Review written by Christian Garcia
After Tom Holland’s debut in Captain America: Civil War, I and most fans were excited to see him get his own Spider-Man film. I was not the biggest fan of the Andrew Garfield films so I was excited to see a new take on my favorite Marvel hero.
I loved this movie when it first came out and it felt good to have what I felt to be the first good Spider-Man film in a long time. However, as years have gone by, Homecoming isn’t brought up that much when people discuss the Spider-Man films.
This is my first time looking at this film since its release. Does it still hold up? Why is it talked about less? Let’s find out.
The Hero
Peter Parker is a brilliant young teenager who tries to balance his school life, home life, and his responsibilities as Spider-Man.
He loves to help around his neighborhood stopping local crimes and even giving people directions. He wants to do more and is impatient to get his next mission. He constantly calls Happy Hogan with updates hoping to be called into action again. His desire to do more puts him at odds with his mentor, Tony Stark who would rather have him “stay close to the ground.” Like his mentor, he can’t take no for an answer and winds up in much bigger trouble than he can handle.
He is a kid and like a kid, he can be very impatient and stubborn. Yet he is a good hearted and respectful person at his core. His genuine personality is what endears him to his friends and family and is what makes him the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. He always chooses to do the right thing, even at his own cost.
The Hero's Journey
Peter Parker is constantly trying to balance his double-life as Spider-Man and Peter Parker. He must deal with threats to the neighborhood and the world while also having to worry about his Spanish test. This Spider-Man film shows Peter Parker dealing with his regular high school drama such as trying to ask out his crush Liz and keeping up with his grades. Seeing Peter in a normal high school setting makes him more relatable as we have experienced similar things in high school. While he wants to live a normal life, his desire to do good and what is right ultimately gets in the way. He can’t even enjoy going to a high school party as his (self-appointed) duties as Spider-Man calls him into action.
After the events of Civil War, Peter is eager to get back into action and is constantly hammering Happy Hogan about when his next mission will be. When Peter stumbles upon Toomes’ crew and their schemes, Tony Stark tells him to stay out of it and “stay close to the ground.” This frustrates Peter because he wants to do more and be like Tony, while Tony wants Peter to be better than him and is trying to protect him. It’s a classic tale of the protégé being in way over their head while their mentor tries to keep them grounded. Tony sees himself in Peter and does not want him to make the same mistakes as he did which is why he is always overprotective of him.
Meanwhile, Peter is trying to prove himself that he can be an asset to the Avengers. In trying to prove himself, he becomes reckless. At one point, Peter makes a huge mistake that nearly costs innocent people their lives and Iron Man must bail him out of it. This leads to a confrontation between Peter and Tony where Tony admonishes Peter for his recklessness and decides to take back Peter’s suit. Peter pleads with him not to and that the suit is all he has and Tony hits him with the line, “If you're nothing without that suit, then you shouldn't have it.”
After this incident, Peter accepts his fate and returns to a normal life, even asking Liz to the Homecoming dance. However, his life as Spider-Man comes back into the fold when he discovers that Adrian Toomes is Liz’s father. Before he goes to the door, he is eager and excited for his big date, feeling like a normal kid, but once Toomes answers the door, the harsh reality of his double-life takes over once again. Peter is noticeably terrified the entire time he is there, and it is sad to watch a moment that should have brought him great joy only brought terror and dread. When Toomes puts together that Peter is Spider-Man, he asks Liz for a moment alone with Peter and threatens Peter and his loved ones unless he agrees to stay out of his business. Peter is forced to make a choice to either forget what happened and enjoy the dance with Liz or do the right thing and stop her father. Sadly, for Peter duty calls and he finds his old Spidey suit and goes after Vulture. Peter stops Vulture on his own without his advanced suit, proving his worth as Spider-Man and showing his growth.
Peter's ultimate moment of growth is when he turns down Tony’s offer to become an Avenger. His goal throughout the film was to prove that he was worthy of being an Avenger and Tony was ready to give him what he wanted. But his previous experienced gave him newfound maturity and made him realize that he still has much to learn before he can join the Avengers. It’s a bold move on his part to turn down everything he had wanted but also shows maturity that he would rather become an Avenger when he feels he is ready.
