident goes down, things pick up quickly and what follows is a story of mystery, corruption, intrigue and danger. Now I’ve heard complaints put towards the show specifically when it comes to the writing, animation and short length, and those points are all valid. Firstly some of the dialogue just felt awkward or unrealistic, the story’s focus and flow felt off at times and it also felt like certain key details in the story were either touched upon at surface level or were skipped entirely and it could have gone a long way to making the show better. The presentation was a mixed bag. The music for the show was awesome, but the visual side of things was dodgy. Some of the art was very nice, though I would have preferred a different art style as the anime influenced style isn’t handled as well as the Japanese studios. At times the show can look pretty, but other times not so much. The animation can look so choppy and lazy especially during certain talking scenes or in fight scenes which lack charisma, style and fluid motion. And finally the length of the show is very short with each episode ranging from 22-27 minutes and since the show does a lot of setting up and foreshadowing it feels incomplete, like the first chapter in a larger book. In the end, I would say if you’re curious to give the show a watch, it can be fun at times but it may not be what you’re looking for if you want to get into this franchise, play the games instead.

iZombie (Season 1)

Okay here we are again haha, for those unaware I started reviewing iZombie back in 2015, I really liked it, but I, unfortunately, fell off at the start of season 2 and have been meaning to rewatch it for while especially after I noticed online how much of a following the show’s gotten since 3 started. So the show follows a girl who gets into a zombie and needs to eat brains in order to keep her intelligence/human side intact, however, a side effect is that she can see the memories of the people she eats and so with that information she helps the Seattle police department solve murder cases. The show’s a police procedural drama mixed in with horror, humour and That’s So Raven and a bit of Castle. It is an odd mix when you say it out loud but it works. The show takes a unique approach to zombies not only in the way in which they are created but also how they act and affect the plot and human characters too. Like a lot of police shows, each episode has a case of the week, however, there is an overarching storyline that is always relevant. Tonally the show can be lighthearted, witty and funny with good writing and good pop culture references, but the show can also be dark, dramatic and emotional when tackling issues with relationships between friends and family, love, secrets and lies and the morals and ethics surrounding life and death. The core elements that I enjoy so much is the humour, action and characters, and the main cast is great with my favourites being Malcolm Goodwin’s no nonsense/cool Clive Babineaux, the ever funny and quirky Rahul Kohli as Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti, David Anders’ mysterious, cool and dangerous as Blaine and of course Rose McIver as Olivia “Liv” Moore who is so beautiful, fun, likeable and because of the different brains it allows McIver to act in a variety of ways.

 iZombie (Season 2) Episodes 1-4

So far I’m really enjoying the second season of this show, I’m only 4 episodes in but I’m really liking it so far. The show feels consistent with whats come before and picks up where last season left off when it comes to the fallout and changes to the status quo for the key characters in this show. And though there’s been a bit of a time jump it still feels like the events of season 1’s finale are felt and dealt with in this season. Plus the show shakes some things up by placing the recurring cast in new situations which challenges and affects them greatly, but there are also new characters who have roles of varying significance but they certainly leave an impact.

Game of Thrones (Season 7) “Stormborn”

After a pretty cool set episode last week, “Strormborn” kept the good stuff coming with cool character moments, intriguing conversations and some solid action towards the end. Firstly I liked seeing Daenerys and her allies together discussing what to do with Cersei and King’s Landing, I like how they all had their own ways attacking the place, but it was ultimately Tyrion’s strategic plan of placing the armies in different locations that got them on board. I’m curious after Daenerys’ conversation with Olenna Tyrell whether she will betray Tyrion or dismiss his advice in the future. I was also fearful for Varys, Daenerys wasn’t keen on the idea of him serving him considering that he’s switched alliances so many times in the past, but he did give a good argument as to why he should be kept around, and considering how smart, knowledgeable and loyal he has been, I think he’d be a solid ally to have at this point in the game. I’m just going to briefly touch on the Jorah and Sam stuff, firstly poor Jorah, I don’t like the idea of him turning into a monster, but alas that’s the hand fate has dealt him for the time being. And secondly while I’m glad Sam’s here to attempt to get rid of the greyscale, just seeing the removal of it was horrible, so filth and unsettling to watch. 😦 I’m also curious to see how things will turn out for Jon Snow with him accepting the invitation to meet Daenerys at Dragonstone, I really hope it’s not a trap because I don’t want all the allied houses at Winterfell to be right. While I understand Sansa and everyone else’s point of view, risks need to be taken at this point regardless of the end result.

