Fun, earnest and dramatic, Homecoming stands on its own two feet in a genre full of end of the world climaxes and world-building expositions

Rating: 9/10 (9 July 2017)

Spider-Man: Homecoming is the fifth live-action Spider-Man movie and the first iteration to take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making it the sixteenth film of that mega franchise. On par with popular opinions, I did not like the two Amazing films that much. I do not hate them like many others do, but I felt gone was the heart that existed in the Raimi films. To say this movie came back with just a faint pulse, is an understatement; Spider-Man: Homecoming wears its freaking heart on its sleeves! Back in 2014, Sony and Disney struck a deal to essentially share the character and allow the Web Slinger to be back in Marvel's hands where he belongs. As evidenced prior by Tom Holland's small but fantastic role in Captain America: Civil War, it was a good move. But witnessing Homecoming's excellence reaffirms it is probably the best decision the two companies ever made.
I love this movie, it was simply marvelous. The film was funny, heartfelt, emotional and a visual delight. It discards the cynicism and "grit" found in the Marc Webb's series, and instead makes Peter Parker, a pure, innocent kid who just wants prove his worth and do the right thing. No more moody, Twilight Peter snooping around saying mean things or being angsty, instead we have a protagonist here that is likable and relatable in a genuine way. It also helps that the high school setting was well utilized with a vibe that is completely different from the previous series, as it takes a more realistic, but cheerful approach to its tone and atmosphere. I really appreciated the diversity amongst the cast, it was beautiful to see representation candidly showcase on screen.
Tom Holland was excellent as Peter Parker and Spider-Man, he was funny and witty, but not sarcastic or harsh. Multiple times in the film, Peter is presented a choice to either be a regular kid, stay with his friends and perhaps get the girl or fulfill his duty as a hero and pursue the crime. You can just how torn Holland is with this choice each time through his face. A lesser actor would not have been able to portray this internal conflict this exceedingly well. Michal Keaton as the Vulture was great; he is probably my favorite MCU movie villain thus far, because I bought into his motivation on why he does what he does. I also appreciated they gave him a personal connection to the hero to further the emotional impact. Marisa Tomei as Aunt May was very lovely and my eyes were glued whenever she was on screen as her motherly charm and beauty enchanted me to no ends. God she is beautiful. All the kids here actually behave like real kids and they are all hilarious, especially Peter's best friend Ned, played by Jacob Batalon. He was so natural in his performance, watching the two's relationship unfolded almost made me feel like I am part of the group as well.
Most people go see a Spider-Man film for its action, and rightfully so, Spider-Man 2 has some of the best action sequences in film history to date. Homecoming is pretty exciting and great to look at, and because I did care for Peter and his friends and wanted them to be okay, the action scenes were suspenseful. However comparing it the previous movies, it definitely lags behind just a little bit. It still is visually stunning, but we just did not get a Doc Ock level of excellence here. We do get a great climatic battle on top of an aircraft that ends on an emotional note. I really appreciate this movie taking a smaller approach and not have the climax be a beam-in-the-sky, end of the world scenario like most other superhero movies nowadays. Because it just gets played out, we know the world is not going to end, so unless it really is the last film of a franchise, why keep doing it? It is nice to see the filmmaker's objective here is to display the emotions of the characters and not just trying to one-up the explosions from last big blockbuster.
Homecoming is probably the heartiest MCU film to date. I am big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I have seen all sixteen films multiple times. There is one common problem amongst each movie and that is the disservice of dramatic scenes by injecting humor into them at the wrong moments; my emotionally connection with the film is greatly weakened because of this. I think the only movie that successfully avoided this tonal problem in my opinion was Ant-Man and the first Iron Man. You can now add Spider-Man: Homecoming to that list because this movie juggles the balance between humor and drama perfectly. Using the natural charm of the cast, the jokes land on target at the correct moments when they are supposed to, and because of good character development, the dramatic scenes also flourishes in genuine fashion since they are not diffused by humor.
Overall Spider-Man: Homecoming is now my second favorite movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and probably my third favorite Spider-Man movie behind the second and first one. I am glad to see it correct many of the tonal problems I had with previous movies like Doctor Strange and Amazing Spider-Man 2. Fun, earnest and dramatic, Homecoming stands on its own two feet in a genre full of end of the world climaxes and world-building expositions. No matter what happens in this universe moving forward, it will always be smaller movies like this and Ant-Man that will have the biggest impact on me because they understand it is not about the punch, but the emotion behind the punch that matters.