Movie Review - Spider-Man: Homecoming

To begin with, I felt it is only fitting that I start with the opening of this movie - the "sort-of" new Marvel Logo. Marvel is pulling a straight DC on this one what with the main characters in action-figure like poses slowly zooming out to reveal the logo itself. Marvel and DC trying to show off who is better; what a time to be alive!

Anyway, the movie opens with Peter Parker's found-footage style film, very much like a behind-the-scenes footage of what happened during his time in the Civil War which I thought was very very interesting and well done. That is when we get the first proper glimpse of Peter Parker's character. Peter Parker is a kid in this version, unlike the previous two versions. He gets excited very easily, he gets scared easily (SPOILER: refer to the "rubble" scene), he makes unfunny jokes at inappropriate times, sometimes he even doesn't to know how to handle certain situations because he is not that mature yet; that is what I liked the most about this portrayal. He feels realistic, much more than Andrew Garfield's version or Tobey Maguire's (which is the best imo; nostalgia is tough to beat) for that matter. This Peter Parker feels more vulnerable; in fact, he actually screws up his crime-fighting during some occasions which I absolutely liked . Props to Tom Holland for making this character life-like and relatable. 

Spider-Man, on the other hand, felt too hi-tech. It felt very far from the actual Spider-Man in that, for most of the movie, he uses 'Tony Stark presents Spider-Man suit' with gadgets and stuff, which I was not a fan of. Spider-Man uses his brains to upgrade the suit he makes in the comics, granted he does have his own suit here, but even that is too "gadget-y". The actual character mostly relies on his skill and brains and uses his gadgets to do things he would otherwise be unable to do. Here, it felt too Iron-man-ish where he has futuristic scopes and visors with HUDs and even a dedicated AI that speaks to him. Did not like it. The costume design looks good, however.

Speaking of Peter Parker, Aunt May. Boy, where do I start with this one? As opposed to what most people say, she still looks old. I know the trailers made her look hot and very young. I mean, she still looks younger than other Aunt Mays but she does feel like an appropriate Aunt May for THIS Peter Parker. However, not much goes forward with her in terms of story in the movie apart from the end which I won't spoil for you. To contrast, the conversations between Rosemary Harris' Aunt May and Maguire's Parker were nothing short of heart-warming. That is completely not present here.

I am going to ignore the story here since it is the most basic of superhero stories - bad guy wants to do something for his family in all the wrong ways (a la Walter White) and the hero tries to stop him while he misses his date with his girl. A story that has been done to death. The trailers are all you need if you care about the story. However, I felt the story was too happy and teenage movie-ish. I remember only one instance that is quite dark but even then, they throw a joke in and ruin the scene. Spider-man is quite a quippy, humorous character but the humor is too much in this that it felt more like a toned-down Deadpool movie. If anything, it felt much more like a kids' movie that I doubt, unlike the previous movies, will appeal to adult audiences. The only time I was surprised with the story was with the twist. Trust me, you won't see it coming! It is done in a mature, and quite frankly, an awesome way. And speaking of "did not see it coming", the post-credits scene is one of the bests in any Superhero movie. "Be patient" and stay until the end. 

I will be speaking about what made this story interesting though - The Villain, The Vulture, played brilliantly by The Batman. Vulture, if I remember right was a lower tier villain, if you will, in the comics. But this movie and especially Keaton do a great job in showing he is much more than that. You feel intimidated by his presence yet you feel sorry for him and understand where he comes from. I am sure that this Vulture is very different from the comics but I definitely liked this version. And Michael Keaton was a perfect fit for the role; I mean he was The God-damned Batman!

As far as the other characters were concerned, we have the best friend character who was good in some parts whereas slightly annoying in others. Flash Thompson who was forgettable. Peter's love interest is a 'damsel in distress' sort, so nothing unique there. But to my surprise, Michael Mando played a small cameo in this. Michael Mando is a great actor in my opinion and to see him as a particular character from the Spider-Man lore was satisfying. Cheers for Nacho from Better Call Saul!

In the end, that is all I have to say about this movie. I know that this is not exactly structured, but I am putting out my thoughts on the movie which I hope would give some semblance of a review. Now, I know that you guys will watch the movie any way, and to be fair, this movie deserves watching on the silver-screen. But I still feel it did not come close to Sam Raimi's attempt of The Web-head.

To 3D or not to 3D - The 3D is actually well done here much akin to The Amazing Spiderman's 3D which I felt was very good at that time. For a movie like this where there are several sweeping shots of the city, it is necessary that the 3D be done right. And it is. There were several scenes with the "leaping-out-of-the-screen" effect that I loved. So I would highly recommend this format. 

Score - 7/10