At last, the wait is over! Spider-Man is back on the big screen and he has come home to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming. So is this a triumphant homecoming? Is it another in a long line of failures that Sony has had with this franchise? Is there a future for our favorite web-slinger?
Well, to spoil this review: It’s the best Spider-Man film yet and its star, Tom Holland, is the Spider-Man we’ve been hoping for. I dare say I’d call it Amazing, Spectacular even. I had a grin on my face from start to finish and when that last credit sting faded to black I was ready to watch the movie again.
This film has such a great mix of laughs and action, of heart and excitement. It’s damn near perfect. In fact, I’ll cop to it now: It’s my favorite Marvel movie yet. They’ve finally gotten it right and Spider-Man really feels like Spider-Man. More so, Peter Parker feels like Peter Parker. They got everything right.
Review: Spider-Man: Homecoming got the right star
The cast is great. I loved everyone. Zendaya steals every scene she is in, which is no easy task considering how great Tom Holland is. Jacob Batalon as Ned was super funny and charming. Marissa Tomei is a great Aunt May and if I had one complaint it’s that we didn’t get more of her. Robert Downey Jr. brings his usual excellence.
What about Vulture and Michael Keaton’s portrayal? I have to admit, when I heard the villain was Vulture i was a little concerned. Admittedly, I don’t know much about that character but he always seemed to me to be, well, lame. Like who cares about some old man with wings? My concerns were quickly put to rest. Not only is Vulture formidable, he is complicated and Michael Keaton brings him to life wonderfully. That really is an example of some inspired casting. In fact, kudos to the casting director for this entire cast which is such a diverse group but also supremely talented.
The plot of the film thankfully skips the origins of Spidey and there is nary a mention of Uncle Ben. We’ve seen that twice already. We get it. Instead, its focus is on Peter finding his place in a world dealing with the emergence of super humans, and his place among the heroes he admires and desperately wants to be saving the world with. It’s almost more about Peter Parker than it is about Spider-Man and THAT is a great thing.
I think fans of the character are going to love this movie. They do a really wonderful job of integrating Spidey into the world and there are some great winks and nods to other characters that may (hopefully) show up in the future. I won’t spoil any of that. I will say though that at two different moments in the film my excitement boiled over and I exclaimed “yesssss” and later gave a mini fist pump, barely holding in a “whoop!”
The action is top notch. The effects are gorgeous. Director Jon Watts should be super proud of himself for this, he knocked it out of the park. Hats off to the writers as well who crafted a perfect mix of comic book action and coming of age high school comedy.
I loved it, pure and simple. It’s just a film full of pure joy. If John Hughes ever made a comic book movie, I think it would have turned out a lot like Spider-Man Homecoming.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is in theaters now!
A welcome return home for Spidey. I loved every second of it. Pure bliss.
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Garon Cockrell is the Founder and Editor of Pop Culture Beast and host of The Pop Culture Beast Show. He founded the site over seven years ago to have a place on the internet to write about the things he loved. Since then, Garon has become a best-selling author (Demonic and Other Tales), an award winning screenwriter (Best Screenplay 2013 Motor City Nightmares Film Festival), and a cast member on the top rated podcast, Never Not Funny.