Spider-Man: Homecoming

I still remember my feelings seeing Spider-Man in the trailer for "Captain America: Civil War". The film introduced a kind of Spider-Man that worked so well as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Previous actors who have portrayed Spider-Man in live action were not cast to mingle with fellow superheroes but Tom Holland had the chemistry required with both Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. Now in "Spider-Man: Homecoming", Holland had to prove that he could entertain in his own movie as the lead character. Even though he was amazing in "Civil War", this was not a guarantee "Homecoming" as a film would succeed because even Hugh Jackman could not carry "X-Men Origins". The Toby Maguire films were for the most part good movies but the Andrew Garfield films fell short of expectations. Thankfully, "Homecoming" was as good as the first two Maguire films. The filmmakers did not make any mistakes that other superhero movies have made in the past. The reason why "Homecoming" was not better than some of the past live action incarnations was that over the past fifteen years, we have had five Spider-Man films come our way and two of them were part of a reboot franchise. This affected the originality of this new cinematic adaptation but the filmmakers did as well as can be expected with this excess baggage.

When "Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man 2" were released, I liked them but I felt their level of drama prevented them from being truly special. Nothing is wrong with drama but it must be balanced with humor in order to be most effective. "Homecoming" favored light-heartedness over drama and that was a nice change of pace from the previous versions. The filmmakers made other changes for the sake of originality. Tom Holland is younger than either Maguire or Garfield were when they first performed as the web-slinger. This makes Peter Parker a believable high school student in "Homecoming". Another decision the filmmakers agreed upon was to pay reference to the John Hughes films of the 1980's. The clip of "Farris Bueller's Day Off" makes this apparent. Past Spider-Man films were not as focused on Peter's high school life as this movie was so that was fresh. Another element that gave "Homecoming" some originality was the local hero persona given to our main character. For the first time in live action, he truly is the friendly-neighborhood Spider-Man with emphasis on the "neighborhood". In the MCU, the citizens of Queens wouldn't question Spider-Man's superpowers considering the existence of other heroes. They are instead proud of their local hero and the fame he has garnished on YouTube. On that note, I love how the movie re-introduces Holland's Peter Parker via his video log of the events in "Civil War". Some people said that the trailer for "Homecoming" spoiled much of the plot but I counter by saying that it didn't spoil everything. Besides the plot twist, which I really didn't see coming, Spider-Man's suit is more high tech than we thought. This also creates originality while reinventing the character as part of the MCU. At first I thought this new suit was deviating too far from the source material but the comics do have an issue of Spider-Man with a high tech suit courtesy of Tony Stark. Honoring the source material is important when making a superhero film as other comic book films have failed at the box office for not doing so.

There are a number of other mistakes that can be made when adapting a comic book into a movie. Some examples include a lack of originality, forcing supporting characters in the movie that don't contribute to the story, bad casting and a bad costume. I thought that the filmmakers were teasing us concerning the latter with the reveal of a new Spider-Man suit at the Avengers headquarters but Peter did sport that outfit later in "Infinity War". The filmmakers did avoid the other mistakes I listed quite well. Another flaw when it comes to comic book moviemaking is surplus as in too many subplots, foreshadowing scenes, villains, jokes, one-liners, CGI shots, exposition or product placement. "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" is an example of a show with too many villains and that contributed to the termination of the Garfield incarnation. "Homecoming" had no surplus problems and found a nice balance with its narrative structure. The show may have a few supporting villains but they don't compete for screen time as they support the main villain: the Vulture. He was a wonderful two-dimensional hero with a unique back story. I think he is the best MCU villain since Ultron (Zemo gets an honorable mention here). Rather than taking the risky path of reinventing a villain that we have already seen in live action, a new Spidey villain was smarter way to go for originality sake and thankfully Peter has a nice-sized rouges gallery. Those behind the scenes also gave us just the right amount of foreshadowing for upcoming sequels. The f inal shot of Peter in his room while in costume is something I am excited to see resolved. The mid credit scene has me wondering whether the Vulture has changed or not. Both the Maguire and Garfield franchises began with an origin story. Those behind the MCU knew that one generation of movie fans didn't needed three film versions of the same origin story. This was probably the smartest decision in the making of "Homecoming". One of the biggest misconceptions in the history of comic book movies is that "The Dark Knight" was successful because of a darker tone. The truth is that Christopher Nolan took a realistic approach in making "The Dark Knight Trilogy". DC and other studios have tried to put a darker, grittier spin on some classic comic book characters and that is why most, if not all, failed to fully please audiences. The MCU is not known for a dark tone and so "Homecoming", as mentioned, has a similar light-hearted feeling as other films that take place in said universe. Sony and Marvel Studios appear to have found a nice compromise with this famous character becoming part of the MCU. Creatively, while Sony did have final say, they let Marvel have a lot of creative leeway. I think Sony knew that in order for the film to succeed, they had to avoid accessive executive interference. This is yet another known flaw of many failed superhero movies.

