Homecoming Spider-Man: Homecoming User Reviews Thread *SPOILERS*

[Airnick]

With the movie coming out in a few days, and with some members here seeing the movie tomorrow, I figured it was time to make this thread.

Please rate and post your review down below.

 

[Spider-Ranger]

So here's my full, spoiler-free review!
I've translated it from German, so please bear with me

Hope was hanging by a thread for Sony Pictures: We haven't had a real good Spider-Man movie that was equally beloved by fans and critics in 13 years. The deal with MARVEL was supposed to change that. The formula for success? Avoiding repetition, casting younger actors and completely interweaving Spidey into the MCU. But is that enough to help reinvigorate a franchise plagued by fatigue?

Following his trip to Germany alongside the Avengers, Peter Parker returns to good ol' Queens, longingly waiting to be called by Mr Stark. Because Peter wants to become an Avenger himself more than anything! His daydreaming ends abruptly when he finds out that the infamous Vulture and his gang are selling high-end weapons to thugs around the city. Even though he's instructed by Tony to keep a low profile, Peter decides to handle things all by himself, thus complicating his private life that is being dominated by homework, dating problems and mean schoolmates.

"Business is good" - these wise words by the movie's main antagonist Adrian Toomes are followed by the MARVEL logo. A meta level pun. The business deal between MARVEL Studios and Sony Pictures is what paved the way for Spidey to climb to the top again, made possible by MARVEL mastermind Kevin Feige, who knew exactly what matters most. That is in regards to screenplay mainly: there's nothing in this movie just for the sake of being there. Every scene, even the smallest role, and every event have their purpose. They thrive the story. The screenwriters' work is almost comparable to that of Christopher Nolan on his Dark Knight trilogy (yes, I dare this comparison!). There are no lengths here. As the hero tangles from roof to roof, we're rapidly following with him from act to act.

Said hero is outstandingly portrayed by Tom Holland. There's something about his wide opened, curious eyes that makes it very easy to buy him playing a 15 year old highschool student, discovering this whole new world of superheroism. Holland is not that old anyways, he knows exactly what life was like at the boys' boarding school a couple of years ago. Highschool life plays an essential role in the movie, but it's not as blatant as initially assumed. Even as a 30+ I was able to identify with the students. Seeing Peter interact with his fellow students seemed very natural and played out hilariously. Jacob Batalon's Ned and Zendaya's Michelle get the most laughs. The only John Hughs movie I ever watched was The Breakfast Club, but comparing his directorial style with what was done here is indeed justified, especially when it comes to dynamics between characters.

Like I said, every character has a certain purpose in the story. That applies to the villains as well. There are 6 (s-i-x) different villains from Spidey's rogues gallery in this movie, however, at no point does it feel bloated - thank you MARVEL. Some people will say that MARVEL has difficulties portraying a good villain. You can't say that about the Vulture and his gang - thank you Sony. Hiring Academy Award winning Michael Keaton as the Vulture is an ideal choice! That man definitely knows his craft. He knows exactly when and how to act in order to be intimidating, which interestingly happens during non-action scenes. There's not much of Keaton to be seen during action sequences, but that's not even necessary. As you would expect from a Spidey flick, those scenes are a spectacle, even though the scope of the fights is much smaller. All the action is spread very well throughout the movie, it takes place in the daytime and at night. You won't be disappointed in that regard.

Another highlight I'd like to stress was Michael Giacchinos wonderful score. The Amazing Spider-Man movies lacked a recognizable theme. I believe this is gonna be different situation with "Spider-Man: Homecoming". On the one hand, the music reminded me of Sam Raimi's movies in many ways. There's something about plucked instruments and the sound of violons that perfectly lends itself to the itsy bitsy spider that climbed up the water sprout. On the other hand, you'll feel immediatly thrown back into an Avengers film when heroicly pompous trumpets are playing. It's a perfect mix of old an new. Haevy drum beats and tuba sounds accompany the villain, which can be compared to Doc Ock's theme in Spider-Man 2.

