Marvel Studios has produced a plethora of films for years and as they profit a gazillion bucks in each film, they aren't going anywhere for a while. Unless you've been living under a rock, they're the ones that have made films with characters like "Captain America", "Thor", "Iron Man", "Deadpool", "X-Men", "Spider-Man" and the like. Alone, Marvel has produced many "Spider-Man" films: "Spider-Man" '02, "Spider-Man 2" '04, "Spider-Man 3" '07, "The Amazing Spider-Man" '12, and "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" '14. So now to add to that never ending list, we have in the offing "Spider-Man: Homecoming".
A young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in "Captain America: Civil War", begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in this story. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine--distracted by thoughts of improving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. But when the Vulture AKA Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened. Will Peter finds his identity, or will he have to wait until yet another "Spider-Man is made?
Others to round out the cast are Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Zendaya as Michelle, Donald Glover as Aaron Davis, Jacob Batalon as Ned, Laura Harrier as Liz, Tony Revolori as Flash, Bokeem Woodbine as Herman Schultz/Shocker #2, Tyne Daly as Anne Marie Hoag, Abraham Attah as Abe and Hannibal Buress as Coach Wilson.
This was surprisingly well directed by virtual newcomer Jon Watts ("The Scariest Show on Television (TV movie) '08, "Eugene!" (TV Movie) '12, "Clown" '14, "Cop Car" '15) plus shorts and TV. Most filmmakers that direct these mega-huge productions have a plethora of well-known experience under their belts, but Marvel decided to take the chance with this guy and I believe the gamble paid off. He is as seasoned as any of the better known directors out there. It was well written by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers based on a screen story by Goldstein, and Daley which is based on the Marvel comic book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Character, Captain America was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. What actually shocks me is that with so many writers attached to this production, this storyline is cleverly written with a hipper version of this franchise. Usually if the amount of writers exceeds two, the quality becomes jeopardized, however this isn't without issues. It's a bit long-in-the-tooth--this could've been cut about ten minutes and there were a couple of small places of choppiness. Certainly the visual effects predominantly designed by Digital Domain, ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic), SPI (Sony Pictures Imageworks) and Method Studios were seamless. Whereas other big-budget films with a ton of visuals depend on the visuals to get them through the film, this, of course, needed visuals, but there were enough places were people gave this version the heart it carried.
Whether you're a comic book film fanatic or not, this installment is probably the best version of this franchise. Obviously, this will be continued--hey, it tells you by films' end, but as long as they give a similar flavor to the storyline, this will make for a doable screenplay. Holland certainly fits the bill as Spidy--he even gives that frenetic performance ala Michael J. Fox in the "Back to the Future" trilogy. Enjoy!
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: PG-13 134mins.
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