In recent years, Disney has begun, like the Borg, to assimilate everything around it, and in this it has been excellently served by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the most successful film series in history. When 20th Century Fox, one of Hollywood's giants, was acquired by Disney, one of the main arguments this move was that it would fulfil the wish of Marvel fans, namely that characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Thor, Captain America, Iron Man and the rest of the Avengers) could appear in the same film as characters from the X-Men, to whom Fox held the copyright. Sony Columbia avoided the same fate largely thanks to having previously agreed to a deal whereby Spider-Man, a Marvel character to which Sony holds the rights, could appear in Disney's films, and the Avengers and co. could guest-star in Sony's films. And just how precious Spider-Man is to Sony, and how drastic that move was, is best illustrated by the fact that the famous comic about the masked spider-man who defends New York from criminals experienced two reboots in the previous two decades. The new series of Spider-Man films thus began in 2016 when the title character appeared in Disney's film Captain America: Civil War. His first solo outing was Jon Watts's film Spider-Man: Homecoming, which, besides the expected success with audiences, also received very good reviews.
The plot takes place shortly after Peter Parker (Tom Holland), a 15-year-old New York high school student endowed with superhuman powers after the bite of a radioactive spider, participated in the spectacular internal clash among members of the superhero group the Avengers. There he made a deep impression on billionaire and superhero Tony Stark, alias Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), who decided to make him his protégé and prepare him for a future Avenger under the guise of an internship at his company. However, the young Parker is impatient and, despite his mentor's warnings, frequently dons his superhero suit and heads to the streets to help his fellow citizens and tackle all sorts of criminal scum. Because of this, he begins to have problems at school, as well as with his attempts to get closer to Liz (Laura Harrier), a student he has a crush on. His academic and romantic problems will, however, be overshadowed when during his anti-crime activities he gets in the way of Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), a small-time construction contractor who had previously got hold of remnants of alien technology after the Battle of New York, and who now turns them into weapons which he sells on the black market.
The crossover with the Marvel Cinematic Universe spared the creators of the third version of Spider-Man the need to torture viewers with a third "origin story" of the popular character, and that just five years after The Amazing Spider-Man. Thus the screenplay could use an already established character and concentrate on a "normal" plot, and in doing so used the best elements from the comic book template, which were recognised in the first half of Raimi's Spider-Man from 2002. These are above all his human qualities, namely that, unlike alien deities and charismatic billionaires, he has to deal with ordinary human and teenage problems. The screenplay thus uses a strong contrast between Parker's superhero powers and glittering future with the Avengers on one side, and a rather prosaic and often unenviable present at school where he is surrounded by pupils who are more popular and successful than him. Such a situation is fairly fertile ground for humour, which the screenwriters use for a series of effective scenes, making Homecoming one of the most entertaining and "lightest" of all Marvel films. The screenplay, on the other hand, also uses the reboot for a little more creative freedom in portraying long-familiar characters and situations, so most of Parker's classmates are from racial minorities, and Aunt May, played by the excellent Marisa Tomei, is not only portrayed but explicitly stated as an object of male desire. The most original thing about Homecoming, however, is the attempt to make not only the main character, but also the villain, "ordinary". Thus Toomes, played by the ever-reliable Keaton (with several fairly explicit references to the character he played in Birdman), is not an all-powerful cosmic entity or a megalomaniac who wants to conquer or destroy the world, but merely a small-time "player" who opportunistically tries to earn a few bucks on the wrong side of the law.
A significant contribution to the good impression of Homecoming is made by Tom Holland, the young British actor who in the role of Peter Parker made an effort, and for the most part succeeded, in surpassing his predecessors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. The rest of the cast is also up to the task, especially Jacob Batalon in the role of Parker's friend Ned. Watts generally directs the film well, skilfully balancing action and humour, although the finale, which takes place at night, could be a bit more polished. The film's biggest shortcoming, on the other hand, is what in commercial terms could be its greatest asset – its firm connection to the comic book source material, but also to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Many of the rather specific details will be hard to understand or unrecognisable to an audience that knows nothing about the original comics or hasn't watched Disney's film series, at least from The Avengers onward. Viewers who have had the chance to acquaint themselves with the preceding material will, however, be more than satisfied.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
(Note: The text in the original Croatian version is available here.)
Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/ InLeo blog https://inleo.io/@drax.leo
LeoDex: https://leodex.io/?ref=drax Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax InLeo: https://inleo.io/signup?referral=drax.leo Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax 1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e
BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7 BCH donations: qpvxw0jax79lhmvlgcldkzpqanf03r9cjv8y6gtmk9