(image courtesy of wikipedia.org)
The most refreshing bit about Spider-Man: Homecoming is the clear evidence that the Marvel Cinematic
Universe (MCU) is moving in new directions. You do get a sense that this is the
beginning of a new phase which is still yet to fulfill its potential. It’s
removed from the great and fantastic battles of the Avengers and other films.
Marvel is trying to get back to basics even though right around the corner is Avengers: Infinity War which is
supposed to be as massive as this film is small. Even after Infinity War and
Avengers 4 it’s pretty clear that Spider-Man is the future of the MCU as it
stands right now. Iron Man is clearly on his way out as the Spider-Man brand
comes back to prominence once again. This
film also improves on the previous Amazing
Spiderman films but it’s still not on the level of Spider-Man 2 (2002).
This film stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man,
following his participation in Civil War,
as he grapples with his new found responsibilities as a hero. It’s never
straight forward because he faces his first real taste in the form of the more
grown up Adrian Toomes/The Vulture who’s making a killing ($$$) from the
Avengers’ mess. Parker also has to grapple with the angst of teenage life.
Positives
The main positive is that this film represents a new
direction for the MCU. Yes it’s grounded in high school social life but it’s
clear that the time will come when Spider-Man will become a major force in
future films as an adult. This will probably occur after the Avengers battle
the mighty Thanos. If the MCU has a future then Spider-Man will be leading the
way. It remains to be seen how well Black
Panther does. Tony Stark/Iron Man is on his way out. His mentoring of Peter
Parker is a clear sign. The high school perspective also gives a very good on
the ground feel which is far removed from the excess at the top. It was very
refreshing even though the inevitable direction of the MCU must be taken into
account. The high school perspective does show how the Avengers have manifested
themselves in ordinary everyday life.
Michael Keaton does well as Adrian Toomes/the Vulture. He is
clearly menacing but he does challenge Peter’s naivete. He exposes it in a good
way which wasn’t the case in the previous Amazing
SpiderMan films starring Andrew Garfield. Parker’s naivete does run counter
to Toomes’ real world, mature experience. Eventually Spider-Man will understand
how important it is to compromise. His quest for a perfect moral order might
not be how he imagined it.
There is also some good comedy in this film. It explores all
the pitfalls of being Spider-Man which are normally featured in the world of
memes. For instance how can he do his fancy web slinging when there are no tall
buildings around? It also explores the issue of his identity and how important
it is that it be kept a secret.
The supporting cast is really good and the homecoming
concept keeps the film grounded in the high school arena.
The diversity of the cast is amazing even though the hero is
still white. Lol. The whiteness had to be preserved of course. Like I said in
the future (10-30 years) when this race thing is no longer an issue then we’ll
see some real challenges to the typical white super hero who is a paragon of
virtue.
Negatives
The primary negative is that Parker doesn’t develop much on
his own. There’s no origin story and he basically takes his cues from being an
aspiring Avenger and in the shadow of Tony Stark/Iron Man. This is the price he
had to pay while sharing a universe with so many other powerful heroes. His own
adventures apart from waiting for the Avengers call could have been more
interesting. It’s only towards the end that we get a sense of who he really is.
The suit tailor made by Stark is not of his own design, and he basically takes
his cues from Stark on superhero
matters. Tony Stark/Iron Man is still the big man at the moment and so Parker
is like a second fiddle. It would have been more interesting to see Peter
develop on his own. You still get the impression that he’s a secondary sort of
Avenger who thrives on being a joke. More films will have to come along before
we see this Spider-Man become his own man.
The action wasn’t that great probably because Spider-Man
hasn’t honed his skills yet. Even the goofy and clumsy web slinging is not very
exciting. At least they stuck with the web shooter element because one of the
mistakes of the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films was the absence of the web shooter.
At least this film attempts to break down how it came about.
The film runs on too much comedy which takes away from some
of the more serious moments.
It will still be interesting to see how this Spider-Man
series unfolds in the next couple of years.
