Spider-Man: Homecoming
Review by Paul Preston
Welcome to Today I Watched…, a series of posts documenting my new challenge – watch a movie a day for the rest of my life. Keep coming back to TheMovieGuys.net to find out what I watch each day…and get my take on it.
When I see a movie that’s a new release in theaters or on demand, I’ll give it a proper review in the “Reviews” or “Home Viewing”, otherwise, I’ll write about it here.
July 7, 2017 – Spider-Man: Homecoming
Sure there’s a homecoming dance in this movie, but the real homecoming is Spidey’s welcome return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After a fantastic appearance in Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker gets a full feature of his own. Civil War expertly dealt with who and what Spider-Man is, so we can dispense with the origin story (yes, please). Also, he’s a high-schooler again. If there’s one thing I’ve wanted Spider-Man to be, it’s a MAN, baby. But here he is a kid again and somehow Marvel has made him interesting to me again.
After a brilliant early sequence where we get Parker’s take on being involved in Captain America: Civil War’s epic airport fight, we pick up in Queens, and Peter’s in school and we get to see his first attempts to balance teenage life (friends, girls, classes) and being a superhero (but not quite an Avenger). In the wake of clean-up after “the incident” that demolished parts of New York City in The Avengers, a disgruntled and newly-fired salvage employee (Michael Keaton), realizes the power of the alien technology left behind by the Chitauri and decides take on the identity of The Vulture to deal the technology as an arms dealer. Tony Stark is mixed up in this as his company was overseeing the clean-up, and Parker tries to impress him repeatedly by getting to the bottom of The Vulture’s plans.
Tom Holland is a great actor, if you haven’t seen his performance in The Impossible, it’s a must-see. He carries that movie while Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor ride along. As the web-slinger, Holland strikes the right tone of eager and charming while never dampening the danger (director Jon Watts can be credited with this, too). Also, is there anything greater than what I’ll now annoyingly call the Keatonaissance? Michael Keaton and Kurt Russell’s returns to the spotlight are extraordinary.
I used to think that Marvel’s directorial choices were amazing in that whomever they chose, it worked. From the start, Jon Favreau, director of Zathura, they picked someone who shouldn’t have worked. From Favreau right on through The Break-Up director Brad Peyton (Ant-Man) and Sinister director Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange), there’s no way these guys should’ve clicked with material that previously seemed foreign to them. I was impressed, but soon realized that it probably doesn’t matter who directs, the franchise’s success is the result of the producers’ effort. Marvel head Kevin Feige is seeing all these movies through to completion. There are differences in style, for sure, The Russo Brothers bring spy movie precision to their Captain America films while clearly James Gunn is more playful with Guardians of the Galaxy. But there are consistent choices that a director with a more signature style might improve – watered-down use of score or over-directed moments that lack surprise, for example. You can see why they let go Edgar Wright, who would’ve made an Edgar Wright movie, rather than something that fit the mold at Marvel. Don’t get me wrong, I love the mold, but close to ten years in, I’m itching for a little variety in the style. I’m curious to see how Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) delivers Black Panther next year.
So with that, Homecoming director Jon Watts has done a serviceable job, but I really haven’t talked much about this movie since I’ve seen it. You couldn’t get me to shut up about Civil War. Homecoming feels like a solid entry into the MCU as Thor: The Dark World does. Really good moments of uniqueness and a big action sequence, but I’ve already moved on from this one to talking up the coming of RAGNAROK!
Directed by: Jon Watts
Release Date: July 7, 2017
Run Time: 133 Minutes
Rated: PG-13
Country: USA
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