It was also great to see Arya again after her moment of sheer badassery last week, here we got to see her reunite with Hot Pie for the first time in a while and it was a nice catch up, seeing her face when he told her about Jon’s current status as King of the North made me happy but sad at the same time. I guess she’s changed her mission to take out Cersei for the time being, I just hope she doesn’t get killed. Oh and that moment with her direwolf, heartbreaking yo. And for those who said last week’s episode was boring with no action well here’s the good stuff that you love. Euron comes out of nowhere with the Iron Fleet and attacks Yara, Theon, Ellaria and the Sand Snakes, that was crazy. The battle was intense there was a lot of blood and stabbing and carnage and it looked beautiful with the lighting and colours standing out well. As for Theon deciding to jump ship (literally), it left me wondering one of a few options: 1) He’s a coward. 2) The dude’s seen the horror’s of battle and it’s mentally too much for him to take. Or 3) He’s bailing because he’ll come back to save his sister later. I’m sure most will assume the reason is number 1 but I’d like to think it’s more along the lines of number 2.

Well, that’s what I’ve been watching. So have you seen or plan to watch any of these shows? If you have any thoughts be sure to drop a comment below and let me know what TV shows you’re currently watching too. Until next time, laters! 😀

 

RIP Chester Bennington & Top 8 Linkin Park Songs

Good day to you ladies, alas I am back in the blogging world to discuss some sad news from yesterday, the passing of Chester Bennington former lead singer of Linkin Park. I was hoping I would have to make another post like this for a while, but alas it seems like depression has gotten the best of another talented individual and man does it suck. Now I’m not gonna act like I was the biggest fan of Linkin Park, however, to say they didn’t have a huge impact on my music taste and life, in general, would be a big lie. Along with songs like “Nothing” by A and “Blurry” by Puddle of Mudd, “In the End” was part of my journey into the world of rock and metal, and their music helped me through a lot of the internal drama going on in my mind especially during my teenage years, but on top of that their music was incredible and a big part of that was Chester’s vocals which were so distinctive, intense and gorgeous and to know that he will sing no more hurts me the more I think about it.

So I thought I’d just share my favourite Linkin Park songs based not only on personal preference but also where I Chester’s vocals stood out the most, so in no particular order:

Easier to Run

For a good few years, this was my favourite LP song, it had a sense of drama and emotion that I latched on to pretty easily and the lyrics felt like they related directly to my life during some of those dark days, so this song was always comforting. It is the chorus that gets me every time, Chester’s vocals are gorgeous and you feel the passion especially towards the end with the instrumental side of things building up. Still awesome.

One Step Closer

What can I say? I love the classics, I’ve always loved shouting “Shut up, shut up, shut up, Shut up when I’m talking to you!” especially when you hear it at a night club where rock/metal music is the focus. Everything about this song just screams of pure energy and power and Chester’s vocals play a big part of that for me.

Crawling

I’ve always been attracted to this song because of the lyrical content and again how it felt like it spoke to me in my younger years, and the way Chester sang that chorus is what hooks me every time.

Bleed it Out

Ah man, this is one of the songs I played endlessly during my college years and since then it has been the one LP song I can put on repeat and never get tired of. It is on the shorter side and yet has the right about of style and drama in the music and vocals to stand out as one of my favourites from Minutes to Midnight. My favourite lines: “I’ve opened up these scars, I’ll make you face this, I’ve pulled myself so far, I’ll make you face this now!”

Pts.Of.Athrty

The original “Points of Authority” is still a great song, but the remix is the sound I fell in love with especially during the early 2000’s when it was used during a TV advert/music video for either Toonami on Cartoon Network or the channel CNX in the UK. The way the song has the rock elements but also these extra beats and variations on the original composition is wonderful. And once again Chester’s vocals along with Mike’s raps carry you through the song in a swift, badass and beastly way.

