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Next up in the "Marvel-thon" is the first solo movie for a character introduced in Captain America: Civil War, and that is Spider-Man: Homecoming.
After aiding Tony Stark in the fight against Captain America, Peter Parker returns to Queens. He's trying to balance being a high school student and a crime fighter. Under Tony's guidance, he wants to prove that he is worthy of becoming an Avenger. Tony suggests he stay close to the ground and be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Meanwhile, a cleanup crew has been using Chitauri scraps from the Battle of New York to build and sell weapons so they can provide for their families. As Peter tries to prepare for Homecoming, this new threat escalates to where he will be pushed to his limits.
What Worked: The majority of the cast is really good. Tom Holland continues to be the best Spider-Man to date, showing that he feels the conflict of having a double life. He looks like a kid who still has a lot to learn.
The conflict not only takes a toll on him, but also on his Aunt May, who is often concerned for him. This version of her is portrayed by Marisa Tomei. Although she is younger than previous actresses who have played Aunt May, considering Peter is 15 this time and in high school, casting someone her age makes sense. She ends up being an excellent choice because she is able to show that concern on a fair, but firm, level with Peter. She also gets one of the funniest lines in the movie.
Tony Stark, being the mentor-type character here, has that same amount of concern, but on a stricter level. He realizes Peter has a lot to learn, and sometimes, that means he has to intervene. He's in the movie enough to where he comes in when necessary. Making him that type of character actually works, and Robert Downey Jr. by this point is Tony Stark.
This movie also has one of the better MCU villains: Adrian Toomes / Vulture, played by Michael Keaton. You can actually connect with him because he's not trying to destroy the city or take over the world, but rather trying to help his family however he can. He makes for a pretty awesome villain.
There are more villains aside from him, but they do not try to overshadow him. They are part of his crew, with the same motivation, and that's it.
Now for some of the supporting cast. Jon Favreau returns as Happy Hogan, and he has some funny moments. Then there's Laura Harrier as the love interest Liz, who has good chemistry with Tom Holland.
There is one character that people may find annoying, and that is Jacob Batalon as Ned, Peter's best friend. He's a better comic relief character than Darcy Lewis from the first two Thor movies. However, I can understand if some find him annoying more than funny. He at least has a purpose, though.
For the technical aspects, one of the biggest positives is the approach to the movie. Since this focuses more on Peter's time in high school, the best way to make it believable was to have it feel like a high school movie, particularly those John Hughes would do. There's even a reference to one of his films in here.
The humor works very well. It's not rapid-fire where you might be laughing so hard you miss a line of dialogue; it's more spread out.
The effects are great here, especially with Vulture's look and some of the new implementations into Spider-Man's suit.
This also has some of the best action in the MCU, like the ferry scene that's reminiscent of the iconic train scene from Spider-Man 2.
Aside from those, the standout is the score, like it was with Doctor Strange. Coincidentally, both were scored by Michael Giacchino. As if the references to Spider-Man lore weren't fan service enough, the score manages to have a certain Spider-Man theme in it. Listen closely as the Marvel Studios logo is coming up at the beginning of the movie.
What Didn't Work: I really only have two major issues, both of which involve characters. One is Zendaya's character, Michelle. Her performance is fine, but the character does not have much significance.
The other is one where I can see why the changes were made, but they just do not work at all. That character is Flash Thompson, played by Tony Revolori. Rather than being the jock that Flash is typically depicted as (which is how bullies were often portrayed in older media), this Flash is based more on how bullies are depicted now. That change I can understand, but it is not executed well, and his dialogue just makes it worse to where it's cringeworthy at times.
They don't impact the story too much to where it hurts the movie, but they could have been developed better.
Aside from that, I don't have any problems.
Overall: Spider-Man: Homecoming shows that re-introducing a superhero that has been on the big screen before can work with just mentioning the origin story and focusing on something else. It has a fresh feel to it with a lighthearted tone (and humor to match), a hero and a villain that are both relatable, and great action. This is easily the best Spider-Man movie since Spider-Man 2.
Spider-Man: Homecoming may not be a perfect movie, but it does live up to its title. Spider-Man has been done justice, and he's back where he belongs: within the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe.
There is a Stan Lee cameo (probably the funniest one in the MCU since Ant-Man), as well as a mid-credits scene and a post-credits scene.