Conclusion: MARVEL's and Sony's pooled forces is what helped avert franchise fatigue in the last nick of time. Spidey has climbed back on top where he belongs! "Spider-Man: Homecoming" has changed a lot from previous installments, but it still has to stand the test of comparing it to the best Spider-Man movie to date, which is Spider-Man 2. It probably won't dethrone the latter, but it's right on its heels due to MARVEL's sense of humor and Sony's sense for a brilliant villain respectively.

 

[Ozbridge]

There's something I find very strange that the latest recent Marvel movies (Doctor Strange, Logan and this) all get very high RT score and average ratings (90% and 7) that make me have very high expectation, and yet when I went to see the movie and was like "That's it? That's what people are all praising?" Granted SPH isn't praised to the sky like Logan, but I don't think there's anything really excellent about it. At least Doctor Strange has cool visual and Logan plays the emotional card, but I don't find anything really stand out about SPH; it has young hero and young cast, which is refreshing, but that's it.

That being said the young protagonist angle IS refreshing. Peter dealing with high school and being Spider-Man story is handled well. There's also a sense of real danger in the action scenes with the Vulture, particularly since Vulture looks really menacing and Peter is so small. (Talking about the Vulture, the scene where he

Spoiler

land on the plane and his suit attached to the plane exterior

, we can see that his suit is so beautiful and extremely detailed).

The music is good. I have preemptively listened to the Main theme so there was a chilling sense when I heard it when the movie begin. I think the Animated series track was heard once quite early on when Peter swinging around; I wish we can hear it more.

Overall I really enjoy the movie, but I would recommend not to set expectation too high. The movie gets an 8/10 from me.

PS. When I see the credit at the end it was a surprise that Pascal Studio came up before Marvel Studio.

 

[AlluAllu]

There's something I find very strange that the latest recent Marvel movies (Doctor Strange, Logan and this) all get very high RT score and average ratings (90% and 7) that make me have very high expectation, and yet when I went to see the movie and was like "That's it? That's what people are all praising?" Granted SPH isn't praised to the sky like Logan, but I don't think there's anything really excellent about it. At least Doctor Strange has cool visual and Logan plays the emotional card, but I don't find anything really stand out about SPH; it has young hero and young cast, which is refreshing, but that's it.

Well technically, if all critics said that a movie was OK and enjoyable, it would get 100 % on Rotten Tomatoes. I think that something like that happened with Doctor Strange.

Any way, only a few more hours till I see the movie! I'll edit my review into this post afterwards.

Edit:

Well, that movie made me happy! Tom Holland is simply perfect. It was a brilliant choice to spend so much time in high school. The Spider-Man plot is imo easily the best that we have gotten. And The Vulture is easily the best Spidey villain that we have gotten. Whatever Keaton was paid, he earned it. And the movie was really funny! On par with the first Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy in the humor department. Oh heck, those three movies are neck to neck in quality overall.

Spoiler

I love how Spider-Man is proactively taking down Vulture's crime ring,
chasing down the leads and all. In previous movies he has mostly just happened to be where the bad guys did their things. My biggest criticism would have to be all the collateral damage Spidey caused in the movie.
It's a miracle that no one got killed. Very lucky Mr. Parker. Then again, it was mostly bad luck that caused those near-disasters. Those would have been really hard to predict so it's not fair to call Peter irresponsible. But anyway, he made a really convincing argument for why MCU should have some kind of Sokovia Accords. I liked how he decided to stay out of the Avengers for now. It takes real maturity to accept that you aren't ready for something yet.

I was apprehensive about the AI in Spidey's suit, but Karen really won me over. She had the funniest line in the movie and her presense allows us to hear Spidey's thoughts. There aren't thought bubbles in cinema.

My favorite part of the movie would have to be surprise adaptation of ASM #33 (?) when he is trapped under that wreckage. I had read spoilers but that bit had remained unseen. Feige, Watts, or whoever came up with that, you did it justice.

Scratch that. Favorite part has to be Vulture's "dad talk" in the car. My God, Keaton can be scary.

