Be Positive and enjoy the New Spider-Man Homecoming movie
Basic rule in Chemistry: If an atom loses an electron, then it will become Positive
Some stories never get stale and when presented with a little twist they can be more appealing. Spider-Man is an unusual superhero and his story falls into this category. The word about this movie was already out for a couple of months. I had seen the trailer several times and was very much eager to see the new Spidey movie on the first day of its release. In my mind an old Spider-Man theme song was already humming:
Spider-Man, Spider-Man,
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size,
Catches thieves just like flies
Look Out! Here comes the Spider-Man……!
Although, I loved both Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004) movies, I decided to clear it from my mind and have a positive attitude to see the new Spider-Man Homecoming movie. And behold, I was stunned to see real positive Chemistry in the movie! Yes, it was the simple basic Chemistry principles! Let me explain it.
When Tom Holland playing Peter Parker visits Tony Stark, aka the Iron-Man, he is wearing a cool t-shirt with Chemistry theme. The t-shirt shows two atoms posing like friends, with orbitals and electrons. One atom is saying, “I lost an electron.” In response to that, the other atom is asking, “Are you Positive?”
As a Chemistry teacher, I have used this Chemistry joke many times in my class while explaining electron configuration and formation of ions. Not only the other atom is making sure that the first atom really lost an electron, but it is also explaining the basic rule in Chemistry. Whenever an atom loses an electron, it turns into a cation that will always have a Positive charge.
Science with Spider-Man does not stop here. This young Spidey is also shown wearing another t-shirt with Physics theme. How funny when you read — “The Physics is Theoretical, but the Fun is Real!” Then there was a nice blue color full-sleeve t-shirt that drew my attention, since it said — “Midtown School of Science and Technology” with an atomic model again.
Now let me get back to the story. To be honest, for the first few minutes the movie feels little slow until the story picks up. What I liked was Peter Parker already is aware of his super powers in this movie. Although he is not completely sure how to use them properly and nobody else knows about it. But Tony Stark has offered him an internship and that is a big deal! Our friendly Spider-Man is merely a fifteen year old sophomore kid, who is not able to focus well at school. Tom Holland did an excellent job portraying this young Spider-Man’s shy nature, him getting into school detention and having trouble getting a date for the homecoming.
I am sure young kids can relate to these things with their lives and easily accept this new Spider-Man. While still undergoing his training during the internship, Peter Parker decides to go on missions on his own to save the people in danger. He is shown struggling a little, but in the end, he is mostly successful. There is a scene when Spider-Man is climbing up steep walls of the Washington monument attempting to save the student group stuck in the elevator. Our hearts start racing with him. Suddenly when Peter is almost to the top, he stares down to the ground. The minute that happens, fear runs through your body as if you are with this little boy. Spidey is shown as a simple teenager boy who sometimes feels a little silly. And that is the beauty of this movie.
Peter’s best friend, Ned is a great character and Jacob Batalon suits in that role. Laura Harrier plays a typical high school girl, Liz and the movie is successful in creating the realistic school environment. The stunts and computer graphics are amazing. The ship wreckage and Spidey attempting to hold the two halves together reminded me about Polymer Chemistry. May be researchers will come up to design a stronger polymer to do this magic in the future.
The avengers are back in this movie and they pop up here and there. It is funny to see some snippets of Captain America delivering messages to students. You can’t resist good laughs when his message is about fitness or getting detention or some other school life lessons. It makes sense to put these characters together and you know what that means.
It was anticipated to have a disguised villain in the movie and how Spiderman could conquer him. Spider-Man’s fights with the vulture, are played beautifully by Michael Keaton. Does he end up conquering the battle? May be yes and may be not! The ending dialogues in the last few minutes gives us a little clue.
Also, it was nice to see how young Spidey decides to walk away and decline the offer from Tony Stark. Again, Tom Holland’s expressions are touching when he makes this tough decision not to join the team of avengers and make any commitments at least in this movie. He firmly tells Tony Stark that he wants to be a Friendly neighborhood hero. But when he returns home, a surprise gift is waiting for him!
This clearly indicates that there will be some sequels coming up in the near future! Until then, be positive and enjoy the Chemistry in Friendly neighborhood Spiderman.
“Spider-Man, Spider-Man
Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man”
-Sandy Kulkarni
Twitter: @sandykulkarnee
