Director: Jon Watts.
Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Zendaya, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyne Daly, Hannibal Buress, Jennifer Connolly, Kenneth Choi, Logan Marshall-Green, Chris Evans, Stan Lee.
Yup, it's another Spider-Man movie. Did we need one? Is it too soon after Marc Webb's and Garfield's Amazing Spider-Man films? The most recent one only being 3 years ago. I think I can safely assume that most of us are aware of this messy fiasco of different Spider-Men is due to the whoever owns the rights, Sony releasing them back to Marvel to enable the MCU to continue close to its original source. Spider-Man actually playing a massive part in the comics that isn't even reflected in the movies; as yet.
Spider-Man as a comic hero has, and will always remain my very favourite, because he's really just a kid, in many ways, the most human of all the superheroes. A hero that many of us can relate to in more ways than one. Yes, he has incredible superhuman abilities that can rival most, if not all the other heroes but is plagued by what us mere mortals deal with on a daily basis. He doesn't have Tony Stark's money, he doesn't have any godly or otherworldly kin or the history of being a hero or otherwise superhuman that's be exploited. He juggles all of his very human personal life with wanting to be your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. Even Stan Lee himself has written in a prologue to the Ultimate Guide to Spider-Man that he is, the most popular of all the Marvel heroes; he's the one that people ask about the most, and Mr. Lee summarises that it's to do with the above reason.
I think it was wise for the studio to not force feed us with yet another origin story, which as a result would have only insulted us viewers and waste a large budget movie on something we should already know. Even non-comic fans knows the main origin story of Spider-Man. So thumbs up for that. Instead it's a very cheeky follow on from last year's Civil War that's more of a coming-of-age for Spidy. It does keep some of the key elements of young romance, high-school kicks, which is helped greatly by having Batalon as his comical wannabe sidekick, and his constant struggling of being a teenager kid displaying his emotional vulnerability.
Tom Holland takes to the web, and he does great to fit in, flinging those sarcastic wisecracks and he looks like he's having a lot of fun playing the role. I get the feeling he can't quite believe he's the iconic web slinger. His behaviour and attitude during the run up promotional stage before it's release right up to the premiere and after was simply humble and brilliant. Especially on the night of the world premiere in Los Angeles where he arrived on the bonnet of a car donning this famed college Spider-Man outfit, backflipping off and taking selfies with the excited crowd of fans.
I'm not saying he's better than Toby Maguire's Spidy, but I think he's definitely fitted the suit more than Andrew Garfield. Although, you could easily accuse me of being bias, as Holland hails to come from a town I consider to be very much my home. Between Maguire and Holland, I'm still undecided and it will probably remain that way.
Talking about comparisons, because it's the most natural thing to do being a big fan of Sam Raimi's comic masterpieces. It's good, but not better than Raimi's 1 or 2, 2 being a personal favourite of mine, myself declaring it a perfect comic book movie. Raimi just has that style that seems to encapsulates the comic book feel. Watts gives us a comical drama with some action, but it doesn't have the comic book feel Raimi's did, though it does fit nicely into the current MCU style. Even Michael Giacchino's work doesn't really match up to Danny Elfman's score, sounding too jovial. Maybe it needed more Star Trek and less Disney with the soundtrack. And there's no J.K. Simmons. Who else here missing Simmons' Jonah Jameson?
It just lacks any outstanding scenes, and I struggle to think of any, unlike any of the other MCU films. However there are some nice touches, like Cap's self parodying end credit and Jennifer Connolly aptly voicing Spider-Man's super suit which skirts close to having a "Her" moment. It's funny knowing she's the wife of Vision actor, Paul Bettany, literally being the female counterpart to the evolved Jarvis.
Keaton, as expected is superb and plays a villain perfectly, especially with the unexpected encounter. He doesn't look like the comic Adrian Toomes but he captures the ruthless character of the Vulture. I'm not too keen on Iron-Man being so quite involved. Don't get me wrong, it's very much a Spider-Man movie, having too much of Tony Stark as a driving influence, almost parenting Peter Parker was too cliched for me.
It's not amazing, but it's still a good Marvel film and a good effort for taking an already done superhero (twice) and starting afresh, which couldn't have been no easy task. I know many people had already written it off before it was even released, but it's a worthy addition to the MCU.
Running Time: 9
The Cast: 9
Performance: 9
Direction: 8
Story: 7
Script: 8
Creativity: 7
Soundtrack: 6
Job Description: 8
The Extra Bonus Point: 0
71% 7/10
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