‘Spider-man:
Homecoming’ is proof of the old saying ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try
again’. Featuring the third actor to
portray Peter Parker/Spider-man in three separate film series, audiences could
be excused for feeling confused. After
the artistic failure of the Andrew Garfield Spider-man movies, film company
Sony have re-booted the series yet again.
Although that may reek of desperation, they needn’t worry this time as
‘Spider-man: Homecoming’ restores the fun and energy previously missing.
Peter Parker
(Tom Holland) is a teenager attending high school. Cared by his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), he
holds a secret. In between hitting the
school-books he hits the streets as costumed hero Spider-man. Having spider-like abilities, he uses it to
right wrongs. With the help of mentor
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jnr), Peter needs all the help he can get when facing
the Vulture (Michael Keaton). Using his
wing-tipped arsenal for evil, the Vulture presents a new challenge for
Spider-man to prove why he is the hero the world needs.
‘Spider-man:
Homecoming’ is the best Spider-man movie since 2004’s ‘Spider-man 2’. That isn’t to say it’s totally fantastic but
it achieves to stand alone as its own movie than existing as an excuse to set
up further sequels. We all know sequels
will surface anyway but ‘Homecoming’ remembers to provide a joyful,
thrill-packed ride full of youthful exuberance.
Although sluggish in its pacing, it achieves high points due to the
strong cast and Jon Watts’ direction who handles the myriad of characters well.
‘Homecoming’s
second half is much better than its first.
To get there we see a litany of scenes that wouldn’t feel out of place
in an 80’s teen movie. Holland performs
well as Parker in these sequences, having a goofy charm capturing the early
comic-books well. It’s not until the
story gets going with the Vulture that his and Keaton’s performances really hit
their stride. The action is nicely realised,
the humour is amusing and there are few dull spots preventing the ‘is it over
yet?’ question from appearing.
‘Spider-man:
Homecoming’ isn’t perfect and nor does it have much genuine depth. But as a more enjoyable and watchable film
than previous entries, it admirably succeeds.
It’s gratifying Sony finally got it right with Stan Lee’s and Steve
Ditko’s creation sure to spin more silver screen webs in years to come.
Movie Review
Rating out of 10: 7
Movie Review
by Patrick Moore
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Patrick
Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.
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