Spider-Man: Homecoming

More Interested in Spider-Man Than Peter Parker

Superhero/Action ‧ 133 minutes ‧ PG-13 ‧ 2017 ‧ 3 min read

"If you’re nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t have it."

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) is directed by Jon Watts and stars Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., and Marisa Tomei. Both fandom perception and the constant barrage of Spider-Man and Marvel properties have dulled people's true idea of what this film was when it came out. To understand it plainly: no one liked TASM 2. People now argue that film is “underrated,” citing one or two scenes, but as a whole it fails to make a compelling or complete narrative.

Homecoming is the opposite. The film has a natural story built off of the prior MCU. Many complain about this version of Peter Parker loving a billionaire so much, ignoring the superhero part so it doesn't upset the “cinephiles,” but it makes sense that in this context a character meant to embody youth would love Tony Stark. That's the core of the MCU.

Perhaps the film's biggest issue is in the backtracking and the true lack of closure for the character. The story has Peter successfully prove to himself and the audience that he doesn't need the handicaps of the other heroes, and in this moment you can see a direction for this version of the character. But he's then sucked back into the MCU machine so he can stick to the status quo.

Still, to deny the actual story and acting is nonsense. The cast is good, the villain is strong, and the score is great. But Spider-Man: Homecoming fails in the sense that at the end of the day, this franchise is more interested in Spider-Man than it ever is in Peter Parker. Spider-Man: Homecoming gets a 3.5 out of 5.

(A strong villain and a great cast can only carry a status-quo ending so far.)