JULY 25, 2017
“Spider-Man: Homecoming” was one of the big surprises of the summer for me — not because it’s great (it isn’t) but because it’s not awful, which I assumed it would be. Let me explain.
Faithful readers of this esteemed column know that I have little patience sitting through comic-book superhero movies and have given a big “feh” to most of them, even though many have attracted audiences in record numbers. Largely my objections have to do with the rigidity of the formula of these movies to which studios appear to be slavishly devoted. Act 1: Set up the origin story (if it’s not a sequel), otherwise catch the audience up on the superhero’s latest derring-do. Act 2: Reveal the villain’s dastardly plot that places the superhero in jeopardy. Act 3: Long, drawn-out battle between them, usually in CGI robot guise. Lather, rinse, repeat. Yawn.
In the decade or so that I’ve been viewing these films, there have only been two superhero films that, at least for me, shattered that rigid storytelling template — 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” from Marvel that turned the tropes of the comic-book movie upside down, featuring a flawed superhero, a machine gun-toting raccoon and a tree; and 2017’s “Wonder Woman” from DC Comics, starring Gal Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins, which not only upended gender stereotypes but also created a vulnerable heroine who could really kick ass. Most importantly, both films emphasized characters over action, and that made all the difference.
“Spider-Man: Homecoming” is nowhere near those two films in terms of quality, but I give it points for trying something fresh. At its heart, “Homecoming” is a John Hughes-like high-school romance that happens to have a superhero as its main character. That’s different and makes “Homecoming” something worth considering.
Here, young Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is being mentored as Spider-Man by “Iron Man’s” Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), who still thinks that young master Parker needs more seasoning to qualify to join the Avengers. This is a smart story move, since it allows us to dispense with the “origin story” set-up, even though this is a brand-new Spider-Man. Most of the origin story characters are gone, save for Aunt May (Maria Tomei), who, even though she appears to be 15 years younger than the other actresses to have played Peter’s aunt, functions as more of a big sister, and that works just fine.
Peter is torn about trying to find new missions with which he can impress Tony Stark, as well as dealing with his high-school concerns, such as trying to build up the courage to ask classmate Liz (Laura Harrier) to the big homecoming dance, and trying to tamp down the giddiness of his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) who accidentally discovers that Peter is Spider-Man and wants to tell the entire school, which causes enormous social problems for Peter.
The nominal villain in the piece is Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), a scavenger turned arms dealer who vaguely has a grudge against the system. He goes by the name of Vulture, as he has constructed a pair of huge mechanical wings, which brings to mind Keaton’s previous two turns as Batman and his Oscar-nominated performance in 2014’s Best Picture, “Birdman.” Toomes’ big bad-guy costume is a leather jacket with a ratty fur collar, kind of what a Beverly Hills bag lady would wear, so that’s a big fail. Though his world-domination storyline falls flat, how Toomes intrudes on Peter’s homecoming dance, however, provides most of the character-directed tension in the film.
Now to Tom Holland. He’s good as Peter Parker — in fact, very very good. He’s certainly the first actor cast in the role who could believably pass as 15 years old — both Tobey McGuire and Andrew Garfield looked like graduate students by comparison. And Holland, who was very impressive as Naomi Watts’ son in the tsunami epic “The Impossible,” displays an age-appropriate eagerness to impress Tony Stark that really rings true. (Besides Stark, there are a number of Marvel cameos throughout the film, including Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Stark’s right-hand man; Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Stark’s right-hand woman; and Chris Evans as Captain America, whose post-credits cameo is hilarious.)
Still, what I’m praising are moments which, though wonderful, float in a sea of superhero mediocrity. Spidey throwing his webs from building to building to get through the city? Been there, done that. And Act 3 is just as dull as most CGI-driven superhero films. But at least the crew behind “Spider-Man: Homecoming” have the guts to try something different. The sight of six credited writers is usually a sign of trouble, but director Jon Watts, keeps the whole shebang under control.
Although “Spider-Man: Homecoming” has more moments that are routine rather than inspired, there’s just enough promise here, that kinda makes me look forward to their next Spider-Man collaboration. Kinda.
GRADE: B-
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