Forgotten

The sad thing is I never experience Hybrid Theory properly until I went to university which was 6 years ago so there are so many great songs I never heard until that point, and this song falls into that category. Well, actually I’ve never been sure if I have heard this song before 2011, but regardless this is easily one of the best songs on the album. Musically it is perfectly crafted with most of subtly and intensity, and Mike and Chester kill it with the rapping and singing, Chester’s vocal is so smooth, delicious and badass, frigging love it!

With You

At this point in time, this is my favourite LP song. There’s an intensity that you appreciate about this song from the first 20-30 seconds and the lyrics paint an emotional picture and good gravy the way Mike and Chester work together on this song is something special, its pure emotion and I adore everything about this song. The whole composition is aggressive and in your face and Chester’s vocals are fantastic.

The Little Things Give You Away

I remember the first time I heard this and good gravy I almost cried. The way the song starts up, with the soft guitar and vocals and then builds to that incredible ending with full on drama with all the instruments and Chester’s vocals washing over the track all the way until the end. Pretty much perfection. This was one of the first songs that I noticed as one of those key songs that finish off an album in a spectacular manner, and now that Chester’s no longer with us it makes the song more powerful than ever.

So yeah there’s my list, I could have done so much more with songs like “Numb“, “The Catalyst“, “Somewhere I Belong” and “Nobody’s Listening” to name a few, but I didn’t want to make this any longer than it needed to be. In the end, I just want to say that Chester, I appreciate everything that you and your band gave me and I’m going to miss you. RIP.

 

PODCAST: Film Focus Episode 35 – War for the Planet of the Apes Review

Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, as some of you may have seen, last year I started a film podcast entitled Film Focus and on this podcast I talk about various topics in film and reviews as well on a biweekly basis. And the latest episode of the podcast features my review of War for the Planet of the Apes. 🙂

Anyway here’s the episode 35:

Now I already did a written review for this film last week but doing an audio based review allowed me to expand upon my thoughts but also just gush about the film in a way that words can’t fully communicate. 😛 Anyway I hope you all enjoy the episode. 🙂

As I mentioned before in each episode I’ll cover a different topic or review and since I don’t have much in the way of listeners or promotion, I’m here to spread the word about my podcast. 🙂

You can find my main site on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/film_focus

Or if you’re on iTunes subscribe and rate me on there: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/film-focus/id1114233892?mt=2

So if you have some spare time on your hands and would like to listen to the ramblings of a passionate/strange man then please check it out, and share it with your friends if you can. Also you have any feedback or if you’d be interested in joining on future episodes be sure to let me know, until next time, laters! 😀

 

PODCAST: Film Focus Episode 34 – Spider-Man: Homecoming Review

Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, as some of you may have seen, last year I started a film podcast entitled Film Focus and on this podcast, I talk about various topics in film and reviews as well on a biweekly basis. As for the latest episode of the podcast, it features my review of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Anyway here’s the episode 34:

Now I already did a written review for this film already but as with a lot of my written reviews there has to be an audio version just so you can understand how I feel about a film on a more personal level, whether it frustrated me or made me happy, podcasting allows me to get my proper thoughts out into the world. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the episode. 🙂

As I mentioned before I’ll cover a different topic or review in each episode and since I don’t have much in the way of listeners or promotion, I’m here to spread the word about my podcast. 🙂

You can find my main site on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/film_focus

Or if you’re on iTunes subscribe and rate me on there: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/film-focus/id1114233892?mt=2

So if you have some spare time on your hands and would like to listen to the ramblings of a passionate/strange man then please check it out, and share it with your friends if you can. Also, you have any feedback or if you’d be interested in joining on future episodes be sure to let me know, until next time, laters! 😀

 

QUICK REVIEW: War for the Planet of the Apes

Howdy ladies and gents its review time once again and today I get to talk about another film which was one of my most anticipated films of the year, War for the Planet of the Apes. Now of all the films I was looking forward to this year including Logan, Guardians 2, Spider-Man and the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok and Star Wars Episode VIII, War for the Planet of the Apes was easily in the top 3. Back in 2011 Rise really blew me away with its interesting story, characters, and action, and then Dawn came out 2014 and completely floored me with the character-driven story, drama, and visual effects. And since the first trailer dropped last year I’ve been beyond hyped to see if this film would deliver the epic third chapter that this trilogy needed and the simple answer is yes. I am telling right now War for the Planet of the Apes is a great film and it deserves your attention.

