One problem in Spider-Man: Homecoming is Peter Parker makes some blockheaded decisions.Tom Holland’s Spider-Man charmed nearly everybody in a brief appearance in Captain America: Civil War, but a standalone film was going to be a challenge. For one, it was going to be difficult to differentiate it from the other two live-action Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield).
Another difficulty was to make the wall-crawler great (and interesting) again in a world where all-powerful superheroes like Hulk and Thor also lived. Spidey is strong, but comes nowhere near those two. Earlier films on the character did not have to contend with any other superhero. There were just bad guys to fight and a world to save.
Jon Watts, the director of Spider-Man: Homecoming, and the writers answered these challenges pretty ably and they did that by doing a couple of things. First, he wisely skipped the origin story altogether (though that might have been the decision of higher-ups at Marvel) because everybody knows that. Second, he grounded the character and the story as much as possible.
The New York City in Homecoming feels genuine and real. Yes, there are thugs trying to steal alien technology, but the Avengers and their battle against the Chitauri had to figure somehow. On the whole, it feels like a reprieve from the bigger films in the MCU.
In the wake of Sokovia Accords and all the mess in Captain America: Civil War, Tony Stark is keeping a paternal eye on Peter Parker. Sure, he can practise his heroics, but only on a minor level. You know, robbers and such.
And Peter does acquiesce to that, but that is before he sets his eye on Michael Keaton’s Vulture, easily one of MCU’s best villains. The thing with Vulture is he rightly feels wronged when his contract to clean up the Chitauri mess is snatched by Stark Industries. Tony’s goal was to ensure alien tech did not fall into the wrong hands, but Adrian Toomes (Vulture) did not know that. He saw Tony as another rich businessman exploiting the little guy.
He steals Chitauri tech and becomes this supervillain. But deep down, he is just a regular guy trying to provide for his family. Keaton’s turn as Vulture is charismatic and ruthless, and also sympathetic.
One problem in Spider-Man: Homecoming is Peter Parker makes some blockheaded decisions. While it is realistic to show a kid’s naivety that would also reflect in his superheroics, Parker is actually incompetent and downright reckless at times. He nearly kills dozens of people at one point accidentally if not for the timely intervention by Tony Stark. This might be a way for the writers and director to develop the character’s arc, but often Spidey in the film appears to be a kid playing at being a superhero instead of simply being a superhero.
Again, this is “realistic” — as in it would happen in real life if superpowers were real. But there could have been a better way to show the character’s usual evolution from an irresponsible superhero to a more responsible one.
The sequel, Spider-Man: Far From Home, releases on July 4.
