From the moment the trailers said too much, it seemed like Spider-Man Homecoming had nothing left to hide, yet low and behold, it did. It was actually really cool. Not the “really cool” designated for great films that surpassed your lofty expectations, but the one used when a film exceeds the preconceived notions you have for the 16th installment in a length film series about fast talking men and women with superpowers in spandex. Both fresh and fun, Homecoming struts a to a plucky, cartoony beat while Spidey never gets tired of shooting of his webslingers or his mouth.
No doubt, this film was shot like it was going to be rotoscoped, but they forgot to animate over the actors. Every scene is so animated, finding traction somewhere between the Amazing Spider-Man cartoons and the more zany shows like Freakazoid and Animaniacs. There is so much youth in this film, if it were an avocado, you couldn’t break the skin. When Robert Downey Jr. took on the role of Tony Stark utilizing his mile a minute wit, I never imagined that they would find in Tom Holland an equally powerful motor mouth powered by high school angst. In the villain’s corner, Michael Keaton performs as one of the best bad guys in the MCU. Smart but on edge, the Vulture is a much less powerful villain than any in the MCU in recent memory and still provides a real challenge for our very young hero.
The spice of this film comes from Peter’s friends and aunt. Best friend and excited confidant Ned (Jacob Batalon) plays his character straight a comic page. Every line a joke, every movement and expression for yuks. Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), like her cameo in Civil War, plays a much younger and much more aware family member than any previous version of her, on screen or on the page. She’s so hip and permissive, it’s hard to imagine she is supposed to be his parent. The downbeat of this film is that, for the most part, I didn’t find myself laughing along with the audience, unless delivered by comics like
and Hannibal Buress. The jokes are well timed and delivered, but they are so predictable they didn’t tickle my funny bone. Prepare yourself for a deluge of tepid MILF jokes. By far the most appropriate film in the MCU, they are mostly mild teen jokes that you would be totally fine coming from the mouth of babes. It doesn’t drag the film down, but it doesn’t elevate it either. It’s TV-PG cartoon humor on the big screen.
What truly elevates this outing is that the story is smaller, well contained and ultimately entertaining. Personally, this version of Peter Parker isn’t my favorite. Even though he comes off awkward, he has too much self confidence and hubris. Yet, I can’t really fault them for that, because he comes off as very genuine and good natured. It fits. The juxtaposition between Spidey, Iron Man, and the Vulture is also well written, creating tensions expertly, despite Vulture having basically the storyline from Sam Raimi’s first run. In fact, there is a lot of Raimi in this film, if you look for it. Also worthy of note is the evolution of Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori) and MJ (Zendaya). Both played by people of color and completely different interpretations that have nothing to do with their color.
This is an MCU film for everyone. A bit more accessible than Doctor Strange, much more tame than Avengers, more focus than Captain America Civil War, and finally drops the dead weight of Spidey’s origin story. Homecoming spends most of its time landing jokes, even in the midst of action, that it doesn’t really become a standard superhero film until its 3rd act, which might be its greatest strength. Just under par with the best, this is certainly a great first outing for Spider-Man. It was just that kind of “really cool”.
~* 8.5/10 *~
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