“Spider-Man: Homecoming” finally gives us the teenage Peter Parker from the comic books. I was pretty upset when I heard that the franchise was moving away from Andrew Garfield after just two films (in which he proved himself far superior to Tobey Maguire), seeing this film eased the pain. Garfield is still my favorite Spider-Man but Tom Holland’s portrayal successfully drives home the point that Peter Parker is just a kid who isn’t ready for the responsibility of saving the world. I do have to throw out a disclaimer about this film: It was clearly made for Marvel superfans. I understand that it is one part of the epically developed Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the first five minutes completely neglected every viewer that did not see “Captain America: Civil War.” I don’t mind that the writers want to directly connect all of the Marvel films, but they took away the possibility of viewing the film as a standalone superhero film. The addition of a flashback and explanation of “Civil War” would’ve taken two minutes and saved me from missing most of the opening because I was Googling to find out what was going on. I understand the argument that you wouldn’t see a sequel without seeing the first film, but this film wasn’t marketed as a sequel. My love for Spider-Man allowed me to move past the opening and enjoy the film, but it would’ve been nice to have been in the loop from the start. One of the main things that Disney has done right with the MCU is the perfect casting of their superheroes, sidekicks, and villains. Michael Keaton makes an incredible villain and I love that his superhero legacy has come full circle from his days playing Batman. It’s truly amazing how his performance in “Birdman” as a washed up superhero actor has kickstarted his superhero and acting career. I love Marisa Tomei but she is way too young to play Aunt May. It makes sense that if Peter is in high school, his aunt would be younger, but her kindship with Peter is just too different from what I have come to expect. Robert Downey Jr. is excellent as Iron Man but it creates the same issue that I have with the modern Marvel movement – there are just too many superheroes in every film! I tuned in to this film to enjoy a Spider-Man origin story but it gets downgraded to just another piece of the MCU. I think that the interconnected video catalogue that they have built is incredible but it becomes hard to sit down and enjoy your favorite superhero because there are always other ones flying around. That being said, Captain America’s cameos at the school are pretty hilarious. “Spider-Man: Homecoming” has a great story, awesome acting, and great special effects. It is everything that you could want in a superhero movie, minus the fact that it is a superhero(es) movie without a warning that it is a sequel.
[Pictured: Tom Holland finally gives us a Peter Parker that looks like he's in high school]
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