Director: Jon Watts
Running time: 133 minutes
The third best Spider-Man film
Spider-Man has finally joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Homecoming is of course not the first time that we have seen the web swinger in the MCU, as he made his first (and arguably scene stealing) appearance in Captain America: Civil War.
He is without doubt one of the stellar Marvel characters in their vast ensemble, so his lack of presence was always a missing cog in the successful money machine that is the MCU. So has it been worth the wait? yes and no. Homecoming is without question an entertaining action movie and worthy on its own merits, but it ends up lacking an identity, and to some extent I came away thinking it was a little forgettable.
The central cast is near perfect and full of charm, Tom Holland's interpretation as a young, high school attending Peter Parker is both sympathetic and endearing. Although time will tell, he doesn't have the sappy demeanour of Tobey Maguire's interpretation, or the aloof and unsympathetic Andrew Garfield take on the character. The same can also be said of Michael Keaton, who plays the central villain, Vulture. A blue collar contractor who wants to get his revenge on the Avengers. His motivation might be weak and underwritten, but they are at-least understandable, Spider-Man villains tend to pose threats that are smaller in scale compared to other comic book villains, so it follows that tradition.
Robert Downey Jr makes a cameo as Tony Stark, and it is just a cameo. It is nothing like the screen time that the trailer's might've suggested.
While the supporting characters feel like a big part of the story, none are that interesting, Peter's main love interest is just that, his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) is a little annoying. And I was surprised by the minimal screen time of Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), who as impressive as she was, couldn't have shared more than two or three scenes with Peter.
**
Another surprise was how passable the action scenes are, none were spectacular and all were a relative decline compared with any of the previous Spider-Man movies. Which links in with my next point, the movie feels peculiarly TV-esque. This might be because there is more of a focus on Peter Parker as a high schooler, it's a central part of the movie, whereas in the past movies it was kind of there in the background with little effect on the main plot outside of the characters interacting with each another.
**
While there's nothing extraordinary or even bad about the direction, or the way that the movie's shot. I was also surprised that the cityscapes of Manhattan were not used, there's boundless ways to be creative with Spidey swinging through the skies, especially in action set-pieces. I'd imagine that this will change in future sequels.
The small scope of the movie isn't entirely bad, the diversity of Queens shines through, and it feels like a character within the story, a place where people actually live rather than just a setting.
**
The movie fails to be bigger than the sum of its parts, the understandable absence of an origin story and uncle Ben do make the plot feel a little weightless. Which means that the only motivation Peter Parker has is by trying to impress Tony Stark so he can join the Avengers.
However, the movie is well worth your time and money for the entertainment factor alone, it's the funniest of all the Spider-Man movies so far. And none of the humour feels forced, and none of it outstays its welcome. But, above all, it successfully lays the seeds for what should be a promising line of sequels and a deeper take on the mythos of the character.
Verdict: 7/10
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