It's got charm, wit and style - just missing heart.

Rating: 6/10 (23 July 2017)

In Spider-Man's fifth appearance on the big screen they chose a very different approach for his character and it pays off greatly. Peter Parker is a humble teenager who just can't wait to be a superhero. His conflict is that he has been deemed by his hero and mentor,r Iron Man, as merely a "superhero in training". Taking influences from John Hughes movies of the past, Marvel tells a teen movie as best they can. The only issue is that it is too "super" to truly embody the spirit of John Hughes films. Director/writer John Hughes films succeeded because he so well understood the ethos of adolescence, from teenage insecurity to high school hopes and ambitions, John Hughes had an innate sense of how teenagers ticked and how to make his teenage characters emotionally relatable. Its hard to tell a story that is emotionally relatable when its about a teenage boy who has been recruited for something so great. It may be relatable to the likes of Lebron James, who couldn't wait to be drafted to the NBA out of high school, but for most audience members Spider-Man's conflict could come off as less-relatable - or at least less emotionally significant. And therein lies the biggest issue with this movie: it seems to lack heart. Spider-Man is driven by wanting to be taken seriously, by wanting to be a real superhero. In climatic moments his emotional motivation is just to not let down his hero Tony Stark - rather than being driven by any deeper personal commitments to loved ones or any intimate personal reasons. Its a main plot that does drive character development, but its so lightweight of an emotional anchor it seems like it would work better as a subplot. In some ways this is a nice change of pace for a superhero movie, but there are some scenes in which the film tries desperately to drum up emotion and hearken to the heart of the film, and its these scenes that just feel empty and shallow. But for the rest of the film its light on its feet. It is charming and Tom Holland and his supporting cast of teenage friends are a joy to watch. My only hope is that going forward they are able to find a deeper, more relatable emotional heart for Spider-Man's story.