Step aside Magarfield, there’s a new spider in the neighborhood.
I’ll just get right to it, Spider-Man: Homecoming is hands down the best Spider-Man movie to date. The reasons are vast, but the most apparent one is that Peter Parker is finally back home in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he belongs. Thanks to a heavenly deal between Sony and Marvel, we finally get to see Spider-Man in a universe that makes sense for his growth. It also doesn’t hurt that Tom Holland is crushing the role in every sense of the word.
Homecoming starts out right after the destructive Battle of New York. Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) and his clean-up crew have sealed a deal to clean up the wreckage and leftover Chitauri weaponry until their efforts are quickly taken over by Tony Stark’s Department of Damage Control. Pissed off at the fact that his business efforts were brought to a sudden end, Toomes convinces his crew to keep some of their previously recovered Chitauri tech instead of relinquishing it to the D.o.D.C. in an attempt to make and sell other-worldly weapons on the black market.
Eight years later, business is booming. Toomes and his men are selling crazy weapons to the criminals of New York and he even has a sweet robotic winged flying suit. The Vulture is in full effect. Good job Stark, first Ultron, now this.
In the meantime, Spider-Man has been introduced to the world during the events of Civil War and is now back home in Queens patiently awaiting his next “mission” from Stark. While trying to prove his worth and find his place as a superhero, he attempts to stop a bank robbery but quickly discovers that he is dealing with something a lot larger than he might have been prepared for. On top of that, he also has to prepare for the academic decathlon, help his best friend build a Lego Deathstar, work up the courage to ask his crush to the homecoming dance, AND hide the fact that he’s basically an Avenger from all of his loved ones (mainly his hot Aunt May played by Marisa Tomei), you know, typical high school stuff.
Spider-Man: Homecoming strays away from the typical superhero movie cliches and takes more of a teenage coming-of-age story approach. Imagine any movie that you loved from the 80s, but the main character is Peter Parker. Even though the advertising for the film makes it seem as though Iron Man is heavily involved, this is not true. This is most definitely a Spider-Man movie. A Spider-Man movie that introduces an incredibly likable and determined version of the webslinger, and quite possibly the best villain in the MCU. Michael Keaton’s Vulture is fantastic and grounded. Although he’s a smaller scale (like much the rest of the film) foe, he still managed to be intimidating and relatable.
I would be remiss if I didn’t also give praise to the single best character in Homecoming, Ned. Played by Jacob Batalon, Ned is Peter’s best friend and a major scene stealer. The world needs a spinoff film just about him called Ned. And while we’re at it, a Winter Soldier movie just called Bucky. It was also a major treat to see Jon Favreau’s Happy on screen again, and Zendaya and Donald Glover have some pretty memorable moments as well.
I’d give Spider-Man: Homecoming a 100/100, but our rating scale only goes up to 10. Jon Watts has directed not only a fantastic Spider-Man movie, but also a very well shot film about a kid from Queens trying to find his place in the world. Overall, the decision to omit the traditional origin story and just relying on the fact that the audience knows what’s up has done Spidey extremely well. We can’t wait to see what the MCU has in store for him next.
Welcome home, Peter.
