I would like to point out right from the start that the latest Spider-Man movie should not be underestimated. After the release of three successful films with Tobey Maguire, the director of “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, Jon Watts, miraculously managed to create an intriguingly different storyline for our young hero (also putting Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man to shame).
*This review contains spoilers*
Meet Peter Parker (again). He’s a smart teenager who has big dreams and wants to become a hero. Tom Holland’s first appearance as Spider-Man was last year, in “Captain America: Civil War”. There are a few recaps of Peter’s previous experience with the Avengers at the beginning of “Spider-Man: Homecoming”. He goes on a plane for the first time, receives an updated Spider-Man costume, meets the Avengers... Calling him “excited” is an understatement. While the adults are constantly at each other’s throats, Peter is completely awe-struck by the unique power of each hero. His video diaries perfectly capture his childish reactions and pure enthusiasm. He narrates his adventures as if he is talking about a newly released video game (which, of course, he’s part of). His attitude is absolutely normal, considering the fact that he’s only a 15-year-old teenager.
However, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) senses that Peter is not fully ready to be an Avenger and fight in the world out there, so he sends him back home and leaves his friend, Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), in charge of the boy. As the storyline moves forward to the present day, the audience efficiently learns more about Peter’s life as a normal teenager. He lives in Queens, New York, with his aunt, May Parker (Marisa Tomei).
He studies at Midtown School of Science and Technology (another proof that he’s indeed a smart kid). He has a close friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon),
a hopeless crush, Liz (Laura Harrier),
and gets picked on by his annoying bully, Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori). This new Flash is no longer a popular jock. Ironically, he happens to be a “nerd” like Peter, only a lot meaner. He doesn’t believe Peter’s stories about his so-called Stark Internship and always makes fun of him.
But the boy doesn’t have time for bullies. He has other things to worry about, such as saving the world... and spamming Happy with messages and voicemails about his schedule. While impatiently waiting for his next mission, Peter tries to act like a hero in his city. He climbs up buildings, shows off his spider skills and swings his way around Queens on Hey! Ho! Let’s go! by the Ramones.
He should solve the “problems”, but he actually brings trouble along, due to the citizens’ complaints. He misinterprets some people’s actions, seeing the smallest dispute as a law-breaking issue.
Luckily, nobody knows who Spider-Man is (except for Ned, who bugs Peter with silly questions as “Do you lay eggs?” or “Can you summon an army of spiders?”). It’s better to be that type of “mysterious hero” so as not to draw too much attention upon yourself. Everything goes smoothly for Peter until one night, when he comes across a group of criminals robbing an ATM with highly advanced weapons. The boy quickly finds out who creates these unusual bombs and guns. We’re talking about Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), also known as the Vulture. Out of all the Marvel villains, Toomes is the most human. His only problem is that he despises the rich people and their powerful impact upon those below them. His backstory is unfortunate. It goes all the way back to 2012, following the Battle of New York (which took part in “The Avengers”). Toomes is a simple man with a salvage company, who is supposed to clean up the city after the dreadful alien invasion. Unfortunately, he and his employees are briskly replaced by Tony Stark’s Department of Damage Control. Words can’t describe Toomes’ disappointment of being driven out of business. Controlled by his anger, he convinces his teammates to keep the scavenged Chitauri technology in order to design dangerous weapons. It doesn’t last long until they enter the dark world of the black market and sell their creations to all sorts of criminals.
In order to impress Tony and become an Avenger himself, Peter bravely risks his life to stop Toomes and his gang. It’s an adventurous journey with both highs and lows. After getting rid of his Training Wheels Protocol, Peter finally discovers everything his suit can do and even gets his own guiding robot, Karen. In time it proves to be even more difficult to find the balance between his personal and hero life. He distances himself from Aunt May and doesn’t put too much interest in his school’s Academic Decathlon team anymore. It is as if he wouldn’t mind to be a high school dropout. But Peter’s undercover work is soon heading towards total fail, as Tony tracks him down and takes his suit away. With the whole world collapsing over him, Peter feels pointless, which raises an important question: is he really no one without his suit?
