Movie Review: "Spider Man: Homecoming": Do We Really Need Another Spider Man?

"Spider Man: Homecoming": Do We Really Need Another Spider Man?

(Four out to five stars)

So the answer to this question is...

Maybe so.

If they are fun, well acted and don't take themselves too seriously like this film, surprisingly, maybe this franchise has not played itself out.

So another disclaimer, I was not a big fan of the two reboot Amazing Spider Man movies. They really took themselves way too seriously. I'm not sure if this type of Dark Knight /Christopher Nolan approach works with Spider Man as a character. Or maybe it was just the convoluted storytelling. But bottom line, it just didn't work for me and while the films did okay at the box office, Sony, the studio behind the franchise, agreed by pulling the plug on that iteration of the character. They decided to take a break and give Marvel Studios with it's huge track record a shot at making the character sing again.

In this new Spider Man film, you can see the look of the new suit with its primary colors and retro look as kind of the mission statement of this reboot. It screams, "This is going to be fun!" And it's going to stay true to its comic origins. So, yes, this new Spider Man is fun and it definitely fits into the goofy charm of a John Hughes' (Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles) high school movie. The filmmakers have stated that their vision of the film was to follow the John Hughes approach to teenage films. The Hughes classic, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is even playing the background of one of the scenes. But that breezy tone is in pretty much most of the film and it works well.

The film also works because all of the actors are superb. For example, the young actors in Peter Parker's New York high school all are spot on. (If you don't read comics or see these movies, Peter Parker is Spider Man's teenaged alter ego.) The diversity of the cast felt true to a contemporary New York urban world. And there are great small moments like when Happy, Peter Parker's mentor figure meets with Peter in a high school bathroom and as they are having a very serious conversation, there is a flushing noise. It turns out to be this nerdy kid who is just finishing up in a nearby stall. The director and writers could have overplayed this moment for more laughs but they didn't. This kid is just an ordinary kid going to bathroom in high school and it's very believable and very funny.

Let's also talk about the two lead performances. Tom Holland as Peter Parker is terrific. He's buoyant and authentic and definitely rings truer as a high school student than his predecessors. He gets the comedy and the light drama. There's a great moment when he is confronted with his arch nemesis in a very awkward social situation where he can't reveal his true self but on his face you can see his fear and his anger all in his eyes and slight expressions. It's a moment that really played with audiences because it was so believable and relatable.

And then there's Michael Keaton. He's fantastic. He has an awesome confrontation scene with Peter Parker later in the movie that Keaton nails because he's able to convey warmth and threat in equal measure with complete credibility. I read that Marvel saw his character Vulture as a mobster who will do anything to protect his family. And Keaton gets that in spades. So let me talk about a few weaker areas. First, the smaller one... The actions scenes are decent but not great. While I do believe that many critics are being overly harsh with the director's ability to direct the action (most of them worked for me; especially the Washington monument scene was memorable) but there was some major reliance on over-the-top CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) in the final climatic action scene, although this seems to be the trend these days. Wonder Woman and Guardians of the Galaxy 2 did it too. The final climax is so over the top and so CGI driven that you both don't care as much as you should and it's a bit confusing too.

To illuminate this problem through contrast, I feel in much of the recent Tom Cruise Mission Impossible films, he and his team of filmmakers demonstrated a much better understanding of how to make a good action sequence. And the missing ingredient for Spider Man and others is credible danger. In Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, there is a jaw dropping sequence where Tom Cruise is literally hanging onto the side of the tallest building in the world and it's one of the best action sequences I've seen. Now, you compare that with the end of Spider Man: Homecoming and while Spider Man is in great danger, it's clear that you are watching an actor with a green screen and the end result is strong interest instead of heart pounding terror. Then there is another problem. The emotional stakes felt a bit low. I like how the story pushes on Peter Parker to grow up and learn that he or people can get killed or injured seriously and he needs to take his responsibilities more seriously. But what's a little weird is that through the entire film, despite having gun battles, planes crash and blow up in amusement parks, etc, NO ONE seems to get hurt or killed. I mean the characters talk about the danger and it's often acknowledged in sequences, but the writers and directors didn't really go there. They never actually have anyone shown to be really hurt or killed and Peter never really has to face it in a meaningful way. So in the end, it feels like a cheat.

In life, for teenagers (and adults) to learn real consequences, they actually have to experience it themselves. Not get lectured by Iron Man. (There are several scenes where he is lectured by the Avenger.) That part just didn't feel as real as it could have. Maybe it was part of the filmmakers family friendly strategy to make it light and fun. But I feel when you look at John Hughes' best films, he wasn't afraid to go dark in films like Breakfast Club while still retaining a light comedic tone. I think audiences appreciate this honesty because in life, while we don't like to wallow in the darkness, it feels like denial when we don't at least acknowledge it. If Marvel could do that with the next Spider Man movie, maybe, we could definitely need another movie in the franchise. Any story that can entertain and give us honest insight to the human condition is welcome.