Before
SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING, the last time fans had seen Spidey in his own movie was
2014’s THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2. While that movie had some amazing chemistry
between its leads and some decent character development, the movie suffered
from a bloated budget, unfocused story, difficult actors, and more. The movie
barely grossed more than its budget and with the mediocre box office combined
with the Sony email hack eventually forced Sony to negotiate with Marvel into
sharing the character as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That was
probably the best thing that could have happened for Sony, Marvel, and
Spider-Man.
Unlike
the first films in the other film versions of the character, SPIDER-MAN
HOMECOMING doesn’t backtrack and provides no origins tale of Peter Parker
becoming Spider-Man. The movie begins on the assumption that the audience
already knows how Peter Parker became Spider-Man; that he feels responsible for
his Uncle Ben’s death; early struggles with powers, etc. That’s not to say that
the movie doesn’t involve any origins. However, instead of explaining the
origins of the hero, this movie explores the origins of its key villain: the
Vulture, portrayed by Michael Keaton. The movie actually begins after the
events of the first Avengers movie. Parts of New York are a mess after the
intergalactic conflict between the extraterrestrials and the Avengers. Keaton’s
Adrain Toomes is a working man with a clean-up crew hired to help remove the
rubble. But, as is the case in real life for many people, the government comes
in and Toomes and his crew are dismissed from the work site without any
compensation. Toomes later learns that Tony Stark is responsible for what
happened to him and that knowledge combined with an unexpected surprise changes
Toomes’ life. He becomes the Vulture not as a way to bring about evil, but to
make money to support his family.
We first
meet Peter Parker and Spider-Man in this movie through a video diary Peter made
when he was brought to Germany during the events of CAPTAIN AMERICA CIVIL WAR.
Audiences get to see a few behind the scenes moments from that movie. This
segment ends with Tony Stark dropping Parker off at his home, just days after
the events of CAPTAIN AMERICA CIVIL WAR (referenced later when one character
says of Captain America, “I think he’s a war criminal now”). Parker truly feels
like he’s really a superhero now and is excited at the prospect of leaving his
ho-hum high school existence behind and joining The Avengers full time.
However, Stark doesn’t think Parker is ready and keeps encouraging him to
continue to be involved locally; to be the “friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man.”
Parker
tries, but while doing so discovers that there’s a group of people selling
illegal weapons built with alien technology in his neighborhood. These weapons
are dangerous and threaten the lives and livelihoods of the people Peter cares
about. The arms manufacturer/dealer has to be stopped and he’s determined to do
whatever he can to make sure that happens. In the midst of all this, Peter is
also just a regular sophomore boy in high school attempting to keep his grades
up and dealing with his feelings towards girls.
While
SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING is definitely a Spider-Man movie, a comic book movie, and
a movie that’s a part of the larger MCU, it’s a movie that even casual film
goers can enjoy. The script is focused (although it gets rather lengthy in the
final act), the acting top-notch, and the effects superb. There’s some great
acting and the chemistry between the characters and the character development
of those characters is amazing. Michael Keaton is the best villain in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe since the introduction of Loki in THOR. Like Loki,
Toomes isn’t a completely evil person. Make no mistake, he does some pretty
horrible things during the course of the movie. However, he doesn’t always act
like a villain and sometimes his intentions are not only understandable, but
almost honorable. I really hope that we see Vulture again and not just in
another Spider-Man movie.
The
other lead actor in the film is Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Holland
gives an impeccable performance. There are a lot of nuances to the role and
Holland has just the right balance of humor and lightheartedness (something
that Andrew Garfield’s incarnation lacked) and grounded grit (something that
was lacking in Tobey Maguire) required of the character. I look forward to
seeing him portray the character for years to come.
SPIDER-MAN
HOMECOMING is a great movie. While the film is deeply indebted to previous
Spider-Man incarnations (there are lots of references in this movie to earlier
incarnations) and is heavily tied to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is a
movie that also stands well on its own. It’s fun, entertaining, and exciting.
It’s good to welcome Spider-Man home and I hope all of his cinematic adventures
from here forward are as well developed.
No comments:
Post a Comment