In the aftermath of the attempted Chitauri invasion of New York City, salvage company owner Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) is contracted to clean up the wreckage, at least until the Department of Damage Control in conjunction with Tony Stark force him off the project. A vengeful Toomes decides to keep the alien technology that he found and has his engineer Mason (Michael Chernus) create weapons and gear to sell on the black market. Years later, Peter Parker (Tom Holland), an empowered teenager who fights crime as Spider-Man, receives an upgraded suit from Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) along with a warning not to engage in anything too dangerous. Eager to impress, Peter uncovers Toomes’ operation, which puts him at risk. At the same time, he must contend with all the pressures of adolescence, including a crush on classmate Liz (Laura Harrier) and scholastic competition from rival Flash (Tony Revolori).
Given his iconic status, it’s hard to see Spider-Man as anything but familiar these days, but when the character debuted in Marvel comics some fifty-plus years ago, that was not the case. Unlike the DC heroes of the day with godlike powers or vast financial resources, Peter Parker was, despite his enhanced agility and strength and formidable intellect, a flawed and troubled character, a parentless outsider raised by his working-class aunt who has to grow into his role as a hero. Years of Spider-Man adaptations have had mixed results in capturing the essence of the character. In Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Tobey Maguire captured both Peter’s geeky awkwardness and Spider-Man’s penchant for quips, but the film’s unabashedly cheesy nostalgic sensibility made it hard to identify with Peter as a modern troubled youth. Andrew Garfield’s turn in two Amazing Spider-Man films had nearly the opposite problem as his angsty take on Peter made the character harder to empathize with, particularly in the sequel.
Enter Homecoming’s Tom Holland, who gives perhaps the most believable take on the character to date. Holland’s version is less an insta-hero (just add radioactive spider bite and webbing) and more of an ascended fanboy, a young man in awe of the Avengers who is enthusiastic about proving himself worthy of permanently joining their ranks. And, as befitting anyone without much in the way of experience or formal training, his early attempts at heroics are awkwardly, sometimes hilariously inept. This realism extends to life outside of the costume as well, as Peter’s constant flaking (to go fight crime) ruins relationships, raises the suspicions of his aunt, and leaves Holland in a nearly perpetual state of wide-eyed panic. It is both jarring to see Marvel’s mascot demythologized to this extent (don’t go looking for any mention of Uncle Ben or lectures on responsibility) and refreshing to see him returned to his roots.
Of course, Homecoming has virtues that extend beyond Holland’s unique and winning performance. Marvel has been rightly criticized for its lackluster movie villains, and Toomes, as played by the perfectly cast Michael Keaton (the erstwhile Batman and Birdman), is a welcome antidote to all of the generic, hammy, would-be world-conquerors inflicted upon us. Whereas the Vulture of the comics is a greedy geriatric, the movie version is motivated primarily by class envy and a desire to provide for his family. Keaton comes across as affable and not without standards yet still plenty damn imposing when he dons the Vulture costume.
Among the supporting roles, Downey shows a more paternal side of everyone’s favorite billionaire playboy philanthropist (who, thankfully, doesn’t hijack the movie as feared), Jacob Batalon provides great comic relief as Peter’s even nerdier friend Ned, and all of the school’s staff – an apathetic gym teacher (Hannibal Burress), a deadpan academic decathlon coach (Martin Starr), and Captain America (Chris Evans) in a series of uber-cheesy pre-recorded PSAs – are humorous high spots. Zendaya also amusingly trolls everyone throughout the film as Peter’s blunt, hyper-observant classmate while Donald Glover (as unlucky petty criminal Aaron Davis) and Jennifer Connolly (lending her voice to an AI that operates Peter’s upgraded suit) make the most of their brief roles. On the other hand, for all the ballyhooed changes to their characters, Marissa Tomei’s younger Aunt May is wasted as the object of sexist remarks and Revolori’s non-jock Flash is still a one-note jerk. Moreover, Bokeem Woodbine, who made for such a complex and interesting villain in season 2 of Fargo, doesn’t get bring much characterization to The Shocker, playing him as standard hired muscle.
On the other side of the camera, Jon Watts’ direction is competent, but there isn’t a huge “wow” factor. He does keep the action moving at a brisk pace without nauseating camera tricks or shameless CGI excess, which is more than can be said for many superhero film directors these days. Michael Giacchino’s score – which includes a funky rendition of the classic Spider-Man theme on strings and an ominous Vulture motif – is a good fit.
The subtitle Homecoming is a screamingly obvious reference to Marvel’s attempt to further integrate Spider-Man (whose film rights are shared with Sony) into an established cinematic universe. Viewed through that lens, it’s easy to be cynical about this film and its intentions. However, thanks to some endearing performances and an unyielding sense of fun, Homecoming ranks among the better Spider-Man adaptations to date.
8/10
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