“Spider-Man VS Birdman”
(8.5/10)
Marvel finally got to do their own Spider-Man movie, and boy did they go all out. This Spider-Man movie feels the most “Spider-Man-y”. It flows with the same style as the comic books do, and that is one of the best things about this movie. They made Peter Parker a kid again with all the teenage angst and emotional issues that come along with it. That was always the greatest thing about the Spider-Man comic series, he was a kid. He was a kid that was given a responsibility that he didn’t know how to handle. Marvel brought back this element in their version of Peter Parker/Spider-Man and it made our “Spidey Senses” tingle with excitement.
So we’ve seen Spider-Man on the big screen many times. We’ve seen his origin story twice. And to our delight, when Marvel got ahold of the rights, they chose to use him right in the middle of the already built up storyline (Captain America: Civil War) and then put him back in his city, back to his “normal” life, and back to being a “normal” teenager. They couldn’t have chosen a better route for this character. For this movie they didn’t just start over and tell his origin story again because they know we’ve seen it too many times. They told his story as it pertains to the MCU, with his importance in relation to the Avengers, and they told it in a way that fit the character itself. The movie brought real life into this movie. Peter Parker wants to try and take on all of the responsibility, Tony Stark is trying to keep Peter from taking on too much, and Peter rebels trying to prove his worth. Their relationship ends up being an almost father-son kind because Peter looks up to Stark and really wants to be viewed as useful.
Ok, so disclaimer, I am a huge fan of Spider-Man and follow just about every iteration of the hero. That being said, let’s go into the similarities and differences between the comics and this movie. Peter’s best friend in this movie is, oddly enough, not supposed to be in this universe. His Character is actually the best friend of Miles Morales, who is the Spider-Man of the future/completely different universe depending on which comic you read. This change doesn’t affect the integrity of the story. It actually helps the story along to have this best friend instead of any other. He finds out about Peter being Spider-Man and then helps him using his “nerd powers”. They even take the scene where Ned finds out straight out the comics. It was a nice easter egg for the comic nerds of the world but for everyone else there’s a bit of research (just youtube it) to find out about that one and the rest of them. That one is just my favorite. I absolutely love that they just took Vulture straight out of the comics with all of his motivations and resentments toward Marvel’s superheroes. There are a couple versions of this villain and the movie’s version is most like the Adrian Toomes from 1963’s Amazing Spider-Man that appears in Vol 1 #2. He literally has the same backstory. I think that’s just cool, same name and everything. Ok I’m done being a nerd now. Anyway, the biggest thing about this movie is that it’s a continuation. You have to have seen the movies prior, especially Civil War, to really understand what’s going on “in-between the lines”. There are a few flashbacks but that’s not enough to fully grasp everything, to understand why Peter Parker is trying so hard to prove himself. It’s definitely not a stand alone film, but that’s ok.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is just that, a homecoming film. It’s the coming of age story the MCU was missing, and we’re so glad they got the rights to the character. It’s super entertaining and we love this new film version of Spider-Man. He is the best one in our opinion. We definitely want to see more of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, can’t wait to see him in Infinity War, and hope he gets another solo movie.