Spider-Man: Homecoming is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the second reboot of the Spider-Man film franchise and the sixteenth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Jon Watts, with a screenplay by the writing teams of Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, Watts and Christopher Ford, and Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. The film stars Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Tyne Daly, Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr.

I was quite looking forward to this film as I felt that Tom Holland & Spider-Man kinda stole a lot of the thunder in Captain America : Civil War, playing a likeable kid who is very green and is being mentored by Tony Stark. So it was with quite a bit of eager anticipation and excitement that I went in for this movie. And the verdict? We get an expansion of the same in that Spidey is being mentored by Stark but is not getting into the high stakes action that he wants to. Two months after the events of Civil War, Peter Parker is going to school and is still waiting for a call to join the good fight. Stark ignores his calls and Happy Hogan is acting as a liaison between them, fielding some of the calls that Peter makes to Stark. So we find Spidey fighting small time crime like robberies and car jackings.

The fear we all had was this, a movie about a very young Spider-Man, would be overshadowed by the large & rather dominating figure of Iron Man – it doesn’t. I felt they kept Tony for exactly as much was needed. Peter is played like an ordinary teenager who is awkward and has a crush on a girl, Liz, who he is afraid of speaking to about his feelings. He keeps his secret from his aunt and his schoolmates until best friend Ned accidentally finds out. He is also shown to have vlogged his trip to join Iron Man against his battle with Captain. His adventures don’t still well with Stark who isn’t sure he is ready yet to be a superhero without supervision so, as Spidey finds out, the suit that he is given has a tracking system in place as well as an AI interface with awesome Stark features that Peter later unlocks.

The villain works; Spidey is shown to be an average ordinary boy who suddenly gets superpowers after being bitten by a radioactive spider. Why not an ordinary man who becomes a supervillain? Keaton is almost perfect as Toomes/The Vulture, a middleaged contractor who loses his contract and livelihood 8 years ago after his salvage company were contracted to clean up the city, but their operation was quickly taken over by Tony Stark’s U.S. Department of Damage Control (D.O.D.C.). Enraged at being driven out of business, Toomes persuades his employees to keep the  Chitauri technology they already scavenged and use it to create advanced weapons to sell on the black market. Toomes doesn’t have grand visions of taking over the world or even a city – he just wants to maintain a good life and income for his family.

But Toomes causes a lot of destruction and his methods are flawed and worse he is also the father of the girl that Peter is in love with, a fact which is cleverly revealed as Peter goes to meet up with his date at her house before they go for the homecoming party. For a while it looked like Peter was in over his head when facing against an experienced Vulture because, despite his powers, he was still just a 15 year old kid. But Tony’s words, while criticizing Peter, gives Spidey the motivation to overcome defeat and he is able to get the better of his villain and also rescue him from death. Vulture is apprehended and sent to prison which also means that Liz and her mother leave town to move across the country. Aunt May also finds out that Peter is Spider-man!

I also liked the fact that there are so many different skin tones shown in the film, with actors of various ethnicities seen throughout. That is very refreshing. I like the humour and lighter tone in the film, the special effects is just great and it’s a fun to watch. But Spidey using technical wizardry in the film (even though when he faces off and wins against Vulture he is just in a regular suit) ? That is not what Spidey is all about. Still that was the only major flaw for me anyways. I give it a solid 8 outta 10!