Ambiguous morally, unconvincing hero

Rating: 5/10 (11 July 2017)

Marvel proposed another kind of Spider-Man, free from all the bad reboots. The film pictures Peter Parker, much younger than the previous versions, in an unexplainable and selfish attempt to catch the attention of Tony Stark (more on that later). He is still the nerdy, awkward, super smart teenage boy, but this time portrayed in a much racially diverse and politically correct environment: his love interest, Liz, is black, his best friend, Ned, is Filipino, his bully, Flash, appears to be of Indian origin. There are only hints of Peter's life up to this point, nothing very explicit. Not starting the story arc from the beginning might have been a good thing, nobody wanted to see Uncle Ben die again. But still, the Uncle played a very important role in the origin story, as the father-figure and the voice of reason acting as the decisive factor in Peter's coming of age. This adaption doesn't have such a figure. Aunt May, she too, much younger than previous films, is only the preoccupied mother-figure, with only general interest in her nephew, lacking any deep emotional connection with the protagonist. Happy Hogan, the appointed supervisor, doesn't seem to care about him very much, trying to constantly avoid talking to him. Tony Stark is the closest thing Peter has to a Uncle Ben, but their relationship is troublesome. We are somehow left to believe that the only interest Stark has in him is in building a new avenger. He gives him a suit and lets him learn how to use it, without offering proper advise or moral indication as to what it means to be a superhero what so ever. The hero is left to figure his stuff out, living with the ideal of being an Avenger, but without knowing the deep implications of engaging in a heroic act. If he should succeed, then Stark got himself a new weapon. If not, then he is to be stopped from pursuing the superhero business. This situation results in some moral ambiguity. In the previous adaptations, it was easy to distinguish the bad guys from the good ones. They did the generic bad guy staff (robbed banks, murdered innocent people etc.) either having no moral compass, or being controlled by evil forces. Peter was driven by stopping them for the greater good, himself being raised by his notorious relatives with a high degree of morality. But in this movie, the only reason of Peter being a hero is to impress Stark and be part of the Avengers. This selfish drive makes him even cherish when a crime is in progress, so that he can show off his skills. The villain, Vulture, is a mafia boss running an illegal gun factory that uses stolen alien technology. Because of this, we are left to believe he is the bad guy. His most despicable act is killing a disobedient subordinate (a bad guy himself). He is an avid entrepreneur, keen on keeping his business running and his family happy. He doesn't want to destroy the world, or take over the city with his weapons. He doesn't want power, and is afraid of law, especially the Avengers. This makes him an atypical villain. He is not the selfish one here, Peter is. Producing weapons and selling them is blameworthy, but then again, this is exactly how Stark made his fortune, with the only difference that he was (probably) selling them legally. Peter can't wait to take down any guy, and uses his power only with the apparent reason of doing justice, without thinking about the consequences. Any action he involves himself in turns out really bad, with numerous peoples life put in great danger. Without his implication, an ATM would have been robbed, some weapons would have been sold, and some alien artefacts would have been stolen. Wicked things, but without any direct civilian casualties. Peter is so disastrously bad at preventing those things that Stark is forced to confiscate his suit, the principal source of his powers up to this point. The selfish Peter is now gone. Without being an Avenger at stake, he can now rejoice in his normal urban life. He even manages to overcome his timidity and asks his crush on prom. The biggest moral dilemma so far awaits him. His girlfriends father, is the Vulture. He is offered the chance to do nothing. This would result in the stealing of alien technology and the commercialization of more weapons. He chooses to implicate himself once again, this time without the help of the suit. His drive is ambiguous. Impressing Stark is out of the picture, but standing down means he is a accomplice. It's important to mention that Peter doesn't really know what Vulture is up to at the moment he decides to intervene. This would 've been a great time to emphasize Peter's morality, but we are left wondering if he chooses to action just because he sees this as the opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of Stark, or because he simply wants to do the right thing. I believe it was the first reason that really drove Peter. When he managed to track down Vulture and find out his plan, the wisest action in his situation would be to inform Stark or the police about it. Even if the Vulture would not have been stopped in that instant, Peter knew his identity and he could easily follow him and find out where he took the stolen cargo. Alone and without his suit, he stood no chance of defeating the villain safely. He somehow decides to do the crazy thing and stop him with his bare web, knowing that it would not have been such a big deal after all, if Vulture stole those artifacts. I think he does this just to prove himself again, and ends up crashing a plane dangerously near the city. It looks good, feels fine, but they messed up the plot with an unconvincing hero.