‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Movie Review

Spider-Man: Homecoming Tom Holland
Tom Holland stars as Spider-Man in Columbia Pictures’ ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ (Photo © 2017 CTMG, Inc)

“Can’t you just be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?! Just stay close to the ground,” advises Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) to young Peter Parker (Tom Holland) who he’s mentoring after he helped #TeamIronMan take on Captain America, briefly becoming part of the superhero The Avengers team, in the rebirth of the Spider-Man franchise, Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Flash-forward several months after Spider-Man’s first huge fight and Peter is trying to do what Stark told him which is stay in school and help out the little guy in trouble when he’s the webcrawler. But Peter yearns to prove himself to Tony and continuously calls Happy (Jon Favreau), who’s been charged with keeping tabs on him from afar, to see if Stark needs him for a new mission.

After stopping a series of petty crimes, Peter stumbles into the big leagues when notices the ATM across the street from his favorite deli’s being robbed. Parker puts on the Spidey outfit and takes the four goons on, successfully stopping the robbery while discovering the would-be thieves have some brand new, extremely powerful weapons that destroy part of the ATM and the deli across the street.

After Peter tries unsuccessfully to tell Hap about the new weapons and accidentally reveals to his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) that he IS Spider-Man, the two teens team up to try to find out where the new weapons came from and who’s selling them to criminals on the street. Parker hopes by handling this on his own he can finally prove to Stark he’s ready to become a full time Avenger. However, what Peter is unaware of is that he’s gotten in way over his head and will be going up against the mastermind in charge of making and selling the new weapons who’s been smart enough to stay under the radar from the authorities and Tony Stark, the Vulture (Michael Keaton).


Action-packed with stunning visual effects, lots of smart humor, and a great cast, Spider-Man: Homecoming is the best Spider-Man film of them all. It’s a fun, fast-paced superhero adventure with witty one liners, tongue-in-cheek dialogue, stirring action, and hands-down the best villain from the Marvel Universe, thanks to Michael Keaton’s performance.

Tom Holland is superb as both Peter Parker, the nice, nerdy and likeable kid from Queens who loves his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) and has a crush on the prettiest girl in school, Liz (Kayra Harrier), as well as the web-slinging hero who fights to protect the citizens of New York and has a smart aleck attitude toward the criminals. He captures both sides of the character’s personality flawlessly.

Michel Keaton delivers another memorable performance as Adrian Toomes aka The Vulture who turns to a life of crime to provide for his family and employees after being forced out of his livelihood. Keaton plays Toomes initially as a decent man who doesn’t see any other options but to become a special weapons dealer in order to take care of his own. He eventually descends into a villain who’s willing to do anything, even kill, to keep his illegal business profitable. It’s a performance that shows Keaton’s talent for portraying someone who can be truly menacing. He steals every scene he’s in.

The action scenes are thrilling and filled with jaw-dropping special effects. Extremely impressive is the scene in which Spider-Man is trying to save everyone on the Staten Island Boat by using his web-slinging powers as it starts to split apart after being attacked by Toomes’ special weapons. It’s Superhero Gold!

With smart dialogue, amazing special effects, a formidable villain, an entertaining plot, and a likeable hero, Spider-Man: Homecoming is the best superhero film of the summer and one of the most entertaining films of the year. Don’t miss it!

GRADE: B+

Directed By: Jon Watts

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, some language and brief suggestive comments

Running Time: 133 minutes

Release Date: July 7, 2017