Spider-Man swung back into theatres last year when actor Tom Holland became the third actor to reprise the iconic role. Holland’s youth-infused, energetic performance as Spidey in Captain America: Civil War was instantly heralded by many as the best incarnation of the character to date, despite his limited screen time.
Spider-Man: Homecoming excels as a blend of fun action and teenage comedy. The comedic tone is set early with Peter’s reactions to his own fight in Civil War complete with goofy teenage remarks. Even the scenes where Peter is doing normal things like attending high school are funny and enjoyable, which is a huge nod to the production team’s grasp on Peter Parker as a character. The supporting cast only amplifies the John Hughes-esque vibe that could make for a very fun movie on its own. However, the team behind this movie also have a clear understanding when to shift tones during key action sequences and more intense encounters. The movie also does a good job of providing the audience with necessary information without retreading on things that have been shown ad nauseum in past films, and as far as Spider-Man movies go, this one features a surprising amount of unexpected twists and turns.
Tom Holland proved himself greatly, and in my opinion, is the best incarnation of Spider-Man. Neither Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield managed to provide the fun teenage persona that Tom brought to both the characters of Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Holland’s raw energy makes him the most relatable and entertaining Spider-Man yet. Michael Keaton is a stand out arms-dealer turned legendary Spider-Man villain, the Vulture. Keaton’s performance is routinely fantastic. In Homecoming, he brings enough grit and menace, while also plenty of motivation to draw empathy from the audience. Unfortunately, I don’t believe his villainous motivation was shown enough, thus making him hard to cement as anything more than a solid comic-book movie antagonist. While Holland and Keaton do most of the heavy lifting, as mentioned before, the supporting cast is superb. Jacob Batalon’s performance as Peter’s friend, Ned, brings a lot of comic support and realism, as the he behaves like an average person would if they discovered their friend was Spider-Man— even if at times his character is too over-the-top. Robert Downey Jr is not in the film as much as one might expect, but still turns in a great performance as Tony Stark. Famed actors/musicians Zendaya and Donald Glover tackled supporting roles, and although they preformed well, I wish their characters had more purpose, as their talents were somewhat wasted. Other famous Spider-Man characters such as Shocker and Flash Thompson are also featured, albeit mostly for fanservice. Shocker is shoehorned into the story and given little to do, while Flash is a ghost of his comic book self.
Other than some wasted performances and characters, the only serious issue I had with Homecoming involved pacing, especially towards the end of the second act. After a large action scene, director Jon Watts seemed to lose focus. He seemed undecided whether to stick to the fun, teen comedy tone, or a delve more into something serious. This lack of direction caused the film to drag for a little bit. Luckily, things pick up quickly and movie swings back in something fun and exciting.
In my opinion, Tom Holland is Spider-Man. Homecoming is the best, most-memorable Spider-Man film so far. Fun, exciting, relatable, and packed with great characters, Spider-Man: Homecoming is one of summer 2017’s best movies.
Rating: 4.4/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
Edited by Ben Wrixon
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