Let me start with this: I don't care about Venom, unless Spider-Man is involved. I don't care about any of Spidey's villains, unless Spider-Man is there. The point I'm trying to convey is that I have no interest in movies that have Spider-Man's rogues gallery in them, but not Spider-Man. Kraven the Hunter is not interesting unless he has Spider-Man around as a good counterpoint. (Plus, they could reenact "Kraven's Last Hunt", which is a classic story in and of itself.) Chameleon and Mysterio are not inherently interesting unless Spider-Man is fighting them. So, Sony, stop trying to recoup the resources that you wasted back when you thought The Amazing Spider-Man franchise was going somewhere. And if they do make these movies, I'm not going to watch them. Once again, what is interesting about these characters when Spider-Man is taken out of the equation? Anyway, let's talk about a film that has Spider-Man in it.
Set shortly after the events of Civil War, Our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, aka Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is eagerly anticipating his next assignment from Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), and constantly annoys his bodyguard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) with his eagerness. At the same time, Peter (as always) lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei, playing a radically different version of the character), and attends high school (though, in this incarnation, it appears to be a polytechnic institute), and has his shares of non-superpowered problems, from his arch-rival Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori) to his crush on Liz (Laura Herrier) to his interactions with his friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), He manages to get some heroing in here or there. However, there is a new threat that has emerged. Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), a former construction worker cleaning up after the events of the Avengers, is laid off with his staff by more advanced workers. They decide to take the leftover alien tech, and form a criminal enterprise. Toomes now dons a pair of advanced wings to help him with his crimes. When Spidey expresses concerns to Tony, Tony tells him to lay low. However, undainted, he soon takes on Toomes and his armed and dangerous criminals.
First, Tom Holland does a good job as Spider-Man. He manages to take the best parts of his predecessors, and make it his own. He plays the inexperienced hero particularly well, constantly trying to prove himself, only to fail (the standard default for Peter Parker's life).His performance definitely helps display his personality and mindset, and also shows how Peter's continual disappointments in life continue to frustrate him. The rest of the cast does great as well. Michael Keaton in particular seems to be having fun, playing a menacing, but somewhat charming version of the Vulture.Robert Downey, Jr. does great as Iron Man (as usual), but doesn't intrude in the movie unless he needs to. I said before in my Civil War review, but I love Spidey's new outfit. I always had affection for the Ditko design, and it is brought into realistic fashion here. The effects are pretty good. There was one very suspenceful scene on a famous building I won't spoil, but made me nervous in the theater. There are some great comedic scenes, and there is a good number of references and homages to the Spider-Man comics. The story is pretty good, with a well-executed twist, which comics fan will definitely not see coming.
Ned Leeds was a fine character, but his presence was completely pointless. Yes, he helps Peter at points in the story, but he really didn't serve any purpose other than to give Peter essentially a sidekick to talk to. While the action was good most of the time, I feel that some scenes should've had better, more exciting action. The final fight scene, while having a good ending, was a bit lacking in particular. Not to say it was all bad, the big boat scene (not a spoiler, since you could see it in the trailer) was a highlight.
As a longtime Spider-Man fan who was very disappointed with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (The worst film I saw that year), this helped bring the character back to his roots, while not being an origin story (another breath of fresh air). This film is definitely better than the Amazing duology, but is not as good as the first two Raimi films. (It's better than 3). So, if you enjoy the MCU and/or Spider-Man, I highly recommend this film.
Set shortly after the events of Civil War, Our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, aka Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is eagerly anticipating his next assignment from Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), and constantly annoys his bodyguard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) with his eagerness. At the same time, Peter (as always) lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei, playing a radically different version of the character), and attends high school (though, in this incarnation, it appears to be a polytechnic institute), and has his shares of non-superpowered problems, from his arch-rival Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori) to his crush on Liz (Laura Herrier) to his interactions with his friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), He manages to get some heroing in here or there. However, there is a new threat that has emerged. Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), a former construction worker cleaning up after the events of the Avengers, is laid off with his staff by more advanced workers. They decide to take the leftover alien tech, and form a criminal enterprise. Toomes now dons a pair of advanced wings to help him with his crimes. When Spidey expresses concerns to Tony, Tony tells him to lay low. However, undainted, he soon takes on Toomes and his armed and dangerous criminals.
First, Tom Holland does a good job as Spider-Man. He manages to take the best parts of his predecessors, and make it his own. He plays the inexperienced hero particularly well, constantly trying to prove himself, only to fail (the standard default for Peter Parker's life).His performance definitely helps display his personality and mindset, and also shows how Peter's continual disappointments in life continue to frustrate him. The rest of the cast does great as well. Michael Keaton in particular seems to be having fun, playing a menacing, but somewhat charming version of the Vulture.Robert Downey, Jr. does great as Iron Man (as usual), but doesn't intrude in the movie unless he needs to. I said before in my Civil War review, but I love Spidey's new outfit. I always had affection for the Ditko design, and it is brought into realistic fashion here. The effects are pretty good. There was one very suspenceful scene on a famous building I won't spoil, but made me nervous in the theater. There are some great comedic scenes, and there is a good number of references and homages to the Spider-Man comics. The story is pretty good, with a well-executed twist, which comics fan will definitely not see coming.
Ned Leeds was a fine character, but his presence was completely pointless. Yes, he helps Peter at points in the story, but he really didn't serve any purpose other than to give Peter essentially a sidekick to talk to. While the action was good most of the time, I feel that some scenes should've had better, more exciting action. The final fight scene, while having a good ending, was a bit lacking in particular. Not to say it was all bad, the big boat scene (not a spoiler, since you could see it in the trailer) was a highlight.
As a longtime Spider-Man fan who was very disappointed with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (The worst film I saw that year), this helped bring the character back to his roots, while not being an origin story (another breath of fresh air). This film is definitely better than the Amazing duology, but is not as good as the first two Raimi films. (It's better than 3). So, if you enjoy the MCU and/or Spider-Man, I highly recommend this film.
