Spider-Man: Homecoming NON-SPOILER REVIEW

Image Courtesy www.thewrap.com

Considering that Spider-Man: Homecoming seems poised for a $100 million-plus opening weekend, I doubt I need to publish a non-spoiler review for it!  However, for those few people who have something to do and are waiting until after the weekend to see it, here you go.

If you just want the executive summary of the review, here you go:  It’s great, probably one of the best Marvel movies ever made (which is saying something), and if you aren’t fanboying over the Sam Raimi movies it’s probably about the best Spider-Man movie yet.

Obviously there’s a little bias in that statement since I just got out of the theater about an hour ago and the last movie I watched was Daredevil (and Elektra is the next on my radar *shudder*).  However, having watching the previous five Spider-Man movies recently, I don’t think it’s out of place to say that this is the best one out of the six.  I will go into that more *eventually*, but for now here’s the non-spoiler review.

Tom Holland as Peter Parker plays both sides of the character perfectly.  As Peter he’s a nerdy, kind of shy kid; as Spider-Man he’s all fearlessness and heart.  The best thing about his portrayal is probably how accurately the movie shows high school life, both the “monumental nature” of a Spanish quiz and the longing to get out of school, become an adult, and be treated like an adult.

Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes, a.k.a. Vulture, is one of the most developed villains in the MCU, and (almost by default) the best villain in any Spider-Man movie.  This comes in two different ways:  first, because he is in so much of the movie, and second, because he is given a good and personal motivation for what he is doing.  In fact, it’s almost as though the movie is as much about him as about Spider-Man.

Tony Stark’s role in this movie is about what I expected:  he serves as a mentor to Peter and pushes him to become a better hero.  There is the one scene from the trailers when Tony shows up to bail Peter out, but that is the biggest role Tony plays in the movie – it is very much Peter’s movie.

Although the movie covers a fairly long period of time, the plotting is very tight and connected.  There are a lot of little Easter eggs for other MCU movies thrown in, as well as comic book character teases, but these do not distract from the plot.  There was one bit early one which confused me quite a bit, but it didn’t exactly distract from the plot.

The are two different after-credits scenes.  One potentially sets up the Spider-Man sequel; the other is just a bit of fun.  Definitely stay for the first one; the second one is up to you.

If you haven’t seen this movie yet, I strongly encourage you to do so.  It fills in a lot of holes from previous Marvel movies, introduces a strong villain, and really gives us the complete Peter Parker/Spider-Man we’ve been waiting for!

What did you think of this movie?  Let me know in the comment, but avoid spoilers!