Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever an Avenger can

Rating: 8/10 (3 July 2017)

One of the aims of the new Spiderman movie is to work the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Guest appearances by Tony Stark and his shell-headed alter ego, Iron Man, ease the process and succeed in a way a similar attempt with Doctor Strange didn't.
However, there is a price. Marvel comics used to respect the different qualities of their characters and for decades Spider-man was seen as too much of an outsider to join a team. That said, the gee-whiz gadgets are a fleeting addition to Spidey's costume and he does eventually turn down an offer to join The Avengers.
I wasn't really taken with the felt like quality of the red material on Spider-Man's costume, or the indistinct design elements. Oscar winning costume designer James Acheson got it more right in Spider- Man I to III. And I liked Rami's idea that Parker produced his own webbing as part of his mutation. However, no movie has resolved the problem that when fully masked, the audience is left staring at an emotion free bucket over the hero's head.
The risk with integrating everything into the MCU is everything becomes an iteration of an Iron Man movie. Spider-man has a large, unique cast of his own. Here we get the Shocker, The Vulture and even The Tinkerer (!). Homecoming is an assertively multi-ethnic take on The Spider-Man cast. It works well although fans of the comic book like me may find the new Flash Thompson - a bullying geek rather than a sports jock - takes time getting used to.
Tom Holland is a great take on Spider-Man, funny, endearing, sincere. Although this isn't an origin story, the film traces his personal development as a super hero, pratfalls and all. Michael Keaton is perfectly cast, although I wonder at the way Hollywood casting works "Hey he was a Birdman so why not a vulture!" . In the end Keaton provides the film with gravitas, nuance and intensity. By the movie's end, I just wanted him back as Batman (come on, honestly, have any of his successors really been better?)
I wasn't keen on the battle armored look of the Vulture, it reminded me too much of the Rhino in Amazing Spiderman2, but the character really was a comic book creation and couldn't survive a literal translation to the big screen without appearing ridiculous. Homecoming works The Vulture into the Marvel Cinematic Universe via The first Avengers movie. Toomes (AKA The Vulture) is keen to salvage and use alien technology left on Earth by invading aliens.
My only quibbles are 1) the final fight between The Vulture and Spider-Man is barely readable thanks to the editing presumably covering up animation difficulties. 2) Since the movie is called Homecoming it would have been good to stage a climax during and at the actual homecoming party.
I enjoyed Rami's take on The Spider-man story, recasting it in a cinematic language borrowed from horror movies. Even in the messed up Spider-man 3 this allowed the alien Venom a credible entry into the Spiderverse and delivered a great take on The SandMan as a Ray Harryhausen monster. In the comic, Spider-Man combined the schlock 50's horror with gangster villains who echoed Dick Tracy's rogues gallery. Homecoming redresses the balance away from sci-fi monsters towards gangsterism.
I don't grasp what went wrong with Andrew Garfield's version of the character but Brit Tom Holland really nails the teen hero. Next: The Scorpion. I can't wait.Actually, I can.