Oh wait, maybe Spidey saving Toomes at the end and very delibirately not killing anyone. I love old fashioned heroes. Speaking of which, Captain America was absolutely hilarious. It's only fair that he got to be a scene stealer in Spidey's movie.

So yeah, I really liked this movie. 4/5 stars. If the sequel is just as good, and manages to move me emotionally, that's going to be 5/5.

 

[Lorus]

I saw this earlier today so I’ve drafted some spoiler free thoughts for those of you would like to read them. No rating though, not a fan of them.

Spider-Man Homecoming is, for better or worse, exactly what you might expect from a Spider-Man movie made by Marvel Studios. The casting is uniformly great, Holland has already proved that he can pull off the role of a younger, quippy wall crawler but the rest of the cast are more than up to his level. The humour is well done, making this the funniest Spider-Man movie so far, although some may be disappointed to know that Spidey isn’t particularly motor-mouthed in his confrontations with the Vulture. The film also makes good use of the MCU as a whole, utilising Iron Man, Cap, Happy and a last minute surprise cameo particularly well so that they contribute to the story without ever overshadowing the main attraction.

The diversity of the supporting cast is something that deserves praise, especially because the film doesn’t draw attention to it. Ned Leeds is extremely amiable and makes a nice change from Harry Osborn (while admittedly lacking the more personal connections to the story that make Osborn such an attractive character). The female characters aren’t served particularly well unfortunately. Zendaya’s character will probably bear the brunt of fanboy ire but that will largely be wasted vitriol because her role in the film is so small that there is nothing there that cannot expanded on in satisfactory ways in a sequel. More problematically, it’s love interest Liz Allen that suffers the most due to the decision to withhold information regarding her home situation until near the end of the movie. This is largely to service a twist which ultimately falls pretty flat and the character relationships would benefit had the information been offered up front. Aunt May is also underused and the continued references to how hot she is come across ‘eye-rolly’ given the absence of much other material for her, she does have a great final line though.

I would say that Peter’s arc lacks the dramatic weight of previous films. I respect and appreciate the decision to forgo the Uncle Ben material given that it’s well worn ground but the arc that replaces it feels half-hearted and a little flimsy. That said, the film is still very entertaining and is stuffed with top quality comedic actors in bit roles that give the world of Queens a vibrant and interesting quality. The Buellerian post credit sequence is probably the closest the film gets to truly feeling like the teen movies of yesteryear that it seemed to be emulating but the contrast between the young heroes and the old guard represented by Stark and Happy does make for a fresh dynamic for both Spider-Man films and the MCU as a whole.

So, to sum up, it’s better than Webb, worse than Raimi but still a worthwhile addition to the Marvel canon. Final point, there is a J K Simmons sized hole and that makes me sad.

 

[jamesb]

Just got back home, I gave it an 8/10. Mainly for Tom Hollands performance which really made the film, but also his best friend is great fun. I enjoyed Michaell Keaton but really he could play this part in his sleep. Being an old school Spider-Man fan, it took me a while to get my head around the whole suit made by Tony Stark thing, and mentoring. But once I did, I really enjoyed the film. I think that Wonder Woman shades it for best hero flick this year though. Also thought the score was unmemorable once again.

 

[Vincanws]

For me the movie was a game changer for the MCU. The first movie I can legit say I'd go back and see again since the original GotG and Avengers and I now think it's going to make crazy $$$$. Fantastic movie .. bravo. 10/10

 

[jmc]

Oh boy, I'm probably going to catch heat for this but I gotta be honest. I went in wanting to really love this movie as Spider Man is my favourite Marvel character and I didn't care all that much for the ASM films.

This film does a lot of things right, the characters are great and the acting all around is fantastic, but this also feels like three different types of movies that have been morphed together, an 80's teen film, an indie dramedy and a superhero film, all three of which work pretty well individually but as a whole make for a very uneven movie overall. The film starts of with a very refreshing tone for an MCU film, it has a bit more of a bright spark to it than other entries in the series, and yet it feel like it takes an age for anything really interesting to happen.

