Spider-Man: Homecoming is pure Marvel Cinematic Gold!

Rating: 9/10 (7 July 2017)

Yes, I can easily call Spider-Man: Homecoming the best movie of this Summer, and competing very hard to be one of the best Marvel movies till date. Let me elaborate on why I think so.
Picking up from where Civil War left off, Homecoming finds our teenage superhero feeling a little bit impatient for he has been pretty much left on the sidelines by his mentor Tony Stark ever since the battle at the Leipzig Airport. Peter wants to be an Avenger at any cost, and stopping street level thugs and petty robberies isn't helping his cause in any way. Unlike the Spidey movies that preceded this one, Spidey is not the only hero in town anymore. So, while Toby's and Andrew's web-slinger and their endeavors were kind of a phenomenon for the city-dwellers, they are a little bit meh for the citizens residing in this reality existing in the MCU , and can you blame them? They have seen Super Soldiers, Demi-Gods, a city invaded by a giant Alien Army and what not. So while a guy swinging on webs and climbing up walls does impress them, it does not make their jaws drop in awe anymore.
Make no mistake, Homecoming is not a movie about a world at peril or anything similarly devastating. Instead, it's a small and grounded adventure with heart. A lot of heart. And that is where Tom Holland shines. I have never seen both Spider-Man and Peter Parker being portrayed so comic accurately on screen. Tom brings out the raw youthful, untrained, underdog side of Peter that we have rarely seen on screen. Peter is a kid(albeit a genius one) and despite being granted these awesome super powers, he is still 15. The movie puts the struggles of Peter's dual life at the forefront more than ever, and stuff like missing quizzes, being a nerd and having a huge crush on the popular girl at school are given as much importance as fighting the big bad guys. The John Hughes influence is clearly seen here. And oh boy, is it funny. While Sam Raimi and Marc Webb's version did provide an occasional chuckle here and there, this one is a laughathon from the beginning till the end. Be it the awkwardness of Peter Parker or him dealing unsuccessfully with his new suit(Training wheels off!), or the amusing antics of best friend Ganke.. oops.. Ned Leeds(Jacob Batalon), the smiles stick to your face almost throughout the whole of the movie.
But be prepared to feel your happy face turn upside down by the menace of the new baddie in town, yes, I am talking about The Vulture. This is a guy whose livelihood gets almost Damaged indirectly by Tony Stark, and resorts to dealing in illegal weaponry made out of Chitauri Tech to provide for his family, in the process becoming the scary looking big mechanical winged bird guy known as the Vulture. Micheal Keaton hits this one out of the park, what with one of his most menacing portrayals till date. We cant call him downright evil, since he is only doing this to make the lives of his daughter and wife better and knows that he has to work hard for his gains since he hasn't got the luxury and the frills that come with it like Tony Stark has. He is not into the whole "Grrr, I hate Spider-Man, I will kill him at any cost!" gig that most Spidey baddies are into, instead he just wants to go about his job without any interference. Hell, he even gives Peter the chance to walk away from this and pretend that it never happened. He is not anti-social, since he has a pretty healthy family and a seemingly normal life. But to see the real menacing side of him, sit tight for that awesome face to face confrontation just before the Homecoming dance(Oh, so many spoilers right there, but my lips are sealed for now!) His restraint in killing Peter time and again, despite having the means and opportunity to do so speaks volumes for the complexity of Adrian Toomes is, but Peter does pay his debts off at the end(Oops, again spoiler territory).
Both Jacob Batalon and Zendaya play the parts that are required of them absolutely perfectly.. Pay a little more attention to Zendaya though, her character, though having a short turn in this movie, has more than what meets the eye, I liked Tony Revolori's new take on Flash Thompson, since he is the modern day bully , being only a minor annoyance to Peter rather than a douche, in fact he is no idiot at all since he has his IQ points set pretty much on the above average scale(Come on, he is on the Quiz team!).
Marisa Tomei has so few scenes in this movie. She is the cool aunt everyone loves and props up every now and then to give a bit of motherly guidance to Peter and that's it. She has no where close to the emotional impact Rosemary Harris had in the Raimi films.
Robert Downey Jr is his usual self and whizzes through his scenes with a charm that only he can conjure.
So, to summarize, Spider-Man:Homecoming is one good movie. It's funny, it has charm and wit, and a protagonist having a flair seen never before in this aspect,making the role of the wall crawling, web-swinging superhero his very own. As of today, Tom IS the definitive Spider-Man/Peter Parker I wanted to see on film since forever and it's a joy to know that he have a bigger part in the MCU for many more years to come. Do not miss this movie for the world, in fact after the end credits roll, you will be tempted to give it another watch.
Psst.. The mid credits scene is a doozy Don't miss it!