Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)


Spider-Man is a very important character in fiction. His stories always center around him saving the day, with him being a hero and whatnot, and there are many interpretations of the character, as well. Case in point, the 2017 film “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, which not only introduces a new perspective of Spider-Man, but also a brand new story for the action hero to follow. This, however, leads to some problems, and while it isn't perfect, the movie is entertaining enough to watch multiple times. “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is a fun, and exciting adventure for the web crawler, but there are still issues that he needs to get through.

The story follows Spider-Man, aka Peter Parker (Tom Holland) returning home from his battle with Captain America. Now that he's home, Peter looks up to his mentor Tony Stark, aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) for inspiration. This leads Peter to investigate a serious criminal named The Vulture, aka Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), and some high technological weapons being stolen. On top of this, Peter has to deal with his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) learning his secret identity, and the fact that homecoming is on the way. There's a lot going in the mind of a superhero.

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” is a good interpretation of the Spider-Man story, albeit, a flawed one at best.

The acting is good, and we got some great performances from our main actors. Keaton delivers an excellent performance as the main antagonist of the film. Batalon is perfect as the comedic sidekick coming up with great jokes here and there. Everyone else does a great job with what they are given; we'll get to Holland in a little bit...

Since this is a new version of Spider-Man, there is a new suit involved. The suit in this film is vastly different than in previous incarnations. But here, there is that high tech upgrade from Tony Stark, as well as some homemade technicality near the end of the film. Plus, the suit given for the Vulture is a nice, modern, and advanced suit than what is normally seen in the comics.

As for action, there are some neat set pieces. For instance, the rescue in Washington D.C. is a notable exception showing off Spider-Man's powers with the new suit. Then there's the big climatic fight at the end of the movie; for what it's worth, it's pretty good for a final fight. But the one that stands out the most is of course the ferry scene. Here, a ferry is split in two, and Spider-Man is using all of his strength to save all of the civilians on this boat, and it shows the power of heroism that Spider-Man is known for.

Now, there are some things that deviate the film from being perfect.

For starters, while Tom Holland is good as Peter Parker and Spider-Man, the character he portrays is not what everyone thinks of. What this means, is that while Holland does a good job with what he's given, it just doesn't feel like either Peter Parker or Spider-Man that many audiences are known for. This is especially true in the story as Peter is mainly focused on pleasing Stark in order to become an Avenger. The real “hero” part of Spider-Man doesn't actually come around until near the end of the film.

Which leads to another problem with the film: the pacing. At a little over two hours, the movie is watchable and entertaining, but is moves at a snail's pace. If the action had been increased by a bit, then the movie would have flowed just fine.

But the biggest problem with the film is with the story. Now the actual plot of Peter Parker balancing his life while being Spider-Man is fine, what I cannot get into is the way the story is written. What this means is that there is no particular focus on what or where the story wants to go. One minute, it wants to be a high school comedy paying homage to John Hughes, the next, it wants to be a superhero film. The movie doesn't know what sort of tone it wants to present itself; if the writers (which there are six writers, by the way) created a perfect balance between the comedy and action, then the movie would have just been fine.

But aside from that, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is not a bad or terrible film. Far from it. It's just not a realization of what Spider-Man is: a hero that balances out real life and superficial heroics. Maybe one day, we will get that Spider-Man film, but for now, this is one instance where the character does find balance. But for now, the old web head has delivered a good outing, if a bit flawed in the process.

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