Spider-Man: Homecoming

44 Replies

spidey11Spider-Man: Homecoming may not be the best movie in the franchise (since my favourite Spidey villain is Doc Ock, I have a soft spot for Spider-Man 2) and may not even be the best superhero movie of the summer (Wonder Woman is undeniably great).  But the fact that those were the conversations the assholes were having after we saw Spider-Man: Homecoming last night shows that Homecoming is a great movie in its own right.

Most importantly, Homecoming GETS Spider-Man.  This is a movie that is fan service from start to finish.  The Marvel Cinematic Universe features prominently in the story as the events in the Avengers and Civil War are built on (and Iron Man plays a pretty big role).  There are also a ton of familiar names for fans to find, from Ned Leeds to Flash Thompson to Mac Gargan, and one or two more that I’ll let you discover for yourself.

Even better, the story calls back to several classic comic moments, including this one from Amazing Spider-Man #33 (1966), which is a defining moment for Spidey:

ditko3.jpg

I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that Spider-Man finds a way to succeed even when it seems there’s no chance, and the final battle in Homecoming is a great display of what I love about Spidey, from start to finish.  The conclusion of that battle especially reminded me of the first Spidey comic I ever read, and really, every Spidey comic since.  Spider-Man’s desire to do the right thing is what makes him my favourite and I was extremely happy to see that made a focus of the film (“with great power comes great responsibility” is never actually said, but it’s the movie’s underlying theme and that’s a far better approach than giving us another depiction of Uncle Ben’s death).

Fittingly for Spider-Man, the hero who can’t stop saying corny one-liners as he fights the bad guys, this may also be the funniest superhero movie ever made.  It captures the light-hearted, good-natured awkwardness of Peter Parker and the awkwardness of high school in general.  There are a lot of laughs from start to finish, and like Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy before it, Homecoming always finds a way to entertain the audience in between the action (often at our hero’s expense, as it should be with Spidey).

(SPOILER: sometimes the humour even comes at the audience’s expense, as you will find out if you stick around to the very end.)

Spider-Man: Homecoming met my high expectations, and then some.  This is how you make a great superhero movie, by staying true to the character, and when that character is your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, you’re in for a treat.

44 thoughts on “Spider-Man: Homecoming”

  1. mydangblog

    But is it as funny as Deadpool? As a kid, I loved the Spiderman animated series, and I’ve enjoyed all the movies so far, so I expect this one will be no different! Thanks for the great review:-)

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    1. Sean Post author

      Good question! I forgot about Deadpool when writing this and that’s a pretty glaring omission by me. Spider-Man felt more organically funny than Deadpool so I think I would still put Homecoming on top. But it’s close.

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  2. societyreviews

    I liked everything about this film except Zendaya as MJ, they turned MJ into a moody SJW who adds nothing of worth to the film except to claim diversity and take a couple shots at Washington. Otherwise the movie was highly entertaining.

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    1. Sean Post author

      Completely agree. That was a miss for me as well – Mary Jane Watson is a character you don’t just hint at, and Zendaya was not Mary Jane, she was a completely different character.

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    2. Kat

      I totally agree. There was no point to having Zendaya there, she was just a poor stereotype of the weird girl in high school movies.

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    1. Sean Post author

      Jay is right there with you! There are too many of these films, there is no doubt about it. We need more Big Sicks and Baby Drivers and fewer Suicide Squads.

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  7. badblokebob

    I enjoyed it a lot, particularly the humour. I was worried that had all been blown in the trailers, but thankfully not. On the whole, though, it didn’t come close to overtaking the first two Raimi films for me. I think it lacked their iconicity — it was a bit too “another episode in the MCU”. But it’s streets ahead of the other Spidey movies (and I say that as someone who actually enjoyed Amazing 2) and a lot of fun in its own right.

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  11. Birgit

    This is getting love and is the second review I read today that loves this film. I guess I better see the first one as I always liked Tobey Maguire in the role

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  13. J.

    Brilliant. I’m glad this turned out to be a winner. I’m also a big fan of Spider-Man 2… I honestly thought that was as perfect as a superhero movie could be. Still one of my favourites.

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    1. Sean Post author

      I agree, Spider-Man 2 was about as good as it gets. I loved the subway scene in particular – that was such a great character moment that fit Spidey perfectly.

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  15. Nerd-Feed

    I’ve now seen the film twice and it’s easily my favourite Spider-Man movie. I think Tom Holland is great and the Hugh school aspect was really fun! Awesome review.

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    1. Sean Post author

      High school Spider-Man is classic Spidey for a reason – it fits him to be the young, idealistic guy and that becomes less natural-feeling as the character gets older.

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  18. Christy B

    I haven’t decided if I am going to see it or not.. I’m a bit pi$$ed at how the former Spidermans went wrong after the initial one with Tobey. But I might recover in time to see it on the big screen 😉

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    1. Sean Post author

      Can’t blame you for being disappointed with the last 3 Spidey movies before Homecoming. I felt the same way but this a good (re)start!

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    1. Sean Post author

      I am very curious to see where Sony goes from here as it tries again to build a franchise based on Spidey. Venom has me intrigued since Tom Hardy is good in everything. Beyond that, it seems like we run into the same problem we already have – way too many superhero movies!

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    1. Sean Post author

      Thanks Lloyd! I feel I don’t see enough use of classic comic images in movies, which should be natural since (a) it’s all about the visuals; and (b) it’s easier to imitate than be original. I wonder whether I spotted this one so easily because I read so many Spider-Man comics as a kid, but then I remember I also read X-Men and Superman a lot and have never really gotten the same feeling that any of those films were trying to pay homage to a specific comic moment.

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      1. Lloyd Marken

        There’s some stuff in Batman Vs Superman referencing the graphic novel in The Dark Knight. Maybe you can argue stuff from Batman: Year One in Batman Begins but this is different. This is one of those original run comics and is therefore a deep cut made out of love and knowledge. You must know a lot about comic books to have spotted it too.

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    1. Sean Post author

      MINOR INFINITY WAR SPOILER: In the D23 (Disney conference) coverage I read that Spidey will be wearing the Iron Spider-ish suit that we saw at the end of Homecoming.

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  24. Kat

    So true. I agree with everything… except the comparison to Spider Man 2. No way. Okay, the villain was better, but that movie was just… a mess, compared to this one especially. I think this is definitely one of the best Marvel movies so far.

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