Homecoming King

Rating: 8/10 (17 September 2018)

A second viewing of "Spiderman Homecoming" following the home release of the film. I recently reviewed "Thor Ragnorok" following its home release and determined that it wasn't quite as good the second time around, as I remembered so much of it. Interestingly, "Spiderman: Homecoming" seems to have the opposite effect, and is even better this time that it was the first time.
Much has been made about this being the second time that Spiderman has been rebooted. Though I preferred Sam Raimi's films to Marc Webb's - I did prefer Andrew Garfield to Tobey Maguire. However, for the addition of Spidey to the MCU I love both the film that John Watts has provided and the performance of Tom Holland as Peter Parker. He is much more realistic as a high school child, which is natural give his actual age relative to the other two incumbents. Both his Spiderman and his Peter Parker are what the character should be, good natured and friendly, possessing a ready wit without being a smartass. Ready to sacrifice his personal desires for the greater good.
Also excellent are the decisions made to move the universe away from the two we'd previously seen. Ben is already gone, the Spider bite has already happened, Aunt May is much younger and better looking in this iteration (which becomes a regular plot point) even things like changing Flash Thompson from a big jock to a rich jerk are great choices. The ties into the MCU are excellently done, from having Tony Stark as a mentor, to Happy Hogan being his point man and the early scenes that tie the film to both the events of "Avengers Assemble" and the video diary of the events of "Civil War".
Despite his team of flunkies being a little generic, the main villain Vulture (Michael Keaton) is a compelling character. His reasons for becoming a villain are believable and understandable, if not quite justifiable. He is, essentially, just interested in making money - which is rare for a villain in a superhero film.
The three movies that we've had with Tom Holland's Spiderman have all been excellent additions to the MCU and shown how they can handle the return and integration of one of their principle stars back into the fold. Can't wait for the next one.