Spider-Man: Homecoming

Director:

Jon Watts

Writers:

Jon Watts, John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers (screenplay). Based on the Marvel comic book by Stan Lee, and Steve Ditko. Captain America created by Joe Simon, and Jack Kirby.

Cast:

Tom Holland (Spider-Man / Peter Parker), Michael Keaton (Adrian Toomes / Vulture), Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark / Iron Man), Marisa Tomei (May Parker), Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan), Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Zendaya (Michelle), Donald Glover (Aaron Davis), Jacob Batalon (Ned), Laura Harrier (Liz), Tony Revolori (Flash), Bokeem Woodbine (Herman Schultz / Shocker #2), Tyne Daly (Anne Marie Hoag), Abraham Attah (Abe), Hannibal Buress (Coach Wilson), Kenneth Choi (Principal Morita), Selenis Leyva (Ms. Warren), Angourie Rice (Betty), Martin Starr (Mr. Harrington), Garcelle Beauvais (Doris Toomes), Michael Chernus (Phineas Mason / Tinkerer), Michael Mando (Mac Gargan), Logan Marshall-Green (Jackson Brice / Shocker #2), and Jennifer Connelly as Karen / Suit Lady.

Opening Credits:

Spider-Man has always been on my top ten list of super heroes. The red and blue costume represents a true hero. How many times did Peter Parker risks his life for the common good. A bank robber, regular humdrum criminal putting the web-slinger in a really bad position. The supervillains are something else, but when a common criminal pulls out a gun, catches the hero off guard, and what comes next is pretty bad.

The mythos of a vigilante comes with a huge price. Surviving any attack coming from anywhere in the city. A hero now tries to defend himself from the attack, creating a mass situation that becomes a problem for the residents.  Spider-Man being the hero that he is unfortunately a beacon from tons of problems. What i love the most about this young hero is his life in general. A young kid trying to be bigger than life. Family, friends, all that makes a regular guy in one bundle is the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Review:

New York City the Avengers Chitauri Leviathan site. Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) and his team of salvage workers gather the alien technology. A co-worker shows Toomes a drawing from his  daughter, the Avengers in action. Afterwards they're interrupted by the US department of Damage Control.

The situation gets heated when Damage Control confiscates all their findings.  Remarks are made; Toomes isn't happy with the situation at all, in fact he hits one of the Government employees. His operation must shut down; Not only is this a Government issue but Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is behind Damage Control. Adrian Toomes then assembles some of his men, Jackson Brice (Logan Marshall-Green), Herman Schultz (Bokeem Woodbine), and Phineas Mason (Michael Chernus). To work with him in making a better life for their families.

That was eight years ago. Present time Adrian Toomes and his men continue to gather alien technology. Some of that pure tech is assembled into what he calls a Vulture suit. Toomes and his men will take back what was taken from them, and their families. His attention leads to a life of crime.

Tom Holland:

Probably the best part of the whole film is the way Holland portrayed Peter Parker. His actions, connections with all the other characters are spot on. Some critics complain about his age, but to me it was perfect. Holland is young which should've been the age in the other films, at least for this one they finally got it right. Parker is a kid, period. What makes Spider-Man so awesome is the way he just attacks bad guys with his mouth. The actor really did a wonderful spewing the attacks, his mouth was a perfect weapon for the bad guys. The very wordy hero makes up the whole Spider-Man mythos. Holland is the true Spider-Man / Peter Parker. The only issue i have is the way he relies on Tony Stark, I'll go into that a bit later, but it really is a huge issue. In the comic Peter had friends, family but always took the heat for everyone. He was a lone wolf. Granted this is a new version, or a loosely based version still was very good on screen. After all this is the MCEU (Marvel, Cinematic, Entertainment, Universe).

Story:

The story to me is pretty tight. A team of salvage works gets shafted by Government employees which in turn creates the Vulture, Shocker, and the Tinkerer. There is a bit more plot points here, but all in all it develops the bad guys, and character development is an integral part in storytelling. With that being said, Spider-Man's development is not Tony Stark. Granted he did help in Civil War, but having him as a part of the Spider-Man back story is wrong.

Whatever happened to good old Spidey making his costume like he did in the beginning. The suit wasn't very good, but at least it was true to character. The whole Karen (Jennifer Connelly) AI in the Spider-Man suit thing isn't Spider-Man. Peter Parker in the comics would've never succeeded with all that technology. Why? Because when you rely on 300 versions of web shooters, and one day left without it. The whole point of having Spider-Man evolve is so important as who he was, and will become. To much tech is just another version of Iron-man.