The Villain
Adrian Toomes, known as the Vulture, is the owner of Bestman Salvage, a cleanup crew. He turned to a life of crime after losing his livelihood because of the creation of Damage Control, a joint venture between the federal government and Tony Stark. He and his crew spent four years stealing advanced weaponry and selling them on the black market. He is portrayed by Michael Keaton who does a great job of capturing the nice guy dad, the everyman worker and the calculated and sinister villain, Vulture.
He represents the common man who feels wronged by the system. The opening scene establishes that he does what he does not for evil purposes but because he is trying to do right for his family and feels he has been wronged by Stark and Damage Control. It makes the audience relate to him and feel sympathy for him. As the film progresses, he descents more into a sinister villain. When Toomes tries to threaten Peter and everyone he loves, he becomes more intimidating and sinister. Although his intentions at first were pure, he has gone too far and that he wishes to kill to protect his family. It feels like Walter White’s dissension into villainy.
One of the highlights of the movie is when Peter arrives to pick up his date, Liz, for homecoming and is shocked to see Toomes answer the door. It was a shocking moment not only for Peter but for the audience. The tension is heightened when Toomes drives Peter and Liz and puts together that Peter is Spider-Man. Toomes gives Peter a look in the mirror that makes the audience feel the same fear that Peter feels. When he encounters Spider-Man before their final battle, Toomes calls out the unfairness that people like him are looked over and forced to pick up the scraps while the likes of Tony Stark sit on their pedestals. You understand his frustrations and anger but also see that he has taken his anger too far. Even though he says he wants to kill Peter, his actions and visual frustration show that he does not really want to but feels he must.
However, Toomes is redeemed in the end and remains an honorable man. In their final battle, Peter tries to warn him that his suit is going to explode and after it does, Peter saves Toomes. Even though the man threatened him and his family, Peter still saved his life and did the right thing. In the post credit scene, when Toomes’ buyer from earlier asks him about Spider-Man’s identity, Toomes pretends that he does not know, repaying his debt to Peter and protecting him. He is not an evil man, he is a man who was driven to crime out of anger and frustration and despite his crimes, he does redeem himself in the end with this act.
Vulture is a villain I had been wanting to see in a Spider-Man film and he was handled with care and grace here. He is one of the more relatable villains and Michael Keaton’s performance captures his likability and sinister nature. He makes for a solid villain and a great antagonist and the way they connect him to both Spider-Man and Peter Parker is well done and shows the tragic implications that come from Peter’s double life.
The Film's Pros
Tom Holland
Since his first appearance in Civil War, Tom Holland nailed the role of Peter Parker and Spider-Man beautifully. Getting ahead of myself but Holland has proven himself to be the best Spider-Man. Although I will always have a place in for the Maguire movies and I do appreciate Andrew Garfield’s incarnation, Holland captures that perfect balance between the awkwardness of the teenaged Peter Parker and the annoying cockiness of Spider-Man. If you’re a supervillain, Spider-Man is one of the most annoying heroes to do battle with because of his constant quips during battle and Holland captures that perfectly. As Peter Parker, he's a nice kid trying to good while as Spider-Man he is more confident witty.
Another aspect that makes Holland shine is his young age. This time around e get a young teenager trying to balance a normal teenage life while also having superpowers. While Maguire and Garfield’s characters were also supposed to be young teenagers, they still felt more like adults than a teenager. Holland’s performance captures that young teenager spirit that young audiences can identify with. Even though I was in college when this film came out, I could relate to this Peter Parker because I had experienced the same pressures that teenagers in high school felt. I can imagine how young teenagers now can relate to him as they currently go through that phase.
Holland shines because he is both an interesting Peter Parker and an interesting Spider-Man. We sympathize with Peter as he is trying to balance a normal life while doing what is right. He wants to take part in normal teenage activities but his responsibilities as Spider-Man is always getting in the way. The struggle of Spider-Man is always about balance, and he is always forced to put aside his desires to what is right and protect the ones he cares for. Holland gets that struggle across well while being very likable. In his first solo outing as Spider-Man, he makes a very great impression and earned his place as a worthy addition to the MCU.