I think the biggest issue is there's a real lack of connection to anyone in that first hour for Peter outside of his best friend. Aunt May, Stark, Vulture, all feel very disassociated from Peter throughout most of the movie. I never thought I'd say this but I actually feel Tony Stark being more prominent mentor figure would have help a lot with this movie. It's not until the second hour of the film where things start to pick up and the stakes finally begin to increase. This is where the 'superhero film' kicks into gear and where the story finally finds its feet and salvages the movie.

As for the cast, Tom Holland is perfect. Without doubt the best person to don the costume ever. Michael Keaton is great as Vulture, definitely the best MCU villain since Loki. Keaton has the ability to play genuinely scary and he brings that here. The rest of the cast is also great, no real stand outs except for Jacob Batalon as Ned, his comedic timing is on point.

Action feels a little all over the place, good in parts put horrible to see in others, especially the finale with Spider Man battling Vulture in the air. The idea of using the Chitari technology as the backbone for the Vultures costume was a great idea. So full credit to the design team for making an otherwise ridiculous looking character seem credible.

Overall, very mixed feeling about this movie. It's a step up from the ASM series of films and it certainly feels like the character is where he belongs, but I feel like I appreciate the movie more than I actually love it. The number of screenwriters is an indication of just how muddled this feels tonally. The heart of this movie is very much in the right place though compared to the ASM series, but its execution is still a good step behind the first two Raimi films.

A very soft 7/10.

 

[PeterBenParker]

Liking these reviews, guys!

 

[Filmfan93]

Saw it yesterday.

So much fun! Holland absolutely NAILS it as both Peter Parker struggling with high school life AND Spidey, understanding what it is to be a hero. He blasts Garfield away although he is not as good as Maguire in Spider-Man 2. The classic Spidey quips are also top notch and the best on film so far. The suit was incredible in action!

The supporting characters were also good and Ned especially was very funny and had great chemistry with Holland. Humour was very good! Tony is in the film for very little and I was glad that his presence wasn't overblown as shown in trailers.

Keaton was one of Marvel's better villains and he is very intense in certain scenes. Nice showcase of a smaller, middle social class villain.

Some surprises here and there (not everything was spoiled in the trailers), a very good first mid-credit scene and a very disappointing second one (I was very surprised Marvel decided to do that to audiences that stayed, everyone in my audience sighed in disappointment).

Overall, one of the MCU's best, but most importantly, Spidey is finally where he belongs!

9/10

 

[Repulsor Blast]

I really liked it! It just feels like spider-man to me. He's not a smug *****e like in the webb films.

this film is SO much better than the previous two. Like it's night and day. So much less cynical. So much more fun.

I feel really excited for more spidey solo films! Holland is great.

Only negative is the lack of great power great responsibility shining through. If they had focused on that, to you know, explain peter's drive to do good, man, coulda been the perfect spidey film.

8.5/10 and im a very critical 'spider-man on film/tv' kinda guy.

ps. he does say [blackout] awesome like 20 times in the film.. [/blackout]

 

[titansupes]

Oh boy, I'm probably going to catch heat for this but I gotta be honest. I went in wanting to really love this movie as Spider Man is my favourite Marvel character and I didn't care all that much for the ASM films.

This film does a lot of things right, the characters are great and the acting all around is fantastic, but this also feels like three different types of movies that have been morphed together, an 80's teen film, an indie dramedy and a superhero film, all three of which work pretty well individually but as a whole make for a very uneven movie overall. The film starts of with a very refreshing tone for an MCU film, it has a bit more of a bright spark to it than other entries in the series, and yet it feel like it takes an age for anything really interesting to happen.

I think the biggest issue is there's a real lack of connection to anyone in that first hour for Peter outside of his best friend. Aunt May, Stark, Vulture, all feel very disassociated from Peter throughout most of the movie. I never thought I'd say this but I actually feel Tony Stark being more prominent mentor figure would have help a lot with this movie. It's not until the second hour of the film where things start to pick up and the stakes finally begin to increase. This is where the 'superhero film' kicks into gear and where the story finally finds its feet and salvages the movie.

