Spider-Man: Homecoming – Unpopped Review
Quick Review:
Spider-Man: Homecoming understands both sides of the iconic character and delivers on every level. It also introduces the second best MCU villain right behind Loki. This is definitely one you want to see.
Synopsis (iMDB):
Peter Parker, with the help of his mentor Tony Stark, tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school student in New York City while fighting crime as his superhero alter ego Spider-Man when a new threat emerges.
The Good:
Spider-Man Done Right – Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy captured Peter Parker almost perfectly with the nerdy and awkward mannerisms of Tobey Maguire, but lacked the wit and humor relevant to a Spider-Man story. Andrew Garfield was able to capture that tone while donning the suit, but he was always too charming to be Peter Parker. Peter Parker is supposed a bumbling genius who is never swave with the ladies. While Spider-Man is an quippy, imperfect superhero who tries his best but often makes things much worse before making them better. Tom Holland is able to capture both sides of the character perfectly. Because of this comic book accurate combination, we finally have the Spider-Man we deserve.
High School Drama – Spider-Man comics have always been about Peter Parker just as much as they have been about Spider-Man. It’s never just about how Spider-Man is going to take down the bad guy. It’s more about how is Peter Parker going to pass his math test, attend high school functions, and spend hours at night taking down criminals. This is the focus of Spider-Man: Homecoming. It’s less focused on Spider-Man the superhero and more focused on Peter Parker the high school student trying to do it all.
Michael Keaton as the Villain – Movies in the MCU have a terrible reputation of having one note and uninteresting villains. Most hold Loki as the best villain and some say that The Mandarin was at least interesting even though it may not have been handled well. Well, now we have Michael Keaton as the Vulture a classic Spider-Man villain that has brought depth to the MCU. A large part of that I’d contribute to the story and script, but you can’t short change Michael Keaton’s performance. I really don’t want to give anything of his character away, but he does an amazing job, especially in the third act.
The Ehh:
Too Many MCU Connections – Now, I love good universe building as much as the next Marvel zombie, but Spider-Man: Homecoming has a bit too much. From a few too many appearances of Tony Stark to dozens of easter eggs thrown in at every moment possible. I understand why they did them. The average moviegoer might be going into Spider-Man: Homecoming not knowing that it is the same character that appeared in Captain America: Civil War and maybe some of them still haven’t seen Civil War. So many of these obvious connections were for the general movie audience and not the hardcore Marvel fan.
Final Act Hard to Follow – It could have been the theater lighting or projection, but I had a real tough time following exactly what was going on. I liked where it built up to, but I just wish that the lighting could show off what was happening rather than obscure it. Just another exciting fight hurt by taking place at night.
The Ugh-ly:
Nothing – I mean… come on. Did you really think there’d be one?
Verdict:
Spider-Man: Homecoming is a perfect Spider-Man movie that is fun and exciting from beginning to end! At this point I’d even consider it to be the best movie of the summer. I know I said it before, but I’ll say it again, this is definitely one you want to see.
See in Theaters & Buy on BluRay
