Spider-Man: Homecoming movie review

Spider-Man is considered the flagship character of Marvel for the longest time. There was a time that Marvel Animation is represented by Spider-Man in the logo. Spider-Man: Homecoming marks the third cinematic incarnation of the Marvel franchise in Columbia Pictures. The first incarnation started by Tobey Maguire was good until the third movie. The franchise was rebooted with Andrew Garfield until we were left hanging at the sequel when Columbia decided to reboot for a good reason. Spidey is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

 

Photo credit: Columbia Pictures

This was been a long time wish list among fans including yours truly when the Marvel Cinematic Universe first started. It was realized when the new incarnation of Spider-Man was introduced in Captain America: Civil War. Once again, we see Peter Parker as a high school student.

Spider-Man is a unique superhero. Even though he started as a teenager, he is Spider-Man not Spider-Boy. He was created by Stan Lee as something that reflects the generation of readers. During the late 60’s, the youth have been either the rebellious kind or the outcast.

Peter Parker reflects the one kind of outcast among the youth. In high school, there are jocks and cheerleaders but there are the nerds and geeks. For Peter, it was hard enough to loose parents at a young age but it is harder to be alienated in high school. The school is like a jungle when the bullying jocks takes on the weak like the geeks and the nerd. Their only escape is the world of comic books. I also experience being bullied. My elementary and high school is a nightmarish hell.

Marvel Comics introduced a new kind of hero in Spider-Man/Peter Parker. Despite his power, it also comes with responsibility which was the iconic line of the franchise, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Peter knew that but he learned it the hard way.

For Spider-Man: Homecoming, it expands the storyline after the events of Civil War and connects with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The reboot skipped the origin which is a good thing because it won’t appear good and we already know that. It also introduced the other Spider-Man villain which is making a debut in the cinematic universe.

Tom Holland proved to be the best new Spidey now because he is more than physically fit. He is a ballet dancer, a gymnast and he does parkour which is very essential for the role. Spidey has very articulate poses that shows in the movie. My only concern was there was no Spider-sense tingling. Vulture looks like a regular villain in his comic book version that it was cooler in this movie because he looks more grounded. I enjoyed watching Michael Keaton as a villain for the change because his Tim Burton's Batman image is still fresh in mind. We were able to see the perspective of the villain in this movie just like in the previous Spider-Man movies. This is the best comic book character Keaton brought to life.

As seen in the trailer, Tony Stark makes a lesser role as a mentor for Peter which is ideal. We know Iron Man became a hero because of his captivity while Peter decided to become a hero because of his powers and his personal loss and tragedy. Both Iron Man and Spider-Man are rebels and not as the same hero status a Captain America. In addition to Iron Man, there are mixture of old and new characters in this movie. We are introduced to Ned Leeds, Peter's best friend played by Jacob Batalon. He is also a key player in Peter in this story. What's good with using Ned instead of Harry Osborne so it won't be compared to the previous incarnations. Just so happens that Jacob is of Fil-Am descent. As for Aunt May, Marisa Tomei is still hot but I can get the point of casting her as younger. She is still a parental figure to Peter but she breaks a barrier of just being an aunt but also a friendly figure. The casting of primary Spider-Man characters is very inclusive now. They have diversity of racial backgrounds among the circle of Peter Parker. Marvel is trying to send a message here about diversity. If you notice, the teacher in Peter's class is black but in reality, most teachers are white. I draw reference from Superheroes Decoded.

What makes Spider-Man a good story because it is still a human reality Peter Parker is the real hero and Spider-Man is an image to cover his identity. I am hoping this will be the last reboot for the franchise. I highly recommended this movie for the fans. 

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