As for the cast, Tom Holland is perfect. Without doubt the best person to don the costume ever. Michael Keaton is great as Vulture, definitely the best MCU villain since Loki. Keaton has the ability to play genuinely scary and he brings that here. The rest of the cast is also great, no real stand outs except for Jacob Batalon as Ned, his comedic timing is on point.

Action feels a little all over the place, good in parts put horrible to see in others, especially the finale with Spider Man battling Vulture in the air. The idea of using the Chitari technology as the backbone for the Vultures costume was a great idea. So full credit to the design team for making an otherwise ridiculous looking character seem credible.

Overall, very mixed feeling about this movie. It's a step up from the ASM series of films and it certainly feels like the character is where he belongs, but I feel like I appreciate the movie more than I actually love it. The number of screenwriters is an indication of just how muddled this feels tonally. The heart of this movie is very much in the right place though compared to the ASM series, but its execution is still a good step behind the first two Raimi films.

A very soft 7/10.

I pretty much agree with this. Holland and everyone else was great, I like that it's a non-whiney version of Spidey, I like the colours and approach... But it just felt disjointed and messily directed. It was just... there, and it was fine, I guess.

 

[ZenTheAvenger]

Well I thought it was absolutely brilliant. Tom Holland is the best Peter Parker and Spider-Man we have had full stop.

Michael Keaton was superb as the Vulture, so menacing with an actual motivation and reason for doing what he does.

Showing a young Spider-Man who is still learning and making mistakes is genius, he's not perfect but he's always trying to do the right thing and you can see his raw ability and the hero within start to shine through.

Ned is absolutely hilarious and a brilliant foil, provides real comic relief and is kind of our eyes in to Peter's crazy world.

Thought the story was really good, the way it weaved itself in to the MCU with numerous references and links was so natural.

Iron Man wasn't actually in it much and that's great, his role was perfect and we get more of Happy which works well within the story. Great to have John Favreau back!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it, it's up there with Spider-Man 2 for me and a welcome return to form.

Can't wait to see more of this Spidey!

9/10

 

[Keyser Soze]

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING is easily the best Spider-Man film yet, and Tom Holland is easily the best cinematic Spider-Man. I think that's a fair starting point for the review. Utterly charming from start to finish, and - funnily enough for a character already on his third franchise launch in 15 years - this feels like such a breath of fresh air among the Marvel Studios output.

The reason it's so refreshing - something which I imagine might garner it some criticism, but which I actually thought was among its biggest strengths - is that it's all so low stakes. Over and over again, Marvel Studios gives us a city, or the world, or the universe, ready for destruction, cue a dizzying massive finale that tends to involve big things falling out the sky. And there's nothing wrong with big stakes, you need a big threat when operating on such a grand stage. But still, it's a nice change of pace that SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING is allowed to focus just on bad guys stealing stuff, and the hero having to stop arms deals and heists rather than Global Annihilation By Macguffin.

What SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING really gets right is it strikes a balance the previous films couldn't grasp. Raimi's series operated on this pulpy, elevated level of high romantic melodrama and stylised cartoon aesthetic that hasn't aged so well, while Webb tried to burden the character with heaps of unnecessary (and worse, uninteresting) corporate espionage conspiracy mystery. But Jon Watts' take feels like the Spider-Man comics that first got me into Marvel as a kid: with Peter Parker dealing with personal dramas while also juggling the current costumed villain on the loose hassling Spider-Man. In fact, it draws upon specific well-loved Spider-Man comics that capture the qualities of Spider-Man I and many others love most: "The Commuter Cometh," the iconic AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #32, even the recent unofficial fan comics from Hannah Blumenreich featuring Spidey as the goofy costumed eccentric that mostly just hangs around the city saying hi to folks, doing good deeds and only occasionally fighting crime, all seem to get nods here.