So the story can be described as the following:

“After the apes suffer unimaginable losses when they are discovered by a military group, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel.”

What I loved about this story was not only how it was a continuation of the path laid out by the previous films, but also how it presented a darker, more dramatic and personal tale. This was a story about power, emotional conflict, family, leadership and making choices based that could have major ramifications both in the short and long-term. I liked how the film presented both sides of the argument for why both the apes and humans should survive over the other, and something else I loved was how the film made me feel. I felt emotions in the last film, it here it was on a higher level, I felt on edge throughout as the tension and suspense was so well executed, but on top of that the emotional material in this film was so good, so many key moments had me shocked, laughing, happy and very sad. This film is very story and character focused and while they are certainly moments where the action kicks off, it is not an action film as some of the trailers suggested, but more so a drama with action elements incorporated, so anyone expected an action-focused film maybe end up being bored and disappointed in certain moments of downtime.

As for the cast, they were all really good. Firstly let’s start with Andy Serkis as Caesar who since the first film in this series has impressed me with the performance capture and here he does his best work not only with the physical material but also with his voice, with more coherent sentences it has allowed for drama and depth in his performance. Caesar has to deal with a lot when it comes to being a leader and family man, dealing with demons from his past and present and making decisions that not only affect him but his apes too, and it’s fascinating to see how it plays out. Then there’s Woody Harrelson as The Colonel was magnificent, he was frightening, ruthless and had a presence on-screen that made you feel like the air had left the room, Harrelson killed it in the role. Also, Amiah Miller as Nova was really good, she did well to act in this film with no dialogue and having to act through facial expressions and physical movement. And everyone else who played apes in the film was really good especially with Karin Konoval as Maurice, Terry Notary as Rocket, Ty Olsson as Red, but it was Steve Zahn as “Bad Ape” that stole the show. At first, I thought he may piss me off because of his odd and quirky personality, but he ended up being so funny and endearing.

When it comes to the presentation it is fantastic. One the visual side of things the film looks amazing with some great cinematography and action sequences, but also some wonderfully framed shots of interior and exterior locations, I striking use of light and colour considering the state of the planet at that point in time, and of course, the CGI for the apes is insanely impressive. Somehow the filmmakers improved even further than they did in Dawn back in 2014 with the Apes looking more realistic than before where you could almost mistake them for really good animatronics. And the film score from Michael Giacchino is incredible, he not only borrowed some of the key themes he crafted in the previous film but also created new material for this film which was well suited for every scenario, whether a scene called for fear, mystery, tension, drama or anything else, he had all based covered to a tee.

In conclusion, what can I say other than War for the Planet of the Apes is a really great film that I think you should check out. The film gave me everything I wanted and then some and I wasn’t expecting to leave the cinema so filled with emotions, but that is really a credit to the talent of Matt Reeves, Andy Serkis and everyone else who made this film possible. Easily in my top 3 films of 2017.

So have you seen War for the Planet of the Apes and if so what did you think of it? Please be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀

 

EPIC REVIEW: Spider-Man: Homecoming

Howdy people of the internet, how’s it going? So today is a special day as I finally get to share my thoughts on the latest film from Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures in the form of Spider-Man: Homecoming. For those of you who aren’t aware, Spider-Man is my favourite superhero and when he was introduced in Captain America: Civil War last year I knew I was ready for his solo film straight away. So with a decent marketing campaign and a lot of hopeful interviews from the cast and crew about how this latest version of Spider-Man would turn out, is it a successful reboot or another disappointing session? Well read on and find out! 🙂

So the story can be described as the following:

“Several months after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker, with the help of his mentor Tony Stark, tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens, New York City while fighting crime as his superhero alter ego Spider-Man as a new threat, the Vulture, emerges.”

