Another reboot. And why not? No studio has tapped into the emotional engagement that the Spider-Man mythos is capable of delivering to film audiences, so they may as well keep trying. If anyone is capable, Marvel has the best chance. The production company that somehow adapted the Ant-Man comics into an enjoyable blockbuster surely can do wonders for the more iconic Spider-Man. While Homecoming doesn't hit the mark of what could be, it is the best Spider-Man film to date, outdoing all of the previous incarnations in laying the needed groundwork to fully immerse audiences into the tragic comic book narrative that is Spider-Man. Indeed, Homecoming deserves its praise, but not unlike the five previous films, the studio behind it has made some questionable choices, leaving this reboot with more than a few problems.
Most importantly, Marvel cleverly avoids outright focus on classical backstory that film audiences have seen before. There is no radioactive spider, hence no traditional origin story, and no mention of Ben Parker or his famous wisdom about responsibility. While hallmarks of the web-slinger's comic book roots, those story beats have been done to death in the previous films. Not focusing on how Peter Parker became superhuman or his Uncle Ben's themed advice gives Homecoming a needed sense of rebirth and freshness while allowing the storytellers to visit those moments with originality at a later time, if they do at all.
Like the previous films, however, Homecoming does give Peter a romantic interest, but unlike Mary-Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy in their respective film series, Liz Allan-Toomes is not a focused-on moral dilemma. Instead, Homecoming puts heavier emphasis on Peter coming into his own as Spider-Man, presenting a constant push and pull of Peter acting heroic but never becoming a hero, which maintains the film's much-needed novelty. Even more impressive, Homecoming still incorporates Peter's negative impact on the characters around him, which is an essential component of Spidey's mythos. Through the simple act of being Spider-Man, those close to Peter Parker often suffer, and Liz is not an exception as her life is uprooted at the end of the film when her father is revealed as a criminal and sent to prison. Her suffering is not influential enough to discourage Peter from a life of crime fighting, but it sets the stage for that moment to come in a familiar but more heartbreaking way as he matures and continues down his heroic path.
Also commendable is the handling of and choice to use Adrian Toomes/The Vulture as the film's antagonist. A street criminal, yet still a formidable threat to Spider-Man, Vulture hits the ideal line between being much deadlier than the everyday burglar but not as menacing as a cosmic-powered mutant, making him the perfect starter villain for this line of Spidey films. The Vulture costume avoids campiness with its non-superfluous design and Toomes is not overbearing in his wickedness, grounded in real-life motivations and developments. Appropriately, The Vulture does not die at the end of the film, allowing for small appearances in future sequels without overloading a single film with excessive bad-guy origin stories. (Looking at you, Spider-Man 3.)
Additionally, Toomes' connection to Peter is presented especially well in a surprising meet-your-date's-father moment. A common thread in many of the wall-crawler's stories, the villains usually have a too-coincidental connection to Peter Parker. The Green Goblin is his best friend's dad, The Lizard is his college professor, Venom is his coworker, etc. In Homecoming, The Vulture is Liz's father. While the concept is not original, its presentation as a plot twist rather than early-on exposition is something that has never been done in a Spider-Man film. Until now, the audience always knew about Peter's connection to his foe before Peter does. In Homecoming, the viewer is not a mere spectator, sharing in Peter's surprise as he discovers that the father of his high-school crush is his enemy.
Concerning other villains, Homecoming excellently takes small, exciting steps toward the future. Mac Gargan and Aaron Davis are briefly introduced, planting seeds for them to come into their super-villain personas, The Scorpion and The Prowler. Herman Schultz/Shocker has a significant, enjoyable role, performed well by Bokeem Woodbine, and hopefully this film is not his final appearance. Overall, Homecoming does a masterful job priming some of Spidey's best enemies for its sequels. A lingering question, is Marvel brave enough to attempt Mysterio?
Mainly because the film avoids a traditional origin story for Spider-Man, there is a lot of in-costume action. Never needing to show how Peter developed his costume or his initial adjustment to a life of being superhuman, the film is able to include fun, web-slinging action from start to finish. The production design and visual effects that accompany this perk are done well but are far outmatched by Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. For those that forget, a revisit to one of the best comic book movie trailers ever made is worth the time. Link here: https://youtu.be/DlM2CWNTQ84
Although praiseworthy, Homecoming is far from perfect. Lack of spidey-sense aside, nearly everything involving Peter's school friends is difficult to endure. Teenage caricatures and bad acting make for scenes that are wincingly bad, and a comparison to The Breakfast Club, which was pushed during the film's marketing, is borderline disrespectful to John Hughes. Liz Allan-Toomes is one-dimensional, begging the question, why is Peter interested in her? Flash Thompson strays too far from his comic book adaptation and comes across as an obnoxious, sad attempt to imitate a character from American Pie. Peter's best friend Ned is tolerable, but he is not as comedic as the filmmakers and writers intended. Worst of all, Peter's school-mate Michelle, whom is eventually revealed as "MJ," is plainly not good. Forgetting the needless name change from Mary-Jane to Michelle Jones, her cool, I don't care demeanor is annoyingly forced, and Zendaya's performance is especially poor in its fakery, which is concerning as she is likely in line to be Peter's prominent romantic interest for all of the film's sequels.
As for the rest of the cast, Tom Holland is a more-than-acceptable Spider-Man and Peter Parker, his delivery just about always where it needs to be, and not surprisingly, Michael Keaton gives the best performance of the film, grounding Adrian Toomes in realism with subtle and frightening intimidation. Aside from Jon Favreau's few comedic moments, none of the other cast members deliver anything worth noting as the script never provides Marisa Tomei or Robert Downey Jr. a chance to shine.
Finally, and quite surprisingly, Homecoming's last action scene is underwhelming. Largely due to its location, the final showdown between Spider-Man and The Vulture is limited. A battle through the city, rather than over it, would have offered more. When the action is over, all that remains is a sense of, "that's it?"
As Aristotle allegedly said, there are only two types of stories- comedy and tragedy. Spider-Man originates from a comic book, and those that have read the source material know that it is a compellingly tragic narrative. It is special. Since 2002, Hollywood has pumped out six Spidey films and none have tapped into that potential. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 comes closest with the death of Gwen Stacy but doesn't quite get there. Homecoming doesn't get there either, or even come close, but it does build a strong foundation, providing its sequels with an opportunity to reach the bar. As an aside, those coming films will likely not include Venom or Carnage due to Sony producing their own Venom film, set to release in 2018. Damn you, Sony.
In any event, while Homecoming isn't special on its own, it creates potential for its sequels, and Marvel deserves the benefit of the doubt. As Captain America suggests in the post-credit public service announcement, fans will need to be patient. Until the next Spidey film, in Marvel we trust.
What did you think of Spider-Man: Homecoming? Sound off in the comments.