Tom Holland makes for an immensely likeable Spider-Man. It's so nice to have a Peter Parker who's actually pretty close to being high school age, rather than a 30 year old man playing a teenager. It brings a whole new youthful exuberance and wide-eyed innocence to the part. And the personality doesn't go away once he puts on the costume, either: he's nailed better than either of the other talented actors to play the role how to present Spidey as an extension of Peter, all excitable energy, likeability and underdog appeal. And he's allowed to be... well, not that good at being a superhero yet. There are frequent moments with Spider-Man misjudging a landing or web shooting and staging a spectacular face-first pratfall. Of course, the uneasy balance between his desire to do good on a larger scale and his inability to operate at that level has more serious consequences as the film goes on.

The interplay between Peter and the ensemble of teachers and fellow pupils at the school provides the film with plenty of quality laughs. Jacob Batalan is delightful as Peter's best pal, Ned. And while Laura Harrier is sweet as love interest Liz, Zendaya's Michelle is a more memorable presence thanks to her impeccable comic timing.

But another quality where SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING really excels, and it's an aspect that I haven't seen discussed that much, is in its villain. Michael Keaton's status as cherished treasure of the acting world is by this point firmly established, and even if he phoned in an unremarkable performance as The Vulture, never one of Spidey's most interesting rogues, that status would have remained untarnished. And to be honest, I kinda expected that from the trailers. But Keaton's Vulture is actually a complex character, even likeable at times. He embarked on a life of crime after his legit business was screwed out of work and left redundant by Stark's coporation, and his criminal operation is populated with former workers from his team that he's trying to help out. Even while plotting new robberies, he is getting phone calls from his oblivious wife about work that needs done at the house. And though he's ruthless enough to put murder on the table as an option when he feels he's under threat, you get the sense it's something he'd rather not do, and he doesn't needlessly put lives at risk - even if this is partially down to self-preservation. Even with Spider-Man, he attempts warning him off rather than going for the kill at more than one point in the film. It's the kind of blue collar supervillain - more greedy than outright evil - that I've always enjoyed in the comics, but again rarely get to show up in these films as primary antagonists. That dynamic, paired with Keaton's charismatic performance, actually puts him up among my favourite MCU villains.

Funny, smart, nicely paced, SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING is a delight. I look forward to revisiting this world in future chapters, and I hope that they keep events similarly grounded!

8/10

 

[samsnee]

Good review but what makes you knock two points off?

 

[Keyser Soze]

Good review but what makes you knock two points off?

8/10 is a great movie by my ranking systems, and one I've given to plenty of movies I've really enjoyed in recent years. It's a rating on par with the likes of IRON MAN, X2 or GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2 for me, and non-superhero films I've gushed and raved about and would happily watch again like JOHN WICK or RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES or IT FOLLOWS all got an 8/10 rating from me, too. To push above that into 9/10 or 10/10 territory, a film really has to leave me feeling something substantial and stick in my head well after seeing it - and it's not an exact science, it goes past objective craft and quality and into the subjective realm of how something made me feel while watching. And SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING didn't really have that extra element for me.

I'd say it's a supremely entertaining blockbuster that doesn't set a foot wrong, but it didn't have that extra component to nudge it up from great into the top tier of classics in the genre.

 

[samsnee]

Fair enough. It's all subjective. I'm more interested in if it's character driven than if it's 100% true to the source material or if the effects are absolutely amazing. At this point, we've seen cities and bridges and skybeams destroyed so many times, I'm numb to it. And in the case of Spider-man, just like Batman, I don't see another movie where he's angst ridden over a guardian's death. It should still be a part of the character, but it shouldn't be the focal point.

 

[SuperSanchez]

How did you guys feel about the John Hughes references/ vibes
did they work for you? I quite enjoyed them

 

[inomilan]

I give it an 8-8.5/10. The 2nd best Spidey film for me (Spider-man 2 is still the best one). i think Tom Holland did a great job of balancing Peter and Spidey, Michael Keaton knocked it out of the park. I like the high school movie vibes of it, but some parts did feel dragging. Overall, it's a solid movie, Marvel still hasn't disappointed.