For a while, the boy returns to his normal life and his routine gradually improves. He pays attention to his classes, spends more time with Aunt May and Ned... he even invites Liz, his crush, to the Homecoming dance. On the night of the dance, as he is about to pick Liz from her house, Peter meets her parents. And that’s when the unexpected plot twist strikes in: Toomes is Liz’s father. The car ride towards the Homecoming dance is definitely one of the most uptight moments of the movie. Listening to Liz and Peter’s conversation about the boy’s mysterious sneaking-out moments, Toomes adds the last pieces to the puzzle and finally realizes that he’s in the same car with the one and only Spider-Man. This might be the perfect opportunity to get rid of him once and for all. However, being aware of the fact that Peter recently saved Liz in Washington D.C. (as Spider-Man), Toomes offers him one last chance to move on with his life and mind his own business. The whole scene is hard to watch. The audience is most likely to experience the same feelings as Peter. With every glimpse of Toomes’ menacing look, the tension builds up. Peter’s heartbeat increases. He tries to maintain a calm attitude, but panic and unease are written all over his face. For the first time since being Spider-Man, Peter has to take a critical decision. After all, it’s a matter between life and death.
Peter chooses to follow Toomes and put an end to his heists. He is dressed up in his old self-made suit which doesn’t have too many helpful options. While Toomes robs a plane full of Tony’s property (arc reactors and all sorts of gadgets), Peter is left to die with an entire roof fallen down over him. Half crying, half catching his breath, he desperately shouts for help. But after he sees his mask in a puddle below him and remembers Tony’s words (“If you’re nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t have it.”), he overcomes his fear and lets his inner Spider-Man come through. From the moment he escapes from the debris, Peter reveals impressive courage and cleverness. He catches Toomes, stops him from stealing further gadgets and even saves him from his malfunctioning mechanical wings. His heroic actions prove that he doesn’t need the suit to be Spider-Man.
Jon Watts successfully captured Peter’s evolution throughout the movie. At first he seems to be a future high school dropout, with his head stuck in the clouds and looking forward to as many adventures as possible. In the end, although Tony offers him the chance to join the Avengers, Peter makes a mature decision: he keeps it low for a while. He still goes to school and enjoys his time as a teenager, with a lot of possibilities ahead. I was honestly glad with Peter’s choice. Another thing I appreciated was Tony’s response to the whole situation. He’s proud of Peter. He always acts like a protective father who only wants the best for his son. He even lets the boy keep his suit for upcoming events. This gesture shows that Tony strongly believes in Peter and senses his high potential.
Why should you watch “Spider-Man: Homecoming”? It’s a simply delightful movie. After the overload of grown-up Avengers, Spider-Man comes off as a fresh gulp of air. The world is seen from an innocent teenage perspective. You will spend time in a typical and relatable world of teenagers who use “cool” and “lame” for almost everything and occasionally discuss which Avenger they’d kill or marry. You will be pleased to find out that everyone has a place to fit in, whether they’re popular or nerdy. You will notice increased culture diversity. You will become friends with the hilarious Ned and the smart and quirky Michelle (Zendaya) – hopefully Peter’s future love interest. You will hate Flash’s irritating catchphrases. You will understand Toomes’ humane side and even agree with him at some points. To make long story short, you will definitely enjoy the vibrant American atmosphere.
The new version of Peter Parker is awkwardly cute and tempting to watch. He portraits the nerd with classic geeky jokes written on his T-shirts (“I lost an electron.”– “Are you positive?”). He is that type of hero who takes a moment to strike the perfect pose, interrupts some ATM robbers by asking them if they had forgotten their PIN code, apologizes for harsh blows and leaves notes behind when capturing the bad guy. While fighting, he makes sure to compliment his opponent. He is often stuck between excitement and disappointment, firmness and hesitation. He is all over the place and talks a lot. But, in the end, he always means well. Here’s to more adventures with the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and his tingling spidey sense.
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