Straight away what I like about Homecoming as an overall film is that it is familiar, and yet totally unique from the previous versions we’ve had in the past. Instead of getting the conventional origin story from the comics, we instead get a different kind of origin that feels more like “Spider-Man: The Early Years” instead of “Spider-Man: The Beginning“. There were a lot of recognizable elements on display for those aware of Spider-Man’s source material when it comes to Peter being a high school student, balancing his superhero life with his personal life and basically just growing up and dealing with the highs and lows that life throws at you. What’s great is that the story beats you know about the Spider-Man mythos are executed very well, but this also took a few risks as there were numerous surprises that really caught me off-guard and enhanced my experience of watching this film. Also tonally the film is perfect, Homecoming has the right balance of light-heartedness, action and heart that’s enjoyable for kids and adults. Plus the references to the comics is great for those paying attention with some cool verbal and visual material, oh and Spider-Man also fit into the MCU wonderfully, this adventure for all the travelling still felt small in scale with just the right amount of references from other films without being overbearing.

The cast for this film was excellent with there being memorable performances from everyone in the main cast to the minor roles and cameos too. Firstly there’s Tom Holland as who was perfect as Spider-Man/Peter Parker, I knew as soon as I saw Holland in Civil War that he’d crush it in this film but I didn’t know he’d kill it this well. Holland was the perfect Peter Parker, he was relatable, endearing, funny, heroic, a little cocky and tenacious, plus he was so charming and engaging to watch, that when you watch the successes and failures of this character you give a damn. Michael Keaton was really good as Adrian Toomes/Vulture, I appreciated how his character was not just a villain doing bad things for the sake of it, but had a logical reason for hs actions, he was perceptive and smart, and I thought the Vulture was elevated by Keaton’s performance which really gave the character a tough and intimidating presence. And then there’s Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man and he was great too, seeing Stark transition into the mentor role for Peter worked well for this story, his presence was notable but not nearly as overstated as the trailers would have you believe. Stark was used sparingly but his scenes had purpose, dramatic weight and the trademark humour that makes RDJ so fun to watch. Oh and the return of Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan was great, he was so gruff and serious andhis dry sense of humour lended itself to this film well.

Jacob Batalon was fabulous as Parker’s best friend Ned, I liked how funny, quirky and nerdy he was, but also how he was a genuine friend to Peter offering useful advance and helping him out once he discovers Peter’s secret. Zendaya was good as Michelle was pretty cool, she was this weird loner who was smart and rude but also quite funny, Zendaya really got into the role and you could tell she was having fun with the role. Also Laura Harrier as Liz was wonderful, she was so cute and kind and Harrier’s performance was so captivating. Tony Revolori as Flash was an interesting new take on the classic character, I liked how charismatic and hot-headed he was and he certainly had some memorable moments. Marisa Tomei as Aunt May was wonderful, I feared from the marketing that her role would be next to nothing, but thankfully May was upbeat, humourous and caring, but she also wasn’t a fool and said what was on her mind and Tomei made the character shine and stand out. I enjoyed what Donald Glover brought to the film as Aaron Davis, Hannibal Buress was really funny in his role, Bokeem Woodbine and Logan Marshall-Green were pretty solid too and finally Abraham Attah as Abe was easily one of my favourite people in the film with his dialogue making me laugh a lot.

When it comes to the presentation it was really good. Visually the film had good cinematography, good choreographed action sequences that when quick, funny and hard-hitting, oh and the CGI was really solid with some great attention to detail especially for Spider-Man’s suit. Besides certain scenes at night that were really dark and inconsistent visual effects, the visual side of things was great. And the film score by Michael Giacchino was pretty good, though not as impressive as I had hoped. Now don’t get me wrong, it captured the right kind of tone for the film and during some of the more upbeat/fun, adventurous or emotional moments the music was gorgeous and tapped into that signature sound that Giacchino is known for in his previous films, however, I felt like as an overall score it wasn’t as good as some of his previous material.

To conclude Spider-Man: Homecoming was wonderful and everything I wanted it to be and then some. And while I reckon Spider-Man 2 is still my favourite Spidey film, this first solo film in the MCU had the heart and soul of a good superhero film that gets better the more I think about it. Now I’m sure some people will find reasons to hate on this film but I can’t when it is so fun. 😀

So have you seen Spider-Man: Homecoming and if so what do you think of it? Be sure to drop me a comment and I’ll see ya on the next review! 🙂