 

[NealKenneth]

This was the most fun I've had with an MCU film since the first Guardians. It really felt like a breath of fresh air, which is impressive in the circumstances...but, like Keyser Soze says above, it's because the stakes are more personal and less epic. Vulture was also fantastic, right up there with Loki and Kingpin.

8/10

 

[AF3619]

This movie was great, it´s different from the other MCU films and does somethings that make me go "that is not entirely loyal to the source material BUT it works", i mean the more i think about the movie, the more i like it, it´s not perfect and i expected more from Giachinno, overall my 2nd (or 3th) favorite spider-man film. 8.5/10

 

[Spider-Ock]

Here's my full review:

Spiderman: Homecoming is....competent. The high school drama is well done, the action is pretty standard for a superhero movie (save for the unspectacular final act), the acting is great, and the script is middling at best.

I really got the John Hughes vibe they were going for with the film. You get the sense that Peter is living a real high school life, which gives the character the shot of reliability that most other superheroes lack. It also helps that the supporting cast (from Logan Marshall Green's likeable professor to the school reporters) feel like they could exist in real life. The whole high school portion of the film is so well done that I wish they spent more time with it. It just has great comedic/emotional potential that they should (hopefully) tap into in future films. That's the good news.

Now, for the parts I didn't really like: the superhero stuff. In general (coz I don't want to give spoilers away), this was the first time that I didn't really want Peter to suit up. Blame it on the suburban-setting action sequences, or the oftentimes dull villain, or the spotty CGI, but I just wasn't feeling it when he was Spidey. It felt too much like he was just Spidey so that he could be an Avenger. Also, the suit is um...not Spiderman-like. It doesn't feel like Peter actually did anything with the suit on his own and that all these enhancements are literally handed down on him. I mean, I get that they did this in service of the overall arc but the impact of that arc, too, gets taken away once you get to the final scene.

The suit and the Avengers arc leads me to my next criticism: a lack of responsibility to this Spiderman. Sure, I get it, he's supposed to be fun, but he does what he does because "if the bad things happen" and he's not there, "then that's on him". This is a line said by Peter himself in Civil War, but nowhere did I feel that he was doing it for this reason in Homecoming. There's a moment in this movie that could have been one of the best (if not the best) Spiderman moment ever put on film. But, the full impact of that moment didn't hit me it because that moment could have been so much better if they could have somehow shown that he's doing what he does because "with great power comes great responsibility".

However, having said that, there were great moments in there that genuinely made me chuckle. There's a goofiness that Holland brings to the role that (when paired with a good script, which this film sadly doesn't have) could have been really well done. As it stands though, that goofiness only shines through in some of the sequences. (Just as an aside, there is going to be a drinking game invented soon on how many times Peter/Spidey uses the word "awesome". It's not a thing you can ignore. He uses it a LOT.)

Overall, there are parts of this film that I absolutely loved. But, there were also parts that brought down my overall enjoyment. I get why critics and general moviegoers will love it though. It's made for them.

On an optimistic note, there is nothing in my criticisms that cannot be fixed in a upcoming movie. With a better screenplay, they can hopefully reinforce why Spiderman is Spiderman in the first place.

Rating: 6-6.5/10 (a solid 7 if I were a casual viewer)

 

[PeterBenParker]

Here's my full review:

Spiderman: Homecoming is....competent. The high school drama is well done, the action is pretty standard for a superhero movie (save for the unspectacular final act), the acting is great, and the script is middling at best.

I really got the John Hughes vibe they were going for with the film. You get the sense that Peter is living a real high school life, which gives the character the shot of reliability that most other superheroes lack. It also helps that the supporting cast (from Logan Marshall Green's likeable professor to the school reporters) feel like they could exist in real life. The whole high school portion of the film is so well done that I wish they spent more time with it. It just has great comedic/emotional potential that they should (hopefully) tap into in future films. That's the good news.