Skips the Origin Story
Like the recent film The Batman, Spider-Man: Homecoming chooses to skip the hero’s origin and get right into the action. With the Amazing Spider-Man 2, only have been released just 3 years prior, Spider-Man was still fresh in people’s minds, so another origin story was not needed. Given that there have already been two other Spider-Man franchises that have told the same origin story along with the existence of multiple animated shows, most people already know the story. Kid gets bit by a radioactive spider and gets spider powers. The film makes the right choice to skip ahead and just show us Spider-Man being Spider-Man. By not wasting time establishing this new Spider-Man, we get to spend more time with him and grow a connection with him. His appearance in Civil War was a small taste and now with this film, we get the whole meal. Well, part of the whole meal..
The Film's Cons
Least Consequential Spidey Film in the MCU
This isn’t a flaw that hurts the experience of the film but rather a flaw that explains why this film isn’t talked about as much as Far From Home or No Way Home. Of the MCU Spider-Man trilogy, Homecoming is the least consequential film in relation to the whole MCU and lacks the stakes and weight that would come in later films.
There is a reason for that thought and it is more of legal reason than a creative one. At that time, the relationship between Sony and Marvel Studios was still new and the fact that Sony agreed to let Spider-Man appear in the MCU was a shocker. So given that the new relationship wasn’t rock solid, it’s easy to see why Marvel didn’t want to tie Spider-Man too heavily into the MCU in case the deal ever fell through. Which ironically happened for a bit after Far From Home.
In terms of the bigger picture of the MCU, Homecoming suffers a similar issue as The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2. I hate to even compare it amongst those two as it is a far superior film than those two films. However, in the grand scheme of the MCU, nothing really happens in Homecoming that affects it. You could easily skip Homecoming and not miss anything important. In my watch through of the MCU with my girlfriend, I accidentally skipped Homecoming and went straight to Thor Ragnarok and upon reflecting on it, I realized you can easily skip this movie and not miss anything.
Both Far From Home and No Way Home, tie more into the grand scheme of the Marvel Universe and have major events occurring in them that affect the rest of the universe and have more stakes to them. Homecoming feels like more of a self-contained adventure rather than a piece of a bigger world or if anything is a small piece of a bigger world. It is not completely insignificant, but it doesn’t leave as big of an impact as the later films and tends to get lost in the shuffle of Marvel films as a result.
But just because you can skip this film, doesn’t mean that you should. It may not have the stakes that the sequels and other Marvel films have, but it is still a fun adventure and gives fans what they want to see, Spider-Man being Spider-Man.
Final Thoughts
Spider-Man: Homecoming still holds up as a great film and was a great way to bring our favorite webslinger into the MCU Family. It is a film that “stays close to the ground” and lacks the weight and epic feel of its sequels and even earlier Spider-Man films. Despite all that, it is still a great first step in the new Spider-Man trilogy and while you can skip it and not miss anything, I would still recommend watching it. After the disappointing reception to The Amazing Spider-Man films, Homecoming felt like a breath of fresh air and gave fans the fun blockbuster Spider-Man film they wanted. Tom Holland’s performance was the highlight of the film, and he stuck the landing. He proved himself as a likable lead and a worthy Spider-Man.
The Spider-Man MCU trilogy goes for the slow burn effect and lets us get to know Holland’s Spider-Man and identify with him before launching him into bigger and more emotionally heavy stories. Homecoming is the first step in that slow burn and takes it easier than the sequels. It lets us see Spider-Man being Spider-Man without having to give us a backstory once again and reestablish the hero. It gives us Spider-Man right off the bat and just lets us join in his experiences. It is a great effort that gets audiences invested in the character and excited to see him in more films.
While it may not be the biggest of Spider-Man films, Homecoming is still a great film and fun time to be had. If you love Spider-Man or the Marvel Universe, this film blends them together beautifully and sets up for even greater things to come. Give it a watch and swing on in for a fun adventure with your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
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