Who knew a Spider-Man film could be so much fun. I only wished they’d stop making new Iron Man movies.
Writer: Jonathan Goldstein (plus) Director: Jon Watts Runtime: 2h13m, Cast and Crew
First And foremost, Can Marvel stop making new instalments to Iron man and just give him a new movie. If you go back to Avengers: AoU, Ultron is based on the personality of Tony. Dr. Strange felt too similar, again in personality(I don’t recall many similarities in the comics Certainly doesn’t read that way). I would even put money on the line when it was said: doing the right thing when it benefitted Strange, was an echo to Stark (though it works great in the film). Now this film, I feel like whatever formula is out there that made Tony Starks first (and second) outing as popular as they were/are.
On the flip side, it’s the perfect background story to reinforce the hero’s motto: “With great power, comes Responsibility”. The entire movie harbours on the question ‘What would Tony NOT do?’ With that in mind, we see someone who has all the potential in the world to be like Tony Stark but has to be willing not to, so that he can grow into his own man. I thought that was a interesting running theme especially when you get to the party sequence. You start to see familiarities to Iron Man 2, with respect to the party scene in that film. Amongst all the high school drama and super hero expected moments, Homecoming’s use of the Tony Stark angle mixed in with how Peter deals with becoming a “man” in the Spidey suit very compelling. It was Marvel’s way to reinvigorate life into a rather ‘Been there, done that’ series. If you really look at the story through that lens, it gets the audience to recall why Uncle Ben’s death is important without ever showing it. Which is something we didn’t need to see again. Much like Batman’s parents.
The film is set in high school and not just some a few moments, as seen in previous instalments. What’s interesting about that is that it didn’t feel forced. Well Minus Flash Thompson. In every way I disliked what they did to Flash Thompson. He just didn’t come off believable for 98% of his scenes for me. Aside from that, we got a great diverse cast, that one could only imagine is reflective of New York’s schools today. It was hard not to see the genre homages to other films relating to high school (namely Back to the future). Of all the stories for this character on the big screen, this may be the strongest one.
If you needed any other clear indicator that this film was essentially copying Iron Man, I i think its important to point out there was a darn press conference at the end of both of these films. both with the same idea that a public question was gonna be answered publicly.
Michael Keaton was a surprise casting in my opinion. From his first scene to his last, I felt he was perfectly casted as the Vulture. What got me was how well he can go from nice to aggressive, yet smooth. Some of his best scenes were: his introductory scene (it also looked amazing), the ride to prom scene(probably the only time I felt a genuine concern for the superhero in a film) and every other time he was on screen. There wasn’t many times one could dislike what he was doing. Only real complaint, was that we didn’t get enough of him. Personally, if you don’t give me a means to why, or build on it, why a villain hates/wants to do something then well, you lost the effect. Theres only so much run time for a movie, sadly. I loved his juxtaposition to Peter and even (yet again) tony stark. A regular guy who wanted a chance at getting ahead but get thwarted by the big conglomerate “suit” folk (I hope you see what I did there).
Tom Holland, thus far is the only actor to get both Peter and Spider-man right. The two previous actors(Maguire & Garfield) didn’t do wrong. One, got Peter right. The other got Spidey right respectively. I wouldn’t even blame the talent, rather the directors writers, and the studios in the era of time. Tobey was more of a classical ‘Reeves’ approach whereas The latter became more of a millennial story that wanted more Spidey. Holland found a way to channel his emotions in all the right ways. The story even found a great way to bring one of his more iconic moment from Spider-Man #33. That was his best scene, followed by the same ride to prom. I’m amazed that he is British and able to hide it so well. One thing that I wish we got was more practical looking Spider-Man as opposed to the over use of cgi elements.
Though used in every possible advertisement, Downey is maybe 7% of the film which I am thankful for. As much as i love both the actor and character he plays, I can’t stand the reliance on him for everything in the MCU. That said, Spidey’s supporting cast was great where they needed to be. Aunt May having youth is a smart idea and something I’m sure will be part of the development of the story as it moves along in coming chapters. Though Ned Leeds is a villain in the comics the character played by Jacob Batalon here is welcoming in the sense that it pulls more from the Ultimate Comics line than it does anything else. He adds humour and helps connect you to the world. The stand out star was Zendaya (as Michelle Jones in film). Her sarcastic nature added so much in an unexpected nature. Hope she becomes more intwined with the story like one Liz Allen did.
Bottomline: It’s not the best of all the Spidey films to date. But it is exactly what Marvel needed to bring this character to new heights. Personally, I feel like Magurie’s first to films as the Spidey were and still are the best ones. The settings make this film that much more enjoyable. Just wished their on location filming feel more like New York than what we got.
- Overall rating of the movie: 7.9 out of 10,
- Cinematography: 8 out of 10,
- Editing: 9 out of 10,
- Audio: 7 out of 10,
- Acting: 8.5 out of 10,
Theatres or wait for the blu-ray? Its cool in IMAX but it is really fun to watch whenever. I’d wait for the phase 2/3 box set that this will be in.
THAT’S IT! Cheers: “To Peace”. Your eLEWsive Thought Provided by: the “LEW System”.
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