In the casting of "Civil War", Tom Holland beat out Asa Butterfield for the role and I am glad because I don't think Butterfield has the comedic chops to play Peter Parker. Then again, I first saw Holland in "The Impossible" and that was a very dramatic role so my judgment on Butterfield may be unfounded. I didn't discover Holland was in "The Impossible" until I wrote this and had I known that fact going in to "Civil War", I may have had the same doubts concerning Holland as I have with Butterfield. Had I known that Holland was the eldest child in "The Impossible" preceding "Homecoming", I would have had full confidence in him as an actor. Instead, I gained that confidence after seeing his character buried in the rubble. That was Holland's most dramatic moment. I will say that it was a little hard to accept him as a leading actor because he fit so well as a supporting character in "Civil War". This is one flaw however that has dissipated upon multiple viewings. For preparation, Holland went to school in The Bronx for a few days and the students there were unaware of his true reason for his brief attendance at their school. We have a case of art imitating reality with both "Civil War" and Homecoming" because Robert Downey Jr. became an acting mentor to Holland during the production of both films. Considering that Michael Keaton is both Birdman and Batman, it is fitting that he was cast as the Vulture. He is a large reason why Adrian Toomes was such a great villain. A shout out must also be given to Jacob Batalon as Ned. Yet another great decision the filmmakers made was to have one of Peter's friends find out about his secret and geek out. It did much to satisfy the need for originality. I finally have seen Bokeem Woodbine in another movie besides "Ray" and that was satisfying. Donald Glover is a rising star with some famous roles on the horizon and he was a welcomed familiar face. The character of Flash is usually a big jock/bully but instead is portrayed as a rich snob/bully. This is another welcomed change that was minor enough to do some good. As a fun fact, Jennifer Connelly (wife of Paul Bettany) is the voice of Karen. We get some MCU alumni besides Downey and Stan Lee in "Homecoming". There is of course the humorous Captain America videos with Chris Evans. I love how Jon Favreau, who started the whole MCU in many ways, is Peter's supervisor in the film. This almost makes him a second real-life mentor for Holland. I was quite surprised by another cameo in the scene at Avengers headquarters. Turning my attention to those behind the scenes, this is Michael Giacchino's second Marvel film as a musical composer and I loved his use of Spider-Man's classic theme during the Marvel logo. His main original theme and his theme for the Vulture were also good. The working title for this film was "Summer of George" and I would love to know why the filmmakers used that Seinfeld phrase. Another easter egg that I enjoyed in the film was Principal Morita, who shares a last name with another minor MCU character in "Captain America".

As with "Ant-Man" and "Thor", a character is introduced (or rather re-imagined) that will be even more entertaining as part of an ensemble. Unlike those two characters though, Spider-Man has a huge following and we have already seen him alongside other heroes. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" is able to stand alongside the first two Maguire films. Despite all originality to be had in "Homecoming", the Maguire films were released first and getting there first usually has its advantages. "Homecoming" may have a lot of recent predecessors to hinder its ability to be completely original but despite that, the show entertains and will continue to entertain multiple times. It may even start to feel separate from the previous incarnations as time passes. Tom Holland can star in his own film and take his place with the Avengers so I can't ask for more than that.

4 Stars out of 5