YOUR FILM REVIEWER
Spider-Man Homecoming: The best Spidey film yet?
Spider-Man Homecoming, 12A, 133 mins, Marvel Studios. Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau
Rating: HHHHI
Director: Jon Watts
QUENTIN Tarantino fan Greg Thorp has been a film enthusiast from a very young age – one of his all-time top picks is Spielberg’s classic ET, which he describes as his ‘favourite childhood adventure’.
Greg lives in Rawtenstall.
Email him with your comments and observations at: gregthorpreviews@gmail.com
THE film is a coming-ofage story focusing not only on Spider-Man but his mild-mannered alter-ego Peter Parker.
Hungry for more action after his role in Captain America Civil War, he spends the whole movie trying to prove he is worthy of superhero status.
Little does he know that he will run into the indomitable Vulture, a villain who will stop at nothing to prevent Spider-Man from destroying his evil arms-dealing empire.
Tom Holland reprises his role as the webslinging superhero to great effect in this, the sixth instalment of the franchise.
In a departure from previous outings, he portrays Spider-man as a sensitive and somewhat naive young man – more grounded and with similar problems to everyday people.
This makes us relate and ultimately care for him more as we are able to have an empathetic view of his normal life, including his time at school.
Michael Keaton stars as the Vulture, a sneering, unstable man with an unusually fully developed back-story.
This character is, in my opinion, one of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) villains ever.
He has an obvious motive, a surprising amount of depth and is clever enough to credibly defeat the hero – a vital component of any villain, otherwise the fighting would be pointless and the film would carry no stakes.
The film has a perfect balance of action and plot, with part of the film reserved for Spider-Man and the other for Peter Parker. As a result we gain a better personal connection with the character and the pace is slowed down, allowing us to think about the complexities of the film.
This can have a double-edged effect as younger viewers may find the slower scenes a bit boring because they crave constant action.
Personally, however, I believe that this balance of style and substance was the correct format for the film in order to create a more multi-dimensional Spider-Man movie to avoid it turning into a repetitive rehash of the others.
Ultimately, this film is a brilliant contribution to the MCU and is also watchable without having seen the other five films.
It is, in my view, the best adaptation of the titular character to be released.
It’s hard-hitting humour, seamless action and a great portrayal of not only Spider-Man but also Peter Parker are the essentials which this film flawlessly encapsulates.