This whole new version of Spider-man defies what he truly is as a hero. The movie as a whole was good, but it has a major issue. Tony Stark was a key connection and it never should've happened. Here is what should've happened in homecoming. Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) scenes were really good, but the character needed more screen time. A key part in the evolution of Peter Parker is May, and instead it was Tony Stark. I'll fight anyone on this point. Not saying the movie was bad, but it lost huge points having Tony being the mentor, which should've been Uncle Ben the true Spider-Man / Peter Parker story. That's what makes him who he is, and if you take that away, he's nothing more than a fan-boy, cardboard cutout of a wannabe superhero. Even if they played it out years later, it makes no difference because Tony would've never been a mentor. In the comic he's to full of himself to even get to that point.

Adrian Toomes:

The villain here is pure enjoyment, and excitement. Michael Keaton does a wonderful job as the main bad guy. His acting was superb as he connected with Peter Parker in the drive to the Homecoming dance. The pure hate he had for the red and blue hero. Then he finds out that Peter Parker is indeed the Spider-Man really angers him. The look, scene, delivery is epic from the start to end.

I also love the fact that the Vulture costume looks really good. The writers made the connection, eight years ago when the Chitauri aliens invaded Earth, and New York City being the main battle ground. That was great stuff, i loved how they made that connection. I even loved the way Peter Parker made the personal video in the beginning of the film, recording the battle between heroes in Civil War, and the opening for Homecoming.

Shocker (Jackson Brice, and Bokeem Woodbine) both Shocker number 1 and 2. Never really was a fan of these dudes but the actors did well. But in the case for the film it was pretty good. The way Shocker #1 was replaced by Shocker #2 was not only cool, it made sense. The first one was all rage, while the second one understood things, he knew how to control the situation. A careful bad guy, makes a perfect villain.

Phineas Mason / Tinkerer:

The tech has to come from somewhere, and this dude is underrated as a bad guy. Granted he is more behind the scenes, but a very cool villain indeed. The comic version was all out, and if you're a true fan go check out the information on this guy, he might surprise you. So i really have to mention him, because he was used, but not enough. This guy could've been a problem for Stark and Spider-Man, using his knowledge of tech to his advantage. In the comic he could take ordinary household products and make them into sophisticated gadgets. The guy was pure genius, but yet the film he was used as a computer tech assistant. Another main loss for the film, and a cool bad guy down the tubes. Does Hollywood ever listen? Do they just make things up as they go along. Check out the wikipedia about the Tinkerer. The reading of the character is done well, it tells you who he is, and more. But yet the director, writers decided to go the route of the film. I personally would've changed that, and made the Tinkerer more than who he was in the film.

The film was good don't get me wrong, but did it have problems, yes. The co-stars Michelle (Zendaya), Ned (Jacob Batalon), Liz (Laura Harrier), and Flash (Tony Revolori) were all great supporting characters. To me the major issue that i have with the movie is having Tony Stark as the mentor in the film. For the MCEU the film was good, it's part of the universe, but as a true Spider-Man fan i have to say the film does not represent the greatness that is Spider-man. Uncle Ben, his brawl at the ring, all the many different Spider-man suits made by Peter Parker. The love and connection he has with his Aunt May.

Spider-Man was great not because of what he had on, but what he represented as a hero. The red and blue costume was just another path for his life. To me this film was another Hollywood creation, it only created a new version for the new audiences. Hollywood wants a bigger than life hero, and in this film they got it.

 Spider-Man had many dynamics, and it wasn't inspired by Stark. The Hollywood folks should've understood the dynamics of the web-slinger. There was no Karen, he didn't have 300 types of web shooters. Peter made all that happen by engineering his own web shooters.  The kid was a genius in his own right. His love for science is Peter Parker. if i had to make a comparison the Spider-Man / Tobey Maguire in the 2002 version was better. Not taking away anything from Holland; His Parker performance was much better than Maguire.  The whole Tony Stark involvement should've been limited, instead it was Spidey and Tony. Sorry but the Peter Parker i know went against Venom on his own, major bad guys, he didn't need Iron-Man for help. The focus is Spider-Man and his world, not the Avengers. A slight cameo would've been good, but not mentoring him throughout the film, it was to much or me. This film was good, but as a very different Spider-Man, not the red and blue Web-Head that i knew growing up as a kid.