By Steve CrumSpidey sense is truly working this time around for the creative producers at Columbia and Marvel. Spider-Man: Homecoming slings and swings in big time. This one is the best Spider-Man movie ever, and among the best of any in the history of superhero films. Am I exaggerating? Nope.
There are three primary reasons this new Spider-Man flick works so well. First, the writers get it right by centering the story on Peter Parker the teenager, and his camaraderie at high school. Creating and expanding upon a likable, pretty nerdy buddy Ned (Jacob Batalon) is a plus. (I understand Ned is a fusing of two of Parker’s pals from the comic books.) For comic-based characters, their interactions are fun and credible. Previous Spider-Man movies have certainly included Peter Parker’s home and school life, but never so fleshed out. Jon Watts’ deft direction as well as the six (!) screenwriters should be credited for this accomplishment.
Secondly, the inclusion of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) helps launch this new and improved Spidey reboot. Remember that since 2002, there have been six major Spider-Man movies with three actors (Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Tom Holland) portraying the web slinger. I am not counting Holland’s first appearance as Spider-Man last year in Captain America: Civil War. That all said, Iron Man/Tony Stark serves well as Spider-Man/Peter Parker’s mentor.
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Director Jon Watts (right) chats with leads Tom Holland and Michael Keaton during a break in filming.
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The third ingredient is Tom Holland. For the first time, an actor cast as Peter Parker physically looks like a 15 year-old. Holland, who is actually 21, must be blessed with Dick Clark genes. He is a clone of the comic book’s Peter Parker. Just to make things even better, Holland is a damn fine actor.
Spider-Man: Homecoming opens soon after the Avengers defeated aliens in The Battle of New York. Alien robotic remnants are being salvaged by a clean-up crew headed by Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes (later The Vulture). Toomes and his crew have just begun to load various alien debris. We soon discover that much of that scrap has extraordinary properties, including levitation. Before the crew’s job is completed, however, government feds intervene. Toomes and his group are supposed to surrender everything they have collected, but they don’t quite do so. Instead, they end up with some prime outer space junk which they soon rework into powerful weaponry sold on the black market. Then they start stealing what the federal government took, and that gives per se birth to The Vulture, a flying wing-like robot encasing desperate-to-keep-the-money-flowing Toomes.
As this is happening, cut to a depressed Peter Parker, emotionally down after being ousted from an Avengers training program by Tony Stark. Parker even loses his official Spider-Man costume. He just wants to prove himself worthy to be a real Avenger, but settles on solving thefts and assaults around NYC. Of course, he eventually crosses paths with The Vulture.
Many of the expected favorites are back, including Marisa Tomei’s sexy Aunt May. She is a far cry from the comic book origin, and certainly not a little ol’ lady. Jon Favreau returns as Tony Stark’s security head, Happy Hogan. Look for Tyne Daly and Donald Glover in small roles.
And be prepared for several spectacular set pieces. My favorite is the Staten Island Ferry sequence. But you might find the Washington Monument caper equally exciting.
Spider-Man: Homecoming provides 133 minutes of dazzling escape. That includes two extra clips featuring an Avenger during and after the credit roll.
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GRADE on an A-F Scale: A