Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

User Review

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  Barneyonmovies

  8 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: How do you bring the beloved Spider-Man into the sprawling Marvel universe? Well rather than scale up his story to the level of Iron Man or Captain America's; 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' instead decides to take a look at what it's like for the little-guy living in the MCU by plopping a small story into a big world. Yes for me what's most appealing about this film is that it does something rather similar to what Rogue One did in giving us a glimpse at the lives of more ordinary folk who those big-name heroes are supposedly fighting for.
  
  Firstly, that simply means we get a smaller, more personal adventure where the primary focus is thankfully on Peter Parker himself: a very well-portrayed and rather eager small fish in an extremely large pond who very much embodies the little-guy hero that we've never properly seen in the previous Spider-Man films. Because of this it's just an absolute joy to follow him on his humble adolescent journey, and there's a lot of simple, enjoyable laughs to be had there as 'Cop Car' director Jon Watts excels where you might expect.
  
  Secondly though, the fact this story follows Peter and his surrounding civilian life means we also get an entirely fresh slant on the bigger Avengers here, who almost serve as an embodiment of some form of looming establishment that elevates the film beyond simple fun. Indeed the fact that Tony Stark is in the picture not only dwarfs (as well as inspires) Peter's efforts, it also makes way for a genuinely brilliant antagonist who facilitates a rather up-front parallel narrative about people vs the establishment.
  
  In the end this means Homecoming virtually always remains an extremely engaging and human film, and the plucky courage of Peter himself thankfully runs through the very veins of its often intelligent story.
  
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: There's very few attempts to build genuine heart-felt emotion, and that means that when the final action sequence comes to strip away a bit of plucky charm, you're not quite invested enough to stop it feeling like a distraction.
  
  VERDICT: You know what? This is my favourite Spider-Man movie of all. Having an appealing and charming coming-of-age story surrounded by something bigger means we end up with a really really pleasant surprise.

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