SPIDER-MAN SPINS A WEB OF INTRIGUE AND ACTION
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 12
JON Watts’ slick reboot of the Marvel Comics superhero – the third version 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 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 pal Ned, who discovers his buddy’s identity by accident and almost selfcombusts with fan boy questions.
A homage one of the greatest coming-of-age comedies – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – is tossed into an original story that doesn’t feel the need to replay Peter’s encounter with a radioactive spider.
Instead, six screenwriters reference events from Captain America: Civil War and position Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) as a father figure and mentor to 15-year-old Parker while the boy grapples with his powers.
Several months have passed since the destruction of the Avengers headquarters and Peter has managed to conceal his crimefighting alter ego from Aunt May (Marisa Tomei).
Best pal Ned (Batalon) 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 firm owner Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), who has been robbed of his livelihood by Stark’s offshoot, the Department of Damage Control (DODC), 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 madman alone.
In a demonstration of tough love, billionaire inventor Stark punishes Peter by reclaiming the lad’s hi-tech suit laden with gizmos.
“If you’re nothing without the suit, you shouldn’t have it,” he wisely observes.
Spider-Man: Homecoming isn’t king of the slingers – Sam Raimi’s 2004 sequel Spider-Man 2 retains that 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 sleights of hand, one of which is a bona fide jaw-dropper, without sacrificing Parker and his growing pains as the emotional heartbeat.
Creator Stan Lee makes his cameo and there are a two other scenes secreted in the end credits. One tees up a new adversary for a sequel, the second delivers a comedic flourish.