Spider-Man: Homecoming–A [Spoiler-Free] Review

(Picture from IMDb)

I’ve finally been to see Spider-Man: Homecoming! I’ve been waiting for this movie for what seems like forever and I wasn’t disappointed. I enjoyed it so much. So, here’s my hopefully spoiler free review of the new Spider-Man movie!

***

Young Peter Parker (Tom Holland), thrilled by his brief stint with the Avengers, clumsily begins to navigate his way through his new powers with the help of his watchful mentor, Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). But Peter is desperate to prove him something more than a “friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man”.

But everything he holds dear is being threatened by a new, different sort of villain, the ambitious, bitter Vulture (Michael Keaton).

***

Things I liked:

I wasn’t entirely sure what I was expecting from the plot. I had no idea what it was about, but I enjoyed the plot. It seemed far-fetched occasionally, but in the end the plot was original, exciting and entertaining.

The action scenes were well-done, well-balanced with the rest of the story, and filled with humour. I occasionally felt they were a bit over the top and unbelievable, but generally they were fun, entertaining and not too violent.

The acting and casting were great. I liked Tom Holland’s fresh take on Peter Parker, and the more teenaged feel he brought to the character. I love Tobey Maguire’s Peter, and though I not sure that I liked Holland more, I liked the fact that he was less serious and less socially awkward.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Peter and Tony Stark. I love the fact that as the movie goes on Tony becomes a mentor/father figure for Peter and genuinely cares for him. He also isn’t afraid to give Peter a sharp talking to, if he feels that’s necessary. I’ve never liked Tony a whole lot, but this movie actually made me think, “Oh, hey, he’s not so bad after all.”

***

Things I disliked:

The secondary and minor characters would have benefited from some fleshing out. I felt there was a lot of missed potential with the other characters, particularly with the other members of Peter’s decathlon team. Other than Tony Stark, Ned was probably the most in-depth character, but he never really went beyond the weird, computer-nerd best friend.

The beginning seemed forced and a bit rough, but about fifteen minutes in it smoothed out and I began to enjoy it.

To me, Vulture, the main villain, was shallow and lacked any real motivation, but I did appreciate the fact that he was a villain quite different to other Spider-Man villains, or other villains in general.

There were some points where my highly practical and knowledgeable brain was a bit like “What? Seriously?” A fight scene in particular, towards the end, really stretched its believability. That didn’t stop it from being entertaining though.

***

Overall

It was really good. I’m still trying to work out whether or not it was better than the original Sony movies, but I definitely enjoyed it. It’s rated M, so I wouldn’t it suggest it for younger than thirteen or fourteen (having said that, a lot of kids younger than that have already seen it). It was a good, entertaining, well-done movie, and despite its few flaws, I give it five stars.

What about you? Have you seen Spider-Man: Homecoming yet? What did you think? Shall we fangirl over it together?