Where we all wanted him to be

Rating: 7/10 (1 October 2018)

Everyone seemed to like the Tobey Maguire 'Spiderman' trilogy (although less said about 'Part III' the better), some people were okay with the Andrew Garfield reboot, but then all five films came along before Marvel's 'shared universe' really kicked off. As soon as it became 'the norm' to see Captain America crossing over with Iron Man, Thor and the like, everyone wanted to see their favourite web-slinger swinging alongside them. However, it seemed that there was one force more powerful than a thousand Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Thanos - studio film rights. Sony held the rights to Spiderman, rather than Disney, so, after much wrangling, it was decided that Sony would allow Disney to include him into their 'shared universe' (hence creating the 'Homecoming' part of the title). And the result is pretty good.
At least the film-makers were aware that, seeing as we've already had two 'origin stories' in a matter of years, most of us are already aware of how teenager Peter Parker got bitten by a radioactive spider and it gave him superpowers (plus he had a kind of extended cameo in 'Captain America: Civil War' to remind us all of his roots). So they don't waste any time with how he came to be and we join him already 'webbing' local muggers around his home city of New York.
I think out of all the Marvel films in this current batch, 'Spiderman Homecoming' seems the most designed 'for kids.' It's predominantly about teenagers and I would say its primary audience would be pre-teens. That could be a criticism, if it wasn't for the fact that it's one of those rare filmic beasts that can also be enjoyed by adults, whether you're heavily into the MCU or just casually aware of it.
It's worth noting that if there's one weak point the MCU has, it's lack of decent villains (excluding Loki and Thanos, of course). Therefore, not only do they get (former awesome Batman himself) Michael Keaton as the villain, but they give him some half decent motivation for his actions - he was a contractor employed by New York council to clear up the debris left by the alien attack which the Avengers thwarted, only for him to lose the deal after investing heavily in it. This makes him no fan of Iron Man and co! Now Spidey has a feeling that he's about to start selling weapons based on alien tech to the highest bidder, regardless of the cost to human life.
Of course, having Spidey in the Marvel universe wouldn't be worth doing unless we could have some decent cameos from other superheroes and who better to add in than everyone's favourite billionaire, Tony Stark (aka Iron Man). Naturally, Robert Downey Jr is excellent, even in small doses, but, more importantly, adds a much-needed sense of a 'bigger world' at work for Peter Parker to exist in. And who doesn't like seeing Iron Man and Spiderman teaming up to fight side by side? Tony Stark also acts as a kind of mentor/Uncle Ben figure to our young hero, further helping to do away with repeated backstory.
There's obviously a great deal of special effects needed to show the destruction caused by flying fighters and teenagers swinging all over well-known monuments, so expect plenty of CGI. However, it's certainly improved a lot since the first Sam Rami Spiderman movie where the effects looked more like cut scenes from a Playstation game. Here, much of Spidey's movements almost look natural (almost, I'm being generally forgiving).
Overall, 'Spiderman Homecoming' is a worthwhile addition to the MCU. It's certainly the most 'happy go lucky' of all the colourful films and hopefully Sony will release some of Spidey's other characters who they also own the rights to.