Spider-Man: Homecoming

This review may contain spoilers!

This is definitely the best Spider-Man film that's been released thus far. I would give Spider-Man: Homecoming an 8.5/10.

This is a brilliant coming of age story, we see one of the youngest superheroes in the MCU take responsibility of his newfound powers and make his mark as a hero. I thought it was terrific to see Peter as this young, quite relatable high school student, even more so when he wrestled with the importance of potentially becoming an Avenger and staying committed to his high school life. The atmosphere created in this film is really fun, you can't help but laugh at this really entertaining school that our young hero goes to and the supporting cast of characters all add a lot to the authenticity of this film. This film really started with a kid who aspired to be an Avenger and, after grappling with all the hurdles set before him throughout the film, we come to see Spider-Man as someone who doesn't need to be an Avenger to be a hero. The cinematography is incredibly fluid; you find yourself watching scenes and you feel in motion alongside the main character. The special effects look exceptional; the spider-suit CGI is only ever matched by the great new Iron Man suit design and the Vulture exo-skeleton. The score for the film is really light and peppy marking this as the most fun Spider-Man film yet, the soundtrack matches the tone beat for beat especially 'Blitzkrieg Bop' by the Ramones.

Michael Keaton, who played Adrian Toomes, absolutely nails it as the antagonist of this film; Keaton is someone you can come to like and who is very recognisable as an everyday father and husband which makes him quite a fresh Marvel villain. Robert Downey Jr., who played Tony Stark, works out quite well as the mentor figure to Peter Parker; his usual narcissistic humour lands quite nicely but it's his very emotional commitment to Peter's growth as a person that makes him stand out so well. Jon Favreau, who played Happy Hogan, has a stern and pessimistic outlook throughout the film which is quite fun to watch; yet at the heart of this role is the security guard who goes out of his way to look out for those he considers important to him and it's great to have him back. Gwyneth Paltrow, who played Pepper Potts, is a surprise cameo that is great to see again; Paltrow's easy chemistry with Downey Jr. is immediately sparked and feels as fresh as it was in the first Iron Man films. Zendaya, who played Michelle, suits the laidback yet fiercely strong role; Zendaya crafts a character who is extremely witty and self-confident. Jacob Batalon, who played Ned, immediately captures the nerdy friend role but he's also notably outspoken and full of energy; Batalon has such immediate chemistry with Holland that you feel like they've been friends forever. Abraham Attah, Tiffany Espensen, Isabella Amara and Michael Barbieri, who played Abe, Cindy, Sally and Charles respectively, are quite a fun comedic group as the decathalon team; I loved the diverse personalities and witticisms that composed and came out of this group. Hannibal Buress, who played Coach Wilson, is quite a good comedic presence in this film; the manner in which he presents the Captain America cameos is very well done. Angourie Rice and Jorge Lendeborg Jr., who played Betty and Jason respectively, are really funny as the awkward school news presenters; they played off one another well and added to that convincing high school atmosphere. Martin Starr, who played Mr. Harrington, feels like a positive fun teacher role; his awkward interview with the school news is one of the funnier moments in the film. Michael Chernus, who played Phineas Mason, is quite a muted antagonist in relation Keaton but his calm demeanour fits in really well; his quietly delivered bits of snark or more comic moments actually land extremely well. Jennifer Connelly, who voiced Karen, is the best A.I. voice actor we've had since Paul Bettany ascended to Vision from Jarvis; Connelly is a much more emotionally aware AI which leads to some more comedic conversations between her and Holland. Chris Evans, who played Captain America, is extremely over the top and having a lot of fun as a more 'PSA' version of his character; these educational and quite witty cameos from Evans real fits with the films comic tone.

However the best performance came from Tom Holland, who played Peter Parker. Holland felt like a young high school kid trying to fill the giant shoes of an Avenger; he was constantly racing around screen looking amazed and absolutely enthralled in the world he was in. I was blown away by his steady humour, be that his awkward demeanor or his quips at the antagonists. He rattles off the heavy nerdy jargon with easy and you get a strong feel for how naturally smart this character is. I liked that the role still struggled with his high school popularity and his affection for a classmate, it grounded him and made the role very real. There's a strength to Spider-Man, one that is shown very powerfully in this feature; he's a character who has to come to realise his own strengths and put his own morals and responsibilities as a hero before his ambitions which is a big part of this film's rendition.

I loved this film a lot but it did have fairly slow pacing, there were a lot of scenes that felt repeated which stretched out the length of the feature. Moments that took place in Peter's room or the high school grew repetitive, even the Iron Man appearances and Vulture attacks came to blend together a bit in terms of storytelling. I also felt that this film knew how to tell a teen coming of age film extremely well but it also got bogged down in it's own stereotypes sometimes; the high school romance, the classic high school archetypes and even the build up to the high school homecoming all felt familiar and there could've been a few more risks taken.

Marisa Tomei, who played May Parker, didn't feel at all like a family member to Holland rather she just acted goofy and was a weak attempt at lacing in more comedic relief; I really felt like Tomei was there to have a lot of jokes made about how attractive she was and that was about it. Donald Glover, who played Aaron Davis, didn't really serve very much purpose in this film; Glover's criminal with a heart of gold felt like a bit of a wishful role that you weren't very convinced by. Laura Harrier, who played Liz, wasn't in this film to be much more than the love interest; she was very rigid in her performance and you didn't see the chemistry between her and Holland at all. Tony Revolori, who played Flash, has to be the worst version of the famous bully yet; he has no presence in all his scenes and often comes off feeling more pathetic than anything else. Bokeem Woodbine, who played Herman Schultz, lurks behind Keaton a lot as the main henchman but brings little else to the film; Woodbine brings forth a villain who's quite crony and hard to take seriously. Kenneth Choi, who played Principal Morita, has absolutely no screen presence in this film; of all the high school faculty Choi is the one who falls into the background the most frequently. Garcelle Beauvais, who played Doris Toomes, is a necessary background piece to add to the Toomes twist but she could be replaced with a number of different performers; this isn't a role that feels like it matters and she's lost behind the performances of Keaton, Holland and even Harrier. Michael Mando, Logan Marshall-Green and Christopher Berry, who played Mac Gargan, Jackson Brice and Randy respectively, round out the background henchmen and criminal contacts of Keaton's role; none of these performers do much but lurk within the background and none manage to bring much personality to the villainous crew.