WEB DEVELOPER
Yet another Spider-Man revamp focuses on webslinger’s awkward coming of age... and it’s no bad thing
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 years old. 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 fan boy questions.
A cute homage to arguably the greatest coming-of-age comedy of all time – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – is affectionately tossed into an origin 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 surrogate father figure and 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 crime-fighting alter ego from Aunt May (Marisa Tomei).
Best friend 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 company 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 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
“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 SiderMan 2 retains that web-spun crown – but director Watts’ opening salvo isn’t far behind.
Action sequences are executed with verve, and the drama is underscored with snarky humour. The script pulls off two impressive sleights of hand, one of which is a jawdropper, without sacrificing Parker’s growing pains as the emotional core and there are a couple of additional scenes secreted in the end credits.
One tees up a venomous new adversary for a sequel in summer 2019, the second delivers a comedic flourish that rewards the virtuous.