The eternal (15 year) battle of whether Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield made the better Spider-Man is now officially irrelevant! Tom Holland is Spider-Man and there’s no doubting that.
Jumping straight into Peter’s days as Spider-Man, Homecoming ensures a fresh look at the character without treading on old areas. Yet, it does not compromise the emotional roots to Spider-Man’s origin and those familiar with his tale will still be reminded of the loss of Uncle Ben.
A big concern of many was the excessive use of Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony Stark. Being the face of the MCU, it was an obvious marketing tactic to incorporate Iron Man in the movie. However, the character is used incredibly well and appropriately and actually makes sense given what was established in Captain America: Civil War.
In addition to some very poignant moments about what it means to be a superhero, Tom Holland’s and RDJ’s chemistry make for some easy comedy and banter without compromising the overall seriousness of their relationship. If anything, between Civil War and Homecoming, perhaps the days of witty one-liner Tony Stark may be winding to an end as the character faces the reality of this new, post-Age of Ultron, world.
Also to be noted is the sheer number of Spider-Man comic characters appearing in this. Given what might be the widest use of the supporting cast as seen in the comics, Spidey is given a very real high school experience here with appearances from characters like Liz Allen and Flash Thompson.
This extends to the use of villains… which I won’t venture any further on due to spoilers but I will say that this is the first Spider-Man movie to properly use the multiple villain aspect.
On that note, Michael Keaton as the Vulture is amazing. And spectacular. Easily the best Spider-Man villain since Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock from waaay back in 2004’s Spider-Man 2, Keaton’s take on the long-awaited villain brings not only sheer menace to the role but also a sense of relation that hasn’t been felt in superhero movie villains, other than Magneto, for a long time, now.
While Homecoming certainly stands on its own stylistic structure in terms of look and feel, it homages its predecessors in fun little ways, reminding you of the better part of both prior Spider-Man franchises. With a Willem Dafoe level of intimidation, Doc Ock level of development, and Sandman level of realistic misery, Keaton’s Vulture may, ironically, be the most intriguing and well-explored supervillain since the Penguin in Batman Returns.
Another level of sheer geekery would be the insane number of references to the comics as well as other superhero movies (look out for both, a Flash joke and an Arrow reference).
Spider-Man: Homecoming is out now in theatres and is currently sitting as my favourite movie of the year.
(And, oh, Andrew Garfield was the better of the two earlier Spider-Man actors, Tobey Maguire was utter crap who is only liked for the sake of nostalgia… and for having the better movies.)