FREAKS & GEEKS
'Third-time lucky' is a idiom you rarely hear when discussing iterations of a completely refresh superhero universe. It also an idiom that likely haunts the nightmares of studio executives.
But Jon Watt's 2017 imagining of the friendly neighbourhood crime-fighter in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" takes the series back to it's foundations in boyish charm, street-level stories and coming-of-age values that made the eponymous comics such a global phenomenon.
Now free of the perennial world-building bog-down that has plagued multiple Marvel and DC films over the past decade, "Spider-Man: Homecoming" swings straight into the story of a blue-collar kid just trying to balance school-years & puberty with super-powers. Our hero Peter Parker (Holland) achieves what the previous universes were never able to; he looks, sounds and acts like a teenager.
With a joyously light tone and awkward high school experiences any audience can relate with, Holland showcases the impatience and enthusiasm that a real-life teen hero would really have. It's hard not to root for him throughout the whole movie.
With a supporting cast that fills out the grounded, yet feel-good aura of the film, Holland doesn't have to burden the film alone. In antagonist Toomes/The Vulture (Keaton), we have one of the most sympathetic and strongest villains of the MCU series. A character not seeking world domination, national governance, all-consuming revenge and the like, his pursuit of merely a upper-middle class lifestyle for himself and his family is the legitimate motivation every villian has lacked before him. Parker's best friend Ned (Batalon) shines as a comedic scene-stealer wherever he shows up. The sporadic appearances of Tony Stakr/Iron Man (Downey Jr.) reminds audiences of the film's grounding within the MCU, whilst also serving as the quasi-father-figure Parker tries so hard to please. Also Donald Glover as a wrong-place/wrong-time kind of criminal, which is worth admission alone.
The film does have it short-comings however. Watts' direction feels like a jumbled orchestration at times, mixing slightly too many elements into a single scene while at other times showcasing how a simple idea for each set-piece excels in telling the story more than a multitude can. Add to that some lackluster action pieces that fail to get the heart racing. Perhaps it is a hangover from the MCU in general that the explosiveness of some high-intensity scenes don't carry much weight anymore: there doesn't feel like anything to lose.
Imperfections aside, "Spider-Man: Homecoming" is the fresh air in a Marvel world. It's amalgamation of John Hughes-esque high school drama with the mythology of the larger MCU make the film one to smile throughout. There's worthwhile twists, incredible charm and in the end, a sense of hope for the future of this franchise. Plus the classic Spider-Man theme stuck in your head.