Master Review: Spider-Man Homecoming

Master Review: Spider-Man Homecoming

            To be honest I was not looking forward to this film. You could say that I have Spider-Man fatigue. I thought the Amazing Spider-Man series was way too soon for a reboot. I also feel that the Sam Raimi Spider-Man was really good and didn’t need a replacement. However, going back and watching the Sam Raimi Spider-Man as an adult it does seem a little dated. I also had a problem accepting the characters as high-school students. These were small problems in an otherwise pretty good series.

            Why did I go see Spiderman-Man Homecoming? Mainly because I received a voucher    for free tickets and I’ve heard good things. I went out on a limb and decided to give it a chance.

              Now I know I have an unpopular opinion, but I’m at the point where I’m a little burned out on Marvel movies. To the point where I’m starting to skip some of the films. I still think they are good films and that the construction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is incredible. I’ve just reached a point where it’s hard to keep track of the collection of plot points across all the movies. I remember a reveal of a character in one marvel film where the audience gasped at his reveal. However my reaction was “Who are You? Why is this even important?”.  I figured it out eventually.

               This runs into the next problem I have that is that the Marvel movies aren’t really re-watchable. It’s not because their bad. The problem is every time I sit down to re-watch them at home the opening starts and I start to remember right before each plot point what is about to happen. I’m literally spoiling each point right before it happens. Marvel movies are experiences and their good ones. Their movies are films you live through as you’re watching them. All the surprise cameos and plot twists are key to each film. So when you know them all in advance it’s a significant blow to the entertainment value. Could this be true of other films. Yes, but other films aren’t built on the assumption that you’ve retained every detail from the 12 other films that came before it. Other films are often self-contained.

            So with all of that what did I think of this new Spider-Man? I loved it. The characters were real and relatable, the story was never boring or slow. The pacing was great. I also felt this was the closest representation to Spider-Man from the comics and cartoons. The film also really reminded me of Back to the Future. Tom Hollands performance just seemed very similar to Michael J Fox’s performances even beyond the Back to the Future movie and that’s a really good thing.

            I also feel that this film plays with a wider range of emotions then other marvel films. Maybe that because the character are more realistic and relatable. Even the “bad guys” you feel for in way, instead of just a simple negative response to. This film has comedy sprinkled thought out the film. Making the film enjoyable throughout.

            So I highly recommend this film. In fact, this film took my place as favorite Marvel film, bumping Iron Man down to second favorite. Will I watch it again? Probably. In fact, it did a lot and changed my opinion of Marvel in general. Which is pretty good for Marvel, because now I plan on purchasing the older films to add to my Blu-ray collection in addition to Spider-Man Home Coming. I plan on having a couple or Marvel weekend marathons to relive the experiences.