Synopsis:

A young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in Captain America: Civil War, begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine – distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man – but when the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened.

What We Thought:

Spider-Man: Homecoming is the best Spider-Man film since Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man 2 and honestly, it might be my favorite Spider-Man film to date. There’s one reason for that, Tom Holland.

Everyone loved Tom Holland in Captain America: Civil War. “Underoos” stole that movie along with Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man. That gave me hope that a standalone Spidey might be good because I hadn’t liked the previous 3 films. Holland took the buzz from Civil War and ran with it and he seems like a perfect Peter Parker.

As a youngster himself, Holland looks and acts the part. He’s charming, shy, awkward and everything you want in a Peter Parker. Instead of giving us yet another origin story, the film opens brilliantly. It explains Michael Keaton’s character and then shows Peter Parker being your typical teen. There’s a really good explanation for why he shows up in the battle in Civil War and Parker’s “footage” of the events is hysterical. That’s what I loved most about this latest film, it brought comedy back to Spider-Man. Being a stereotypical teen of today, Peter has to video everything and clashes with Jon Favreau’s Happy along the way. You are immediately drawn to Holland and his charm on-screen.

Then Peter is thrown right back into his normal life of high school, lying to Aunt May and wanting to be a superhero. The high school scenes are perfect. He’s awkward around Liz, a girl he likes. He has a best friend in Ned, played by Jacob Batalon who might steal this film ala Michael Pena in Ant-Man. There’s the bully Flash, who honestly is my least favorite part of the film. I like the actor who plays Flash, Tony Revolori, but this version of Flash Thompson is today’s millennial bully who talks a good game, but just isn’t the physical bully I prefer Peter having. Just punch him in the face and get it over with. Peter gets detention, skips out on school and even goes to a party. All age appropriate things for a young Peter Parker.

Parker wants to use his powers for good so badly that early on he gets into more trouble than he should. This is where Tony Stark/Iron-Man gets involved. If you watched the trailers and thought there was going to be too much Iron-Man in this, don’t worry. Yes Stark plays a huge role in Peter’s life, but that’s just to help the kid get beyond his training wheels stage. Tony sees potential in Peter and keeps an eye on him, but allows him to make mistakes and ultimately become the hero he wants to be. Iron-Man is in this film, but make no mistake, this is 100% a Spider-Man film.

Then there’s Michael Keaton. The former Batman star plays the villain Vulture in this. Vulture might be one of the most fleshed out villains in a Marvel movie. You completely understand why he becomes a villain and it continues Marvel’s storyline of actions having consequences. Keaton, as usual, is great.

There are so many good things about Spider-Man: Homecoming. There is a big plot twist that I didn’t see coming and it genuinely works. The film has a lot of laughs and a great soundtrack. Donald Glover makes an appearance and makes reference to having a nephew that Spider-Man comic fans should immediately understand. Just like with Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, at this point I can’t see anyone else playing Peter Parker besides Tom Holland. The kid is perfect in the role.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Cast & Crew:

Tom Holland

Michael Keaton

Zendaya

Donald Glover

Tyne Daly

Marisa Tomei

Robert Downey Jr.

Jon Favreau

Recommended If You Like:

Spider-Man

Captain America: Civil War

Marvel Movies