Well there honestly is
no contest; Marvel was the hare on roids with Civil War flying past BatmanV Superman, which was the brain-dead tortoise. The tortoise then died with Suicide Squad and allowed Marvel to
causally saunter past the finish line a second time with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2. I guess when the tortoise was
resurrected it came back with full mental capabilities and was even given some
coffee that helped it regain a shred of dignity for DC with Wonder Woman. But Spiderman: Homecoming definitely didn’t let them hold onto that
shred for very long.
Beginning with a cute and character-telling recap of
Spiderman’s assistance during the Avengers’ schism, the film shows us Peter
Parker (Tom Holland) trying to get through high-school and impatiently waiting
for Tony Stark to call him with another mission. Filling his time with
small-scale friendly-neighbourhood-Spiderman heroics, Peter gets his chance to
prove himself when he attempts to stop an ATM heist and discovers that the
assailants are toting some incredibly high-tech, almost alien, weapons. Things
go from friendly-neighbourhood to deadly serious pretty quickly and soon, Peter
is faced with the real risks of being a superhero.
It’s already glaringly clear
that Marvel know what they’re doing when it comes to these movies. I know that
people have been dubious about another Spiderman movie because, let’s face it,
Sam Raimi’s took a slight downside turn and no one even bothers thinking about
the reboots with Andrew Garfield. In terms of popular consumption, Spiderman almost
rivals Batman for most televisual and cinematically revived superhero and when
you sit down and watch Homecoming,
you can totally understand why.
First reason why this movie is awesome: its
attention to detail, polish, and homage to the genre of teen movie. Whilst Toby
Maguire was only nerdy high school Peter Parker for half of the first film,
both Parker and Spiderman as characters are young and blossoming. Peter is
blundering through the minefield of puberty and the social dynamics that it
changes and Spiderman, when you really think about it, is a fledgling
superhero. His ‘friendly-neighbourhood’ shtick never gets bigger than his own
backyard and this movie was all about showcasing that fact. The
big-fish-in-a-small-pond story really works here because it has been so
beautifully set up by Spiderman’s appearance in Civil War and it frees up the writers to really explore and depict
the intricacies of character development as well as world-building. It’s a
bigger blockbuster because of the characters and the action story it’s telling,
but the confined structure of a teen movie, as well as some classic allusions
to the most celebrated teen comedies in cinematic history, really allows you
relate to the characters as well as react accordingly when the big surprises
are revealed. The structure and writing of this movie was brilliant and it ties
in perfectly to the next point of awesomeness: the villain.
In a lot of the Marvel
movies prior to Homecoming, the
driving force of the villains has been revenge for some sort of physical or
moral betrayal. That, or artificial intelligence deciding to go all ‘Noah’ and
do a cleansing purge. But the Vulture, played superbly by Birdman and Batman
himself, Michael Keaton, is probably one of the most genuine villains to grace
screen since Public Enemies. Yes,
there still is an element of revenge and anger at being screwed over in his
actions, but Vulture’s central motivation is economical: he’s got a family to
support. Just like John Dillinger and all those gangsters and robbers during
Hoover’s ‘War on Crime’, Vulture turned to crime because there was no real
alternative at the time of his decision and of course, once you’re in you’re
sort of stuck. There’s no overinflated violent tendencies or psychological issues
with this guy, he’s just doing what he can to support his loved ones and the
fact that this is so reminiscent of infamous villains from our own history
books makes it so good!
On the subject of continuing themes of motivation, I
admire how the writers are keeping the running theme of Tony Stark trying to
appease everyone and just causing more problems. Poor old Tony goes back and
forth in his own movies, then screws the pooch time and time again:
breakthrough in AI in Age of Ultron
*oops*, firm decision on the Sokovia Accords *my bad*, and then there his
involvement in the driving plots of this movie *no spoilers, but damn*. It’s
this wonderful example of research, attention to detail, and investment in the projects
(something that the writers on Pirates 5
desperately needed) that fans respond to.
It’s been said that Toby Maguire made
a good Peter Parker, but Andrew Garfield was a good Spiderman, and the thing
about this franchise is that the two are actually different characters. Tom
Holland is pretty great as both. As Peter Parker he is socially awkward, but
sweet and endearing and, as Spiderman he is driven, confident, and heroic.
Loved him.
If you’re invested in the Marvel multiverse or get a kick out of
watching just how far behind the brain-dead tortoise that is Warner Bros.’ DC
is, then you should definitely go and watch this movie now. For everyone else,
you should go and watch it because it is just a really good movie!
Starring:
Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Zendaya,
Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Jacob Batalon, and Gwyneth Paltrow
Year: 2017
Rating: M
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