The Marvel
Cinematic Universe has had an interesting life on the big screen so far, but as
of late things have clearly not been up to par.
Through three films of the MCU’s Phase Three there hasn’t been a clear
winner. Captain America: Civil War had some great sequences but was
ultimately overstuffed. Doctor Strange was an unoriginal
disappointment, and Guardians of the
Galaxy Vol. 2 just could not live up to its predecessor. Phase Three’s latest film, however, gives the
series some hope again. Spider-man: Homecoming is an enjoyable
if insignificant film that captures enough Marvel magic to make you believe
that there is still life left in this franchise.
Spider-man: Homecoming picks up with the
aftermath of Captain America: Civil War
as Peter Parker (Tom Holland) tries to readjust to everyday life after being
asked on a mission by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and the Avengers. When Peter catches onto an illegal alien
technology trading ring, he thinks it’s just the thing to convince the Avengers
to make his alter ego Spider-man a permanent member of the Avengers. However, his snooping attracts the attention
of the man behind the illegal trading ring, the Vulture (Michael Keaton).
Spider-man
at this point has to be the most filmed character of this Golden Age of
cinematic superheroes. So it’s hard for
something new or interesting to come out of another film about him. This film certainly struggles to find a style
that sets it apart from other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies (and doesn’t
even come close to having the cinematic gravitas that Sam Raimi’s first two
Spider-man movies do). However, a sleek
and effective screenplay written by six writers (including director Jon Watts)
makes sure that this film is able to breathe life. It has just the right balance of comedy and
drama (as well as the ever important use of mythology in these films) to make
it work like the better comic book movies do.
The actors
in this film are, for the most part, an exciting bunch. Tom Holland finally seems to be growing into
this role. The burst of excitement that
he was in Civil War is fleshed out
into a complete character in this one and Holland delivers with a more nuanced
performance. Most of the rest of the
supporting cast is wasted, and that includes an odd bunch of Robert Downey Jr.,
Zendaya and Donald Glover. However, the
film does include a pair of scene-stealers.
Michael Keaton is quite strong as the main antagonist. That’s mostly because a lot of care was
clearly taken into writing the character, but Keaton does his fair share of
heavy lifting in bringing the character to life. Additionally, any Marvel movie that happens
to have Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan in it is made all the better for his
appearance. Favreau is one of the best
comedic foils that this series has.
Spider-man: Homecoming isn’t top tier
Marvel but it’s a charming adventure that you can’t complain too much with.
7/10
