The Marvel icon Spider-Man has had a truly fascinating history on the big screen over the past several years. From the campy, yet enjoyable film trilogy by Sam Raimi to the more grounded, yet deeply flawed Amazing Spider-Man movies by Mark Webb, the film medium had no shortage of different interpretations for the web-slinger. Now, with Marvel Studios and Sony coming to something of a truce over the film rights to the character, Spider-Man recently made his solo film debut in the beloved Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the result is as charming and fun as it is compelling.
Set shortly after the events of Captain America: Civil War, teen genius Peter Parker (Tom Holland) seeks to prove himself as a worthy candidate for membership in the Avengers. In spite of seeing numerous heroics as Spider-Man firsthand, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is adamantly reluctant to allow the inexperienced youngster to graduate from neighborhood crime-fighting. Things become even more complicated when a close friend discovers his dual identity and when Peter discovers Stark’s technology being sold on the black market by a team of disgruntled maintenance workers. When their leader, Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) threatens both New York and the safety of Peter’s loved ones, the boy known as Spider-Man is forced to choose between his heroic instincts and safety from the danger he knows lies ahead.
Having excitedly awaited the web-slinger’s solo movie in the MCU since his appearance in Civil War, I’m happy to say that this film delivers the best of any Spider-Man story, and this is thanks in no small part to Tom Holland’s endlessly charming take on the character. He effortlessly captures the wisecracking, fun-loving side of Peter Parker while in the costume, but what makes his performance truly noteworthy is that he also convincingly portrays his not-so-hidden teenage angst and awkwardness, something that previous actors had a harder time pulling off convincingly. Actually, “natural” is the best way to describe the performances of all the cast, and what’s especially impressive is that the comic-esque action and story don’t detract from the fact that the characters are vulnerable human beings. Even the villain manages to be an understandable and intriguing, if not sympathetic, character within the chaos of the story, and Michael Keaton’s portrayal of that dichotomy is a highlight among the already-excellent cast.
That said, the film isn’t too caught up in the melodrama that fun is completely absent. In fact, the humor (often mixed into the web-swinging action scenes to great effect) is perfectly in tune with the spirit of the character, and not since either of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies did I laugh this hard at a Marvel movie. Spider-Man: Homecoming isn’t flawless of course, since its status as a MCU film takes away from the self-containment of the story a bit, but there’s much less to really shake your head at than in previous big-screen takes on Spider-Man.
In short, Spider-Man is an almost perfect movie for fans of the character or people looking for a fun superhero movie: funny, sometimes touching, and with at least fifty things to put a smile on the faces of moviegoers.
Rich Reviews 