Spider-Man Homecoming is one of the best films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Spider-Man’s solo debut in the MCU brings together a solid story, a great lead in Tom Holland and an impressive villain performance from Micheal Keaton.
In many ways, the tone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was built for Spider-Man. Witty humor, flashy action is much if what made Spidey popular in the comics and the MCU brought that vision to life in Homecoming.
While many great MCU offerings were sometimes brought down by the abundance for humor, Spider-Man fits into this mold like a glove.
Tom Holland plays arguably the most “comic accurate” Spider-Man we’ve seen so far. Always the nerdy, awkward and naive kid, Peter Parker’s characterization in this film gave a very familiar feel yet brought a freshness to the MCU’s cast of heroes.
Homecoming sees Peter in his most natural environment, high school. While he has been in high school in the first Spider-Man film & the underrated Amazing Spider-Man Series, Homecoming seems to feel the most natural of the group due to Holland’s age and performance.
Contrary to the impression the trailers gave about Homecoming being “Iron Man 4”, the actual film paints quite a different picture. This is in NO way Iron Man 4. Rather, Tony plays a mentor role to Peter and only makes brief appearances in the film that do not take away the shine from Holland’s Spider-Man.
One thing I absolutely loved was bringing Spider-Man back “home” to Queens. Where many Spider-Men are seen swinging around Manhattan, this Spider-Man is noticeably not quite there and this slow approach feels quite fresh. As a Queens native myself, I loved seeing him swinging around my neighborhood and going through many of the things any high school kid goes through
I was impressed by the plot, which felt organic. Keaton plays a good Vulture and brings a level of layer to the primary villain, something many MCU films have suffered from. One particular sequence between him and Peter is one of my favorite moments from this cinematic universe.
The mix of good plot, organic tone, and great acting makes Spider-Man: Homecoming one is the better films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
3.5/5
