Spider-Man: Homecoming Review!

 Alright! Today I'm reviewing the first of the MCU's Spider-Man movies in anticipation of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is releasing later this week. After a killer introduction in Captain America: Civil War, everyone was excited to see this new, fresh take on our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Well, I think. The movie did come out four years ago, which, as I write it, feels...wrong... I could've sworn it came out last July... oy vey... 

Anyways! Regardless! Spider-Man: Homecoming is just about the definitive Spider-Man movie, in my opinion. It's a constant toss-up between this, Spider-Man 2, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse for the best Spider-Man flick. My opinion on it changes on the daily. 

One of the best aspects of this movie that no other Spidey flick has done well was the high school aspect. Peter stays in school for the entirety of the movie, which is really refreshing after two franchises where he graduates in, like, his first outing. Shoot, he's a sophomore! A tenth grader! And you know what? Tom Holland can play the part. It's definitely not Raimi High School where everyone is 30. 

Actually, the casting for everyone is spot-on. Everyone actually looks like a high schooler here, which is awesome. Maybe not as young as 15, but they're definitely pretty close. Jacob Batalon's great, Zendaya's great, everyone's great. Top-notch casting all around, a common thread in the MCU. 

Tom Holland's performance as Spider-Man and Peter Parker is unmatched, in my opinion. He's fun, lighthearted, quippy, emotional, he does it all. The one thing going against the portrayal is the CGI used for the suit - from what I can tell, they had a real suit that they more or less covered with CGI in the film to give it the skin-tight look, which made it look rather odd in some scenes. 

The homemade suit is great, though! A cheap Spider-Man alternative for cosplayers everywhere, and it looks absolutely dope. 

I thought Tony Stark was really well utilized in the movie, even if it is a bit of a letdown to have barely any references to Uncle Ben. But, to be fair, we've seen Uncle Ben-driven Spider-Men before, and Holland's Spidey interacting with other MCU characters is a huge draw for his iteration. So that's fine. I just would've loved some line, no matter how tiny, to mention him by name. 

Something I loved about the movie was Vulture. While this Spider-Man gets a lot of flak for having villains who stem from Iron Man, Vulture works really well here (Unlike Mysterio, who was just an Iron Man 4 villain candidate). Michael Keaton's Vulture has a direct tie to Peter Parker, which is essential for a Spidey villain. 

Seriously though, that twist in the movie? Where Michael Keaton opens Liz's door? I remember the theater gasping at that scene, it was awesome. No one was expecting it, and the car ride afterward was one of the tensest scenes in any MCU movie. A lot tenser than the giant CGI birdman, anyways. 

The movie has me divided on the action set pieces. On one hand, you have the show-stopping Washington Momuent piece, which is an absolutely iconic Spidey moment, and on the other hand, you have a barely discernable CGI airplane fight that takes place at night. 

A fun thing about Spider-Man: Homecoming is that I almost never make it through the movie. I love the first half, all the high school stuff, the lighthearted vibe - but then the finale of the movie is so long and boring that I normally fall asleep. I swear, I've rewatched this movie several times and slept through the final act half of those times. And the ferry scene has some pretty bad CGI and is overly derivative of previous Spidey set pieces.

Actually, this is one of the only movies in the MCU where CGI works against it. For the most part it's of excellent quality, but they made this movie in, like, a year. CGI Spider-Man costume looks bad in some scenes and the final act taking place at night obscures everything else. Definitely not the best visual effects. It looks good for the most part, though.

But all these negative things I've said for the movie? All this bad CGI? It's overcome by how much I love the first act. The montage of Spider-Man being a friendly neighborhood hero is one of my favorite superhero movie scenes ever. This is honestly one of the most accurate high school movies ever made. I'm in high school (Senior year! Whoop!) and can confirm most people's actions are pretty realistic. 

Really, the biggest differences are that they have drones in school/real chemistry classes, but they do say that this is a specialized school for the technologically gifted or something. The other big difference was that the high schoolers hang out and go to parties at each other's houses. I'm 99% sure that's a myth created by movies. It's either that or I'm remarkably less popular than I thought. 

All this stuff about Peter liking Liz, nervousness about going to Prom, building LEGOs, overnight field trips with friends - ah, it's a lot of fun. And we've gotten to the point where the next one, taking place during his senior year, comes out during my senior year. Time flies a bit too quickly while feeling stagnant for my tastes. 

Overall, I give Spider-Man: Homecoming a 9/10. "Spider-Man: Homecoming expertly blends superhero movie and high school comedy into the ultimate summer flick."

Can't wait for No Way Home.