Directed by: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey, Jr., Jon Favreau, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Laura Harrier, Jacob Batalon
Spider-Man: Homecoming gives us a villain who doesn't have lofty ambitions such as, I don't know, taking over Planet Earth or destroying the universe as we know it. Thank goodness. I always wonder if, assuming the villain gets his way, what the guy would do for the rest of his life? What goals would he aspire to? Adrian Toomes (Keaton), known later as Vulture, simply wants to deal in black market alien weaponry built from the ruins of the Avengers NYC headquarters from 2012's The Avengers. He wants to feed his family but, of course, is ruthless in his approach. Fledgling Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Holland) is fresh from his turn in Captain America: Civil War (2016) and looking to prove to Tony Stark (Downey, Jr.) and his right hand man Happy Hogan (Favreau) that he has the stuff to be an Avenger even at 15.
Spider-Man sniffs out Vulture's operation and plans to stop it, while Happy and Stark ignore his calls and move on to more pressing matters like relocating the Avengers headquarters to "upstate New York". Spider-Man is more or less on his own, which is fine by me. The story is scaled down so there is no need for thirty other Avengers to tag along, although we inevitably see Iron Man make an appearance at both the best and worst times for Spidey. I enjoyed the "less is more" approach, although there are explosions and battles in the sky, we can maintain semblance of the action and follow along.
Spider-Man's initial trilogy starring Tobey Maguire ran from 2002-2007 with its effective introduction followed by sequels of varying quality. Andrew Garfield took over the reins for two films which told Peter's whole story from the beginning...again. The movies weren't awful, but they felt largely unnecessary since we just saw the whole Spider-Man story play out not even a decade earlier. It is refreshing to meet this incarnation of Spider-Man after the story already began. We don't have to witness for the third time in 15 years a radioactive spider biting Peter and thus bestowing its powers unto him. There isn't a pall of Uncle Ben's murder hanging over everything, including Ben's final words: "With great power comes great responsibility." Uncle Ben is not even mentioned in Homecoming, although Peter still lives with Aunt May (Tomei), whom many people in the film realize looks pretty darn hot. And Peter's best friend Ned (Batalon) learns his secret early and eagerly joins in his adventures from the ground. Ned is just thrilled to have the famous Spider-Man as his best friend.
Tom Holland is 21, but he passes for a 15-year-old with ease due to his wide-eyed, gee-whiz countenance and his youthful enthusiasm to fight crime and figure out just exactly how far his web can be slung. This Peter is pluckier and more spirited than the previous two, mostly because he has less baggage which the screenwriters wisely avoid. Peter has a romantic interest, the tall and pretty Liz (Harrier), whom he wants to take to the homecoming dance while trying to thwart Vulture. Keaton brings earthiness to Vulture and practical realism. He wants to destroy Spider-Man because he is forever interfering in his growing business, not because of megalomania. At 66, Keaton can still pass for a guy 15-20 years his junior, which is impressive.
The story evolves into some interesting developments for Peter, Liz, and the Vulture, giving us the "damned if you do and damned if you don't" internal conflicts which drive the best superhero sagas. Does Spider-Man run a little long at the end as the film tries to touch all of its bases? Yes. Did I miss all of the other Avengers? No. With Avengers: Infinity War looming, I have a feeling we will see more than enough of those superheroes.
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