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! 🙂