Spider-Man is on the Mount Rushmore of Superheroes (along with Batman, Superman,and superhero of your choice. I choose Wolverine), but other than the great Spider-Man 2, he's really had a hard time coming to life on the big screen. Toby Maguire's rendering of the web slinger kicked off the modern day Superhero craze (I know that X-Men started it, but the first Spider-Man movie took the craze nuclear), but his movies have not aged well (except for SM2, which is still a classic). Andrew Garfield's turn in the spandex suit never really connected with audiences (although I prefer his origin story to Maguire's), and the studio was more concerned with universe building than storytelling... leading to the absolute clunker of a film (Amazing Spider-Man 2... one of the most disappointing Superhero movies of all-time), and a franchise in desperate need of an identity. Enter Marvel... the juggernaut agreed with Sony to bring the character back into the fold of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tom Holland's brief role in last year's Captain America: Civil War was arguably the best part of that film and turned a skeptic like me (I didn't think the franchise could be saved) into a full-on believer.
And here we are. Spider-Man: Homecoming is the truest big screen rendition of the classic Marvel character to date, and Tom Holland is easily the best cinematic Spider-Man of all-time.
Since we were already introduced to the character in Civil War, Marvel wisely decided against another origin tale (great power = great responsibility was graciously spared of this one). Homecoming picks up where Civil War left off. Peter Parker is a high school sophomore who moonlights at night in the "Tony Stark Internship," a codename he uses to fight crime. Holland nails the character with a perfect blend of youthful naivete and aww shucks humor. His interactions with Jon Favreau's Happy Holland had me laughing out loud in the best of ways. Since we're back in the MCU, Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark appears sporadically (but definitely not overused) as Parker's mentor... to hilarious results.
The rest of the very diverse cast is great as well. They felt (and looked) like an actual New York City school, which I think really helped this film's credibility come through. Parker's best friend, Ned (played by Jacob Batalon), and the quirky Michelle (played with full piss and vinegar by Zendaya) were the two scene stealers of the movie. They were the perfect sidekicks to Holland's character. The best of this film part is that they didn't try to get a bunch of 30 year olds to play high school kids (which I always found distracting about the other films). It felt like actual high school kids with age appropriate feelings and actions. Kudos to the Marvel team. My one complaint about the cast is that Marisa Tomei's, Aunt Mae, was totally underused. She owned every scene that she was in, but there weren't enough for my liking. She also delivers the best line of the movie.
Another thing that I loved about this film is that it didn't take itself too seriously. It was having fun at every corner, without feeling silly. It also featured an hilarious scene that answered one of my biggest questions about Spider-Man. I always felt that if I was a villain in the Spider-Man universe, I would just do my criminal activities in the suburbs, which would prevent Spidey from swinging through the air. I won't ruin it, but there's a great action sequence that deals with this directly.
I'm giving Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 out of 4 stars. It's the best Spider-Man to date, and the best on-screen adaption of the actual Spider-Man character. I am excited to see this version show up in other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. It's not a film without flaws, and it's hard to rate the third attempt at a reboot a perfect film, but it's definitely enjoyable. It fits perfectly into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but is a film that can also be enjoyed by people who aren't that familiar with other movies (though I feel you should watch Civil War to get a refresher on the storyline).
Stick around for the standard post-credit scenes featuring an hilarious cameo from another Marvel favorite after the credits.
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