So, Spiderman: Homecoming came out last week. Yes, I saw it. Yes, it is worth going to see. It was thoroughly enjoyable with some great comedic moments, good character development, and some nice action sequences. While the story felt a little disjointed at times, it came together well at the end, and worked well within the feel the film was going for. Ultimately, this was a fun summer family film that, while not super original, did what it was trying to, and accomplished its goals admirably.
Immediately following the events of Captain America: Civil War, Spiderman has returned to his home in Queens, where he struggles to balance his typical teen school life with the superhero he is becoming. Peter Parker sees Spiderman as his future, and he wants to move past the mundanities of high-school to join the Avengers and start saving the world. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t seem to want his saving; Tony Stark brushes him to the side, telling him to keep a low profile and stay a “street level” hero, to keep working on the small things. Peter struggles with wanting to be treated like an adult in a world that keeps treating him like a child. This motivation lies at the heart of most teen movies, and it is well executed in Homecoming. When Spiderman encounters several groups of street thugs who are using technologically advanced, alien based weaponry, he sets out to find the man building and selling this dangerous tech. His search leads him to Adrian Toomes, a.k.a. the Vulture, a construction worker who lost his company due to the government takeover of clean-up after the Chitari invasion of New York. He used illegally scavenged alien weaponry to create advanced technology which he then sold to the highest bidders, without regard for how the weapons would be used. After multiple confrontations with Toomes, Spiderman finally defeats his opponent, earning the respect of Tony Stark, and acceptance into the Avengers. He decides to turn down the opportunity, however, and stay in New York, helping the “little people” he sees being ignored by the more well known superheroes, and taking advantage of his time in high-school to grow and mature.
So Marvel as been doing this interesting thing with its movies; although they are all still “superhero” movies, the films have been drawing inspiration from the types and tropes of other specific genres. Ant Man was basically a heist movie with a superhero overlay, Winter Soldier was a “wrongfully accused” spy movie, Guardians of the Galaxy (1 & 2) are basically superhero Star Wars. Spiderman: Homecoming follows in this tradition; paying tribute to 1980’s John Hughes classics like the Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Ferris Buehler’s Day Off. This keeps the comedy aspect of Homecoming pitch perfect; the delicate balance between typical high-school activities like going to class, crushing on an older girl, or getting detention, and interacting with world renowned heroes like Iron Man, the danger of fighting criminals, and the excitement of being a “hero,” provides a rich trove for conversational disconnects, absurd situational comedy, and double entendre.
One such occasion where the use of the “teen dram-edy” trope works very well occurs towards the end of the film (Spoilers!). Having finally summoned up the courage to tell his crush, Liz, that he likes her, Peter Parker has invited her to homecoming with him and has arrived to pick her up. In a “John Hughes” world, this is the moment where the girl’s father intimidates the boy with pointed questions, vaguely threatening comments, and askance sideways glances. Homecoming follows the formula, but ups the ante by having Liz’s father turn out to be the Vulture, the villain Spiderman has been chasing and fighting the whole film. The pointed questions becoming a true danger when Vulture figures out Peter Parker’s secret identity and the threatening comments turn into genuine threats should Spiderman continue his involvement. The film does a great job of taking the building blocks of these classic teen films and incorporating the into the superhero storyline it is creating.
While the “John Hughes” tone works well for the most part, it does occasionally cause some issues. At times the story feels episodic and predictable; it alternates between school and hero scenes methodically, with very little to distinguish one fight scene or school day from the next. This hurts a number of the action scenes, which sometimes feel like more of an addendum to the film instead of central to the performance. The best action sequence in the film is not the final, climactic battle, but instead occurs early on when Spiderman is required to rescue his classmates at the Washington Monument. While the final battle alternates between moving to fast or too slow, this earlier sequence balances action with some interesting character moments, and seeing Spiderman confront a disaster situation rather than a specific villain was fascinating and a great opportunity for the character. Most of the other battles, however, seem a bit phoned in, and while possessing some good action and interesting moments, overall fall flat in the grand scope of what Marvel has and can do with these sequences.
While the final battle was disappointing in its execution, the set-up of Toomes allows for a very good arc; creating a more memorable Marvel villain. It was nice to have a villain that was not a corporate executive or religious fanatic. The Vulture was an ordinary guy, trying to make his way in a world where the wealthy continue to get wealthier at the expense of the working people, where corporate elites control a bureaucratic government in order to maintain their power. His motives were perfectly clear and reasonable; he isn’t a maniac, he isn’t looking for world domination, he just wants to support his family and move up in the world. Adrian Toomes is an old school worker, just looking for the American dream. Tony Stark and the Department of Damage Control created the Vulture through their refusal to acknowledge Toomes’ city contract, to compensate him for his work, and their disdain for his “inferior” qualifications. His actions, while unjustifiable, and completely coherent and understandable. This makes him a perfect foil for Spiderman, the friendly neighborhood hero who helps old ladies cross the street and stops bike thefts, but wants more, who constantly feels looked down upon or overlooked by Tony Stark and the Avengers, who wants an opportunity to move up in the world, but is denied that opportunity because he is young. Ultimately, Peter Parker and Adrian Toomes face the same enemy, not each other, but themselves, and Tony Stark. Their ambition drives them forward, while Tony Stark stands in their way. Because he chooses to do the right thing, even at the expense of his own ambition, Peter is able to emerge victorious, having opened the door to advance with the Avengers, but choosing instead to let his ambition lie for the moment, and take advantage of the opportunities he has acting at the street level as a hero for "the little people.” He doesn’t have to become Tony Stark to be a hero, in fact, he is the better hero for not being like Stark (who, lets face it, is a terrible hero who has caused more problems than he has solved in the Marvel universe). By embracing the power he has as “the common man,” Spiderman is able to act heroically and inspire in a way that Iron Man never can.
So there are a few thoughts on Spiderman: Homecoming. This highly enjoyable film employs the themes and techniques of a classic, John Hughes “dram-edy” to create a different kind of superhero movie. Sometimes this technique works, as is the case during the climax of the movie when the Vulture discovers Peter Parker’s secret identity, sometimes it falls a bit flat, creating an episodic feel and impinging on the creativity of the action sequences. Vulture is a great villain, and serves as a foil for Spiderman in a really interesting way, particularly considering the current social and political climate. All in all, Homecoming was a friendly neighborhood movie, well worth seeing for the entire family.
Well, back to reality.
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