The friendly neighbourhood Spider Man finally appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Spiderman: Homecoming exemplifies how Marvel makes movies that are both very fun yet free of substance.
Spider Man bears no introduction, it’s been done to death (a joke Marvel have used twice now, in both this and Civil War). This latest incarnation brings Peter Parker (Tom Holland) against the villain Vulture (Michael Keaton) and to be honest these were the only two characters I cared about. The supporting cast include the tutor (Robert Downey Jr.), the nerd (Jacob Batalon), the love interest (Laura Harrier), the bully (Tony Revolori) and the outcast (Zendaya). The sub villain Shocker #1 (Logan Marshall-Green) is so forgettable he’s replaced with Shocker #2 (Bokem Woodbine).
The Vulture antagonist was very compelling. He had a clear backstory, motivation and drive to commit crime, albeit with a skewed moral compass. Michael Keaton carried the role perfectly, playing the tough act and the softer ‘at-home’ Adrian Toomes that we meet for a small time. The joke of Keaton playing flying animals writes itself.
We join our new Spiderman post Captain America: Civil War as he tries to come to grips with what he thinks is a new opportunity for him as an international crime fighter. After being ignored by Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and Tony Stark, he takes matters into his own hands and winds up in the Vulture’s talons. Tony keeps having to swoop in and save the day until Spider Man gets too cocky and goes after Vulture after removing the tracking beacon. Peter is portrayed as incredibly foolhardy with his heart in the right place. On multiple occasions he tries to save others, regardless of whose side they’re on, from their own demise.
The characters have almost zero development. Peter remains a sort of nerdy outcast at his school, Spider Man remains friendly neighborhood (granted, this was by choice), the bully remains the bully and the only person who has an impact on is Liz who has to leave town due to her father being outed as an international super villain. Tony Stark and Happy Hogan appear to end up with a greater understanding and appreciation of the ‘little guy’ when it comes to the greater scheme of superhero crime fighting but they still try and push him into a role of international crime fighting.
The movie carries itself as extremely American. The high school quiz tournament and idea of Homecoming meant nothing as a resident of the UK. It certainly removed what I can assume was a level of importance from the overall plot.
However, the American central theme does nicely tie into one of my most appreciated plot point which was the use of mixed race casting. These movies are usually filled with pasty white guys because that’s what they’ve always done. By using the melting pot of an American high school the writers did a great justice by branching out with the casting of various ethnicities.
There were points the movie became very self referential which usually isn’t that big of a deal with comic movies, they are comics after all. However this was a little too heavy handed at times and removed any element of seriousness and urgency from the situation.
Not sure if it was just me but the ending was very unusual. Peter declines to join the Avengers and a scene takes place with Tony, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow (who although only shows up for the last 5 minutes gets almost top billing on the cast list)) and Happy Hogan where Tony and Pepper announce their engagement. It seemed out of place and thrown into a movie that has nothing to do with them.
In usual comic book movie fashion, a fun movie that’s worth seeing but don’t expect anything more than a visual feast. Marvel have the ability to integrate fantastic scripts into their movies (see Civil War) but this went too heavy on the jokes than it did on the story telling.