Spider-Man: Homecoming

Year: 2017
Director: Jon Watts
Cast: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier

Plot: After the events of Civil War, Tony Stark puts Peter Parker on standby in case he is needed, but Parker, in his eagerness to become a hero, is disappointed when the call doesn't come, and he is tired of merely catching small time crooks in his neighborhood. All that changes when Adrian Toomes, a disgruntled city employee who has amassed technology left behind by the Avengers' many battles, builds an arsenal of high tech weapons, one of which is a suit with wings, and plans to steal even more tech from Stark to sell at the black market.


Review: I'll give director Jon Watts and his five fellow screenwriters one thing: they set out to do a completely different version of Spider-Man and managed to do just that. The problem is, I could never relate to Spider-Man back in the day, and Homecoming doesn't change that. Don't get me wrong, the old Spidey films featuring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were quite entertaining (except maybe Spidey 3), but I never really put the trials and tribulations of Peter Parker and his alter ego at the top of my comicbook heroes list.

I'm gonna do something unprecedented as far as my reviews go, i.e list my pros and cons in point form. Here goes:

Pros:
- Tom Holland makes a rather likable Peter Parker, even though his hyper eager to please attitude for the first 20 minutes of the film was grating on my nerves. Thankfully he matures quite well as the story moves along
- Michael Keaton is awesome as Adrian Toomes aka The Vulture. Toomes is basically a sympathetic villain; a blue collar worker trying to make ends meet until Stark's rich and powerful team of white collar suits take over, thereby forcing him to do whatever it takes to level the playing field. Keaton never hams up his performance and always keeps things cool, making him that much more convincing. Don't be surprised if you find yourself rooting for him at some point.
- Robert Downey Jr is still cool as Tony Stark, even in smaller doses. I also liked the PSA videos from Captain America, Chris Evans rocks.

Cons:
- The different thing about Homecoming as compared to previous incarnations of Spidey is the non origin plot, which means they skipped the Uncle Ben's death thing, which is fine. But in its place is the kind of story you would see in a teen movie, which involves pining for a girl in high school, trying not to get in trouble with your teachers, dodging questions from your aunt, trying to be cool at a party etc. I mean, after they all watched John Hughes' films reportedly before filming this, is this the best they came up with?
- Peter's best friend Ned is quite annoying, sorry. I know he's the sidekick and he is supposed to be that way, but he can be quite dumb, at least till the third act.
- Why are they trying to sell Marisa Tomei's Aunt May as being hot? Seriously? I know some of you feel she is hot, but I don't. Again, sorry.
- The inclusion of Zendaya as Peter's outcast friend Michelle adds nothing to the entire plot, other than providing variety to his social circle, which includes a poorly written Flash Thompson.
- The final action sequence was filmed in bad lighting, making it difficult to see what's going on.
- Other than Michael Giacchino's orchestral score of Spidey's theme song at the start of the film, the music here is pretty disappointing.
- How the heck does a talented actor like Logan Marshall Green end up getting a forgettable supporting role as Shocker #1? 
- There's a cameo towards the end which I totally despised, since it was not necessary at all and adds nothing to the film.
- Lastly, they spent a bit too much time making Peter look stupid tumbling all over the place while trying to figure out how to use his suit or land properly.

Overall, I don't hate Homecoming, just felt underwhelmed, kinda like how I felt after I finished Alien: Covenant. If you're a Spider-Man fan, I'm certain you'll like it, but if you're not, this won't change your mind. (6.5/10)