Spider-Man: Homecoming

Tom Holland really captures the heart of the character. Well paced. Michael Keaton is the 3rd best villain in the MCU behind Thanos and Loki. Great. Best Spiderman movie

Jon Watts (Director of Clown and Cop Car) perfects the character and charm of Spider-Man that we all love from the comics without doing disservice to either fans of both the Raimi and Amazing Spider-Man franchises with a fun superhero movie oozing with joy with its great cast and characters, big and small, as well as an 'amazing' performance from Tom Holland who brilliantly combines what Maguire and Garfield brought to the character by truly demonstrating the differences and similarities between the awkward nerd Peter Parker and the quippy crime fighting Spider-Man. The film also gives many critics of Marvel's lack of great villains what they want most, a relatable villain that is as, if not more, interesting than the hero itself and not only is great adversary physically but also psychologically and we see this with Michael Keaton's excellent portrayal of the Vulture. What Spider-Man: Homecoming does best, however, is its attention to detail and world building put into the town of Queens, which feels more real and believable than any other fictional world we have seen in the MCU, making Spider-Man: Homecoming one of the best chapters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and another great example for future superhero movies to learn from.

I can see how Sam Raimi fans found this movie to be awful. Personally, I'm a Raimi fan myself, but did found his Spiderman movies to be weak (specially Spiderman 3, sheesh). So this movie has nothing to compare itself with his work.

Now, if you're a die-hard Spiderman fan, you'll love this adaptation, which covers the true, honest, whimsical and kinda naive nature of Peter Parker.

Photography was excellent and the musical score brings the whole city and characters to life. Keaton's work in particular was a bit underwhelming for me, but that's not his fault... it's the screenplay, which to be honest felt a bit forced and not up to standards for an MCU movie.

Nevertheless, it's a great stand-alone flick you should definitely watch. You'll have a great time, and also enjoy how Marvel wishes to develop young Parker's character from here on out.

I had a reasonably fun time with Spiderman Homecoming, but I have a few big issues that prevent me from loving it...

Firstly, Peter Parker's vulnerability/invulnerability. There's a scene where Spiderman bangs his head on the roof of a truck, knocking himself unconscious, yet later on in the film, a couple of tons of concrete and steel land on the lad's head with no lasting damage. Not long after, Peter falls to the ground from a crashing jet (presumably travelling at a couple of hundred miles an hour) and gets up without a problem. Concussion one minute, indestructible the next!

Spiderman's strength is inconsistent too: Peter is holding together two halves of the Staten Island ferry in one scene, but later he is struggling to free himself from some rubble.

I also have a problem with The Avengers' very lax approach to shifting their equipment to new premises: Happy (Jon Favreau) loads all of the Avenger's weapons/armour onto an unmanned aircraft - not one person to guard it. Of course, this suited the plot, but it was extremely daft. Surely a couple of superheroes could have taken time out from saving the world to escort the precious cargo.

Last moan: did Spidey really need a high-tech suit equipped with AI and special assault modes? I thought Spiderman relied on Spidey sense.

On a more positive note, I enjoyed Peter's trials and tribulations at high-school, and thought that the twist revelation about the true identity of Vulture was well handled (I didn't see it coming). The special effects are, as always, very impressive, and Director Jon Watts handles the action well enough, but Sam Raimi needn't worry: his first two Spiderman movies remain the best.

As a lifelong Spidey fan I was expecting good things of Homecoming. Sadly - and I appreciate that I seem to be in the minority - it did not deliver for me.

Let's start with the positives: Michael Keaton's Vulture was everything a villain should be with an added layer of charm and depth. The high school setting and our youngest Peter so far was definitely a step in the right direction (Tom Holland is a very capable actor although though his voice did grate after a while). Even the menacing Mac Gargan, a potential 'Scorpion', was a great addition.

Now the negatives. I think the casting for Flash Thompson, Liz Allen and Ned Leeds was absolutely ridiculous. Flash is supposed to be a jock who bullies Peter - not a smaller Asian guy who is also a member of the same quiz team! And that throwaway 'M J' comment at the end - unforgivable!!!

The costume AI also didn't work for me. I appreciate that this is a tool to integrate Spidey into the MCU - but for me he works better when he is on his own, a guy in a cloth suit overcoming the odds with a mixture of bravery and science.

I can appreciate that Homecoming had some issues to get over, especially as the other movie incarnations covered his unique origin in such depth. Was it brave to avoid the origin altogether - or did it detract from really getting us onside? Maybe a 20 minute opening section with Peter narrating, recapping his origin might have helped...

I've no doubt that younger viewers would have enjoyed this movie (and maybe that was the aim), but fans of the 60's, 70's or 80's Spidey might have wondered what had happened to their favourite wallcrawler.

For me, the first 45 minutes of Raimi's 'Spider-Man' nailed it and SM2 was equally as good. My GF, who has no knowledge of the Spider- Man lore, left the cinema with me and remarked 'that was the worst one'.

Though I don't necessarily agree with that comment, I certainly wasn't ready to hail SM:Homecoming as an all conquering triumph, instead a rather weak chapter in the MCU series.

Sorry Spidey, I so wanted to love this movie! Maybe better next time...