Fresh new look for Spidey’s franchise
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (12A, 133 mins)
JON Watts’ slick reboot of the Marvel Comics superhero – the third iteration in 15 years – spins an impressive web of rites-of-passage drama, buddy comedy and bombastic spectacle.
There’s a goofy, youthful vibe to this incarnation of Peter Parker, played by British actor Tom Holland, who recently turned 21. He certainly looks more convincing as a socially awkward high school student than his big-screen predecessors – Tobey Maguire was 26 when he slipped on the spider suit, Andrew Garfield was 27.
Holland sparks a terrific on-screen double act with Jacob Batalon as Parker’s best friend Ned, who discovers his buddy’s secret identity by accident and almost self-combusts with fanboy questions.
“Can you spit venom?” he giggles. “Can you summon an army of spiders?”
Six screenwriters reference events from Captain America: Civil War and position inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) as mentor to 15-year-old Parker while the boy grapples with his burgeoning powers and responsibility.
Several months have passed since the destruction of the Avengers headquarters and Peter has managed to conceal his alter ego from Aunt May (Marisa Tomei).
Best friend Ned is sworn to secrecy, joining Peter in their school’s Academic Decathlon team alongside Peter’s crush Liz (Laura Harrier), sardonic loner Michelle (Zendaya) and bullying rich kid Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori).
The pupils have a brush with death in Washington DC at the hands of salvage company owner Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), who has been robbed of his livelihood and has taken flight as a larcenous winged menace called Vulture.
Youthful impetuosity overrides common sense as Peter tries to prove himself to the Avengers by tackling the airborne madman alone.
In a demonstration of tough love, Stark punishes Peter by reclaiming the lad’s hi-tech suit, observing: “If you’re nothing without the suit, you shouldn’t have it!”
Spider-Man: Homecoming isn’t king of the slingers – Sam Raimi’s 2004 Spider-Man 2 retains that web-spun crown but director Watts’ opening salvo isn’t far behind.
Action sequences are executed with verve, without swamping the screen in digital trickery, and the most dramatic interludes are underscored with snarky humour.
The script pulls off two impressive sleights of hand, one of which is a bona fide jaw-dropper, without sacrificing Parker and his growing pains as the emotional heartbeat.