Now, for the parts I didn't really like: the superhero stuff. In general (coz I don't want to give spoilers away), this was the first time that I didn't really want Peter to suit up. Blame it on the suburban-setting action sequences, or the oftentimes dull villain, or the spotty CGI, but I just wasn't feeling it when he was Spidey. It felt too much like he was just Spidey so that he could be an Avenger. Also, the suit is um...not Spiderman-like. It doesn't feel like Peter actually did anything with the suit on his own and that all these enhancements are literally handed down on him. I mean, I get that they did this in service of the overall arc but the impact of that arc, too, gets taken away once you get to the final scene.

The suit and the Avengers arc leads me to my next criticism: a lack of responsibility to this Spiderman. Sure, I get it, he's supposed to be fun, but he does what he does because "if the bad things happen" and he's not there, "then that's on him". This is a line said by Peter himself in Civil War, but nowhere did I feel that he was doing it for this reason in Homecoming. There's a moment in this movie that could have been one of the best (if not the best) Spiderman moment ever put on film. But, the full impact of that moment didn't hit me it because that moment could have been so much better if they could have somehow shown that he's doing what he does because "with great power comes great responsibility".

However, having said that, there were great moments in there that genuinely made me chuckle. There's a goofiness that Holland brings to the role that (when paired with a good script, which this film sadly doesn't have) could have been really well done. As it stands though, that goofiness only shines through in some of the sequences. (Just as an aside, there is going to be a drinking game invented soon on how many times Peter/Spidey uses the word "awesome". It's not a thing you can ignore. He uses it a LOT.)

Overall, there are parts of this film that I absolutely loved. But, there were also parts that brought down my overall enjoyment. I get why critics and general moviegoers will love it though. It's made for them.

On an optimistic note, there is nothing in my criticisms that cannot be fixed in a upcoming movie. With a better screenplay, they can hopefully reinforce why Spiderman is Spiderman in the first place.

Rating: 6-6.5/10 (a solid 7 if I were a casual viewer)

Thanks for the review!

Since I know we're alike in how we look at TASM series, how do you think the film will stand for someone (in this case me) who didn't care for Peter/Spidey in Civil War?

Also, since this is a spoiler thread, how do they handle the naivety and innocence of Peter/Spidey in this film?

 

[Spider-Ock]

Thanks for the review!

Since I know we're alike in how we look at TASM series, how do you think the film will stand for someone (in this case me) who didn't care for Peter/Spidey in Civil War?

Also, since this is a spoiler thread, how do they handle the naivety and innocence of Peter/Spidey in this film?

I think you'll find it about the same as I said. It's a competently made movie, but my least favorite Spider-Man movie. I mean,

Spoiler

There is not a single mention of Ben, and the one moment in the movie he should be mentioned, Peter flashes back to Tony's line instead ("if you are nothing without this suit, you shouldn't have it")

Also, he gets the AI suit back at the end. I extremely disliked the whole AI aspect as it started to feel like an Iron Man movie with it rather than a Spider-Man.

Regarding his naïveté, I would say this Spidey is very innocent.

Spoiler

He still believes there is good in Toomes, even after finding out who he is. His innocence is also at full display with the owner of the bodega.

 

[PeterBenParker]

I think you'll find it about the same as I said. It's a competently made movie, but my least favorite Spider-Man movie. I mean,

Spoiler

There is not a single mention of Ben, and the one moment in the movie he should be mentioned, Peter flashes back to Tony's line instead ("if you are nothing without this suit, you shouldn't have it")

Also, he gets the AI suit back at the end. I extremely disliked the whole AI aspect as it started to feel like an Iron Man movie with it rather than a Spider-Man.

Regarding his naïveté, I would say this Spidey is very innocent.

Spoiler

He still believes there is good in Toomes, even after finding out who he is. His innocence is also at full display with the owner of the bodega.

Thanks, once again. Thinking it'll be anywhere from a 5 to a 7 when I see it. Hoping for the best but there's a lot holding this film back.