Review | Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017 / 133 minutes / US)
Spider-Man: Homecoming, in comparison to the past five films starring Tobey Maguire and then later, Andrew Garfield as the eponymous web-slinger, is an exercise in contrast.
In the place of a morally dilemmatic vigilante is an adolescent kid (Tom Holland) raring to become an Avenger-grade hero. Instead of a super-being manoeuvring with perfect agility, a clumsy protagonist jumps in and fumbles in taking down bigger threats. And Spider-Man/Peter Parker’s old and sagacious Aunt May makes way for a feisty, hot-for-her-middle-age mother figure played by Marisa Tomei.
All these invigorate the Spider-Man franchise with a more cheery reinvention of the superhero as the Marvel Cinematic Universe artfully integrates him into its domain.
The most obvious break is how Homecoming transcends beyond the gloom its hero is customarily placed under in previous iterations — the failure to indirectly prevent the death of his Uncle Ben had usually been Peter’s impetus to save lives. There are virtually no mentions of that demise or even the origin story behind his powers this time, and — let’s face it — that canonical plot is not worth repeating.
After Spidey’s debut in Civil War, Homecoming fast-forwards to Peter’s heady adventures in high school as he raced through classes before leaping off for a part-time gig fighting crime. Conspicuously, the cast that constitutes his millennial bunch of friends is racially diverse, a remarkable effort if it is to efface signs of whitewash alleged in recent films.
Peter’s mates fashion a mosaic of his frantic life. Filipino-American Jacob Batalon plays as his geeky bro-buddy Ned who quickly discovers and becomes a part of his best friend’s secret world. Laura Harrier portrays the hero’s intelligent love interest, Liz, and Zendaya effectively counterbalances the latter’s ‘popular-girl’ demeanour as the dry and straight shooting Michelle. The bully “Flash” Thompson is now an obnoxious rich kid (Tony Revolori), far from the thuggish jock traditionally characterised.
Tomei’s Aunt May stands on her own from the adored septuagenarian fans knew, setting a fairly warm mother-son bond with Holland’s Peter. Any more empathy for this relation hardly emerges, though considering that Maguire and Rosemary Ann Harris had already set a very high bar in 2004’s Spider-Man 2.
Michael Keaton functions as the chief villain Adrian Toomes whose alter-ego Vulture dons an impressive fusion of a jet pilot suit and mechanical flying beast. Blaming superhero-billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) for driving his salvage company out of business, he turns to illegal arms dealing of alien technologies that he obtained during an operation. There’s a common ground where Toome’s blue-collar angst coincides with the middle-class Peter, but it’s an opportunity missed to tap deeper into the animosity between them.
Not to risk entering darker territories, Homecoming’s Spider-Man just wants to have fun saving the world. Holland’s youthful vibe rings of excitement from the time Peter was star-struck to fight Captain America (Chris Evans) to having to juggle between superhero duties and impressing Liz.
Even Spidey’s costume takes on a redefined mode of utility.
Courtesy of his mentor Stark, the garment comes alive with an AI and augmented reality gizmo à la Iron Man, a techno quasi-answer to the somewhat missing Spidey Sense — Peter’s superhuman trait to detect incoming danger. Shenanigans ensue and are made funnier by his green experience which also humbles him of his shortcomings. An unseasoned Spider-Man feels like the imperfect “friendly, neighbourhood” hero that Homecoming needs - a juvenile, untested enthusiasm rightly befits its titular character and subtly answers his absence at the Battle of New York in the first Avengers movie.
Downey Jr’s Stark appears enough times, and for good reasons, to advise Peter on handling his powers (with *ahem* great responsibility) and to remind audiences that Homecoming is officially on MCU ground. On the other end of the spectrum, another older man seeks to exploit his weaknesses, and while not in a memorable, villainous role, Keaton nevertheless conveys smoothly the deadly but not ultra-destructive Vulture who’s moderated to Spider-Man’s still-developing abilities.
In these regards, Homecoming is more light-hearted than its predecessors. An original and refreshing story without overemphasising its hero’s origins, Holland’s Spidey takes a good step fitting into the burgeoning MCU.
