Movie Review: Spiderman: Homecoming

Another summer. A time when the blockbusters and tent poles were erected and hurled at us with such advertising abandon, you prayed that seeing the movie would make the commercials stop. Alas, like last year, the studios are releasing so many big event movies, the market is saturated. We benefit, as an audience, because the formula for success has become so ingrained, that, in the end, even bad movies are, well, kinda okay. No one tries anything new.

So, yeah, it's been a bit of a pause since the last review. What's there to really notice. I've been going to the beach and catching up with family. You know, those other summer options.

We treated ourselves to Spiderman:  Homecoming, however, this week and I can't help thinking I should be saying SOMETHING. Yes, I'm comic book geek. Yes, this whole genre of film, the superhero film is something that was basically created to keep me ordering popcorn. I am okay with this.

I can see every plot twist and turn and, yeah, it's like wearing a decent pair of shoes.

Now, understand that, back in 2000, it wasn't like that. Back when Spiderman came out with Tobey McQuire, I was impressed with the X-Men. A movie that was, well, like reading a really good book. It had plot twists, numerous characters and raised our expectations. Marvel sought to expand it's empire, so it sold the rights piecemeal, and gave a decent serving of it's most popular character, Spiderman, over to Sony. And 2002 it came together in the first Spiderman actioner, with Tobey McQuire. It was old school, using a single villain, and made a fairly decent, almost a thriller, movie. The imagery was shadowy, the themes heavy.

My criticism was that, while an excellent movie-Peter Parker, the actual Spiderman, should be dealing with teenager-y things. He should be a schmoe.  While expertly crafted, the film did not showcase the young men that I met in the everyday world of my profession. No awkwardness. Plot mistakes were the only mistakes. The pressure of hiding from your parents.

One of the things that gets the LGBT community in league with supers? Such similar things. A secret, two-faced life in their youth. I didn't see that in the first three movies. It got better when they relaunched the title with the Amazing Spiderman, with having a younger actor, but he, too, did not play out the fabricated reality of a high school student living two timelines. Good movies, yes. I'm reminded that Einstein Bros bagels are not real bagels. They're good, yes, but not kosher. Not true bagels. Flip that over to Spiderman's movies. Good stuff, actually, But a bit far from the source materials.

Then Disney bought Marvel. Since Sony had the rights, they pretty much had to let Sony/Columbia pictures pull their own weight with the title-but did request a picture deal for Civil War and this title, Spiderman:  Homecoming. Sony's name still got sloshed onto the opening credits and can earn the cash-but Disney keeps their intellectual property adorned properly and can use him again and again-with scripts they author and approve.

Which brings us to this picture.

It's good, like really good. Like, there were three specific moments when I was actually surprised and did not see this coming. Me. The Old Codger of Movies. I mean, I like to think that I've seen every single superhero movie on the big screen. And there were still moments where I was not sure where the storyline would go.

In this one? They did go back to the beginnings and just pluck a small villain that is not as popular. Better, they cast the Vulture with Michael Keaton. Now something should be said about Mr. Keaton. He's is experiencing a third act in his professional career and I freeking love him and the public should, too. Why? Because he is good looking enough that the camera is kind to him-he could play just about every one, but his demeanor is that of the Everyman, someone both you and I would know and trust. This is at play here, because I found with his portrayal of the Vulture, there's something very approachable about him. There's a sympathy for this devil. He is tired of the millionaires like Iron Man/Stark getting rich and popular, when all he wants to do is put food on the table. He reminded me of Ian McKellan's Magneto, a man who survived the internment camps of Nazi Germany-a bitter, angry man with damn good reason to be so. I believe Ian; I believed Michael.

Which is why I think this actor is going to be getting more recognition in the years to come. He did not get an Oscar nod for Spotlight last year, but, because of him as the center protagonist, I trusted the path the narrative took. He was the heart of the piece and because of his soft voice and relaxed manner, the sticky subject manner of the film was easier to approach. That's not something simple to do across a movie screen. And here he is again, making a villain that is also sympathetic. Yes, he will kill, but, as you will see, it's because it's his family that is linked to the events.

And you need to see this. I consider it one of the better movies in the superhero genre.

Because, finally, if you've read any of the Spiderman titles, this is what you see. The stage actor Tom Holland is finally close enough in age and stature, I can see him in an actual high school. He did not just stammer and act uncomfortable. A decent script captures the angst of the high school experience and then, even though it isn't resolved, layers a second story over it, about a boy who has super powers and notices something profound going on. He's nice, not a tough guy, massively approachable and that, given Keaton's nemesis and a series of engaging action scenes makes for a tight motion picture.

My issue? It's so good, there's going to be a sequel, and given youth-sometimes such storylines are difficult to maintain. The audience grows up. The kid onscreen does not. And the sequel becomes a bit of a mash.

But? If they stick to their guns? Maybe it'll pull through. I hope so. A perfect storm has formed over this little teen-now-spider and I'd like to see more of it.