"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017, PG-13)

I still won’t deny that we didn’t need another Spider-Man reboot so soon, but I also can’t deny being grateful for this one, ‘cause it’s the bomb.  It’s fast, funny, an all-around good time, and it feels like the most “Spider-Man” Spider-Man movie ever.

After the events of Civil War, Peter Parker is champing at the bit to be a full-fledged Avenger, but Tony Stark, his unofficial mentor, wants him to take it slow.  Despite outfitting him with a new, technologically-suped-up suit and appointing Happy as his liaison, Tony’s not eager for Peter to get involved in anything too dangerous, and Peter goes all out trying to prove himself.  When he discovers criminals in Queens with alien weaponry, he takes it upon himself to track down and stop the suppliers, in the hopes of finally earning a seat at the grown-up table.

I’ve said it before, but it has to be said again:  Tom Holland is just a balls-out incredible Spider-Man.  He has the geekiness mixed with the cockiness, the nervous jokes, the teen angst, the acrobatic chops – everything.  And his youth makes the “teenage” part of this teenage superhero really hit home.  We get so used to seeing 25-year-olds play high schoolers that whenever an actor who’s even 18 or 19 comes along to play a teen, it’s astounding how young they are.  And that’s Holland’s Spidey all over.  Whether it’s his awkwardness around girls, his short attention span, or his helpless fear when he really gets in over his head, this Spidey feels genuines in a way that his predecessors, despite their own merits, can’t manage.

The film continues Marvel’s habit of mixing different genres into their superhero movies, giving us part superhero-action and part high-school comedy in the spirit of John Hughes.  I love how well it shows the balance (or lack thereof) between Peter’s ordinary life at high school and his extracurricular crime-fighting activities.  The strong emphasis on his non-Spidey life also gives us probably our best look so far into what a world with superheroes in it looks like.  The casual inclusion of a group of girls playing “Eff, Marry, Kill” with Avengers or teachers showing hilariously-awkward PSAs for teens from Captain America shows how the rest of the world has been reshaping itself since Tony first revealed himself as Iron Man.  The comedy comes fast and furious, taking full advantage of one-liners, comic sequences, and sight gags, and the Vulture is one of the better villains of the franchise.  If I have one critique, it’s that Tony/Iron Man is just a bit too involved for my tastes.  I understand the whole “somewhat emotionally-distant mentor” thing they have going on, and that’s mostly fine, but I’m a little wary of Tony designing toys for Spider-Man.  Watching him in action with the suit Tony made, it feels less like we’re seeing Spider-Man’s specific skills and more like a Spidey/Iron Man hybrid – unnecessary.

In addition to the absolutely wonderful Tom Holland, the rest of the cast is stuffed with even more awesome goodness.  Zendaya is a deadpan blast as Peter’s friend Michelle, Michael Keaton does a nice, complex job with the Vulture, and the cast also includes such gems as Donald Glover, Marisa Tomei, Martin Starr, Selenis Leyva (Gloria from Orange is the New Black,) Tyne Daly, and Abraham Attah (Agu from Beasts for No Nation!)

Warnings

Comic book violence, language, and thematic elements.

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