MCU Rewatch: Spider-Man: Homecoming

Directed by Jon Watts
Release date: July 7th, 2017
Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jacob Batalon
Box office worldwide: $880,166,924

Let’s keep the Spidey ball rolling! Earlier this week, I reviewed Spider-Man: Far From Home and now it’s onto the original MCU Spidey movie: Spider-Man Homecoming. Great title, BTW, since it was a homecoming for Spidey’s character rights back to Marvel. 

If you read the Far From Home review you probably got the sense that I’d been desperately wanting a phenomenal Spider-Man movie. McGuire’s and Garfield’s were decent, good and really bad movies but I had yet to see the “holy shit, my favorite superhero of all time just appeared in one of the best hero movies I’ve ever seen! Like, holy shit that was so good. I mean, Jesus H Christ that was phenomenal. Somebody grab the defibrillator because my heart sank into my f*****g shoes.” Ya know, one of those movies!?

Well, along came Homecoming and it was everything I’d hope for and more. I’ll preface this review by saying it exceeded all expectations and made it impossible for me to have Far From Home live up to its predecessor.

WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY. 

Positives

• Here we go again. My man crush for Tom Holland is still prevalent! He kicks ass as the twerpy Spider-Man that wants more adult-like responsibilities. He’s great. I’ll end it at that. 
• You want a villain rooted in real-life with a sympathetic cause for villainy? Bang, you got it with Vulture. Adriam Toomes (AKA Vulture) is such a great villain because he’s this regular guy that got cucked by the government when he was trying to make a living by picking up scrap from the Battle of New York after The Avengers. That’s what a vulture does, guys! Great name, right? So Toomes gets sick of the government’s bullshit….

• ….and starts dealing in the black market, and he gradually turns into the bad guy thanks to pesky Spider-Man. I loved it. AND, we got Michael Keaton in the MCU?! GET IT IN MY VEINS. 
• Speaking of Vulture, the BEST twist in the entire MCU was when Peter shows up to pick up Liz (his prom date) and who answers the door??? ADRIAN F*****G TOOMES! First time I saw the movie, my jaw dropped and the entirely full theater went dead silent. Peter knows her dad is Vulture, and you can feel the tension rise once Toomes drives them to the prom. DAMNIT THEN WE GET THE DAD TALK SCENE OHHHHHDFL’KADMCKA… Me explaining it can’t do it justice, so do yourself a favor and watch the clip below. 

• Ok, I’ve settled. Peter Parker’s relationship with Tony Stark progresses here and it is bloody lovely. Tony in the mentor/father figure role is great. The reason Tony is my favorite character in the MCU is because of the mistakes he’s made and how he’s learned from them. What better character to chaperone Peter into responsible adulthood? Homecoming shows Peter making mistakes (hacking into the suit Tony gave him, screwing up on the barge scene) and Tony is right there pushing him towards greatness. It makes ya feel pure! Probably my favorite exchange in the entire film: 

• It feels like comic book Spider-Man. The unlucky kid that can’t turn away from trouble. After Tony takes the high tech suit, Peter is ready to move on and live a normal life. He’s ready to take Liz to the prom and then he discovers Toomes is Vulture and can’t ignore the call of trouble. And the BEST scene in the entire film is when Peter is trapped under rubble. He’s crying, ready to give in… but does the Spidey thing to do.
• Spidey VS Vulture on the big jumbo jet at the end is a fun scene. 
• The high school supporting cast of Ned, MJ and Flash are great. 
• Spidey movies doing a good job ending the film on cliffhangers. Aunt May walks into see Peter take off the Spidey suit and says “what the fu…!” Good stuff. 

Negatives

• The official poster sucks… just like Far From Home… that’s all I got for ya.

Overall Grade: A+

• I told ya, I really love this movie. This is the 4th A+ score I’ve handed out (GOTG, Avengers, Endgame). I’d guess most Marvel dweebs won’t have it this high, but I love this movie to the end of time. It’s so rewatchable, entertaining, heartfelt, and straight up fun!

MCU Ranking:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy
2. Avengers: Endgame
3. The Avengers
4. Spider-Man: Homecoming (Highest solo film so far… unless you count GOTG as a solo, but whatever.)
5. Captain America: Civil War
6. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
7. Iron Man
8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
9. Captain America: The First Avenger
10. Spider-Man: Far From Home
11. Ant-Man
12. Avengers: Age of Ultron
13. Thor
14. Doctor Strange
15. Iron Man 3
16. Iron Man 2
17. The Incredible Hulk
18. Thor: The Dark World

NEXT UP: Thor: Ragnorak or Captain Marvel