Spider-Man: Homecoming

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Spider-Man: Homecoming is the sixteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie deals with Peter Parker as he tries to juggle his high school life with being Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) becomes the villainous Vulture out of necessity, which makes one of the rare standouts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s villains. There is a scene in the movie involving Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and the Vulture that I think stands out as one of the absolute best in the movie. It’s not a fight scene. It’s a strictly dialogue-driven moment, but is incredibly tense none-the-less. I really think there’s something to the idea of a man forced to take up criminal activity to provide for his family. This is what I picture the Sandman in Spider-Man 3 would’ve been like if the whole movie was good. There are some liberties taken with certain characters that are bound to split fans’ opinions. These didn’t bother me that much. One was done more as homage to the comics, and less as “this is that character now.” The other felt more like the way someone could update the character for modern times. On the other hand, there was an A.I. put in his suit (it was designed by Tony Stark) named KAREN (voiced by Jennifer Connelly). I do think there were some good moments of back and forth between Holland and Connelly. My only worry is that this will be substituted out for his spider sense, but only time will tell. The action sequences and high school aesthetic actually work together better than one might expect. Jon Favreau and Robert Downey, Jr. reprise their roles as Happy Hogan and Tony Stark respectively. They feel like they appear in just the right amount of the movie. They don’t distract from the central conflict, but I never felt like I needed more of them either. Overall, some minor flaws are there, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that this is the best Spider-Man movie since Spider-Man 2.

9 / 10