Sony Pictures has endured quite the shot to its reputation over the last decade, seeing prospective tent-pole franchise stumble and fall at the first or second hurdle. No franchise saw more cramming of “Universe Building” than the 2 failed Spiderman series. The first under the guidance of Sam Raimi set the bar for others to match and beat before Sony Executives began forcing elements in to Raimi’s work that conflicted with everything else (See Venom in Spiderman 3) leading to a disappointing end to the trilogy. Sony’s deal for the use of Spiderman mandates they release at least 1 film every 5 years (or Spidey would revert to Marvel/Disney), and with Raimi refusing to work in the conditions provided and a Spiderman 4 without him proving more difficult than hoped, Sony opted to reboot the franchise in to the Amazing Spiderman.
The first of these was moderately well received, mainly on the shoulders of new Peter Parker Andrew Garfield’s Sadly, the follow up was a mess of studio interference and desperation to boost sales in the short term at the expense of a long term future. Spiderman 3 was maligned for the excessive number of villains (Venom, Sandman and New Goblin) but this was outdone by Amazing Spiderman 2 as Sony wanted to launch a “Sinister 6” film staring 6 villains united against Spiderman. This meant we had Electro, the Green Goblin, Rhino featuring in the film with set up for Doc Ock, Scorpion, Vulture, Black Cat and even Venom receiving some establishing in the one film. The film seemed to excel at the box office but was critically smashed, leading to Sony approaching Marvel/Disney to arrange for a new reboot of the character that would be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Appearing in Captain America: Civil War to much delight from fans, a solo film with most recent Spiderman Tom Holland was penned in. Off the bat, this film is plainly better than any of the last 2 or 3 entries by Sony and most certainly benefits from being entrenched in the MCU. The film manages to blend the high school drama of Peter with the tale of the boy becoming the Spider Man, perhaps verging too much in to the high school drama at times inherent charisma. Sadly, the follow up was a mess of studio interference and desperation to boost sales in the short term at the expense of a long term future. Spiderman 3 was maligned for the excessive number of villains (Venom, Sandman and New Goblin) but this was outdone by Amazing Spiderman 2 as Sony wanted to launch a “Sinister 6” film staring 6 villains united against Spiderman. This meant we had Electro, the Green Goblin, Rhino featuring in the film with set up for Doc Ock, Scorpion, Vulture, Black Cat and even Venom receiving some establishing in the one film. The film seemed to accel at the box office but was critically smashed, leading to Sony approaching Marvel/Disney to arrange for a new reboot of the character that would be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Appearing in Captain America: Civil War to much delight from fans, a solo film with most recent Spiderman Tom Holland was penned in. Off the bat, this film is plainly better than any of the last 2 or 3 entries by Sony and most certainly benefits from being entrenched in the MCU. The film manages to blend the high school drama of Peter with the tale of the boy becoming the Spider Man, perhaps verging too much in to the high school drama at times. As a reboot of a story we have seen twice in 10 years they side-step the Uncle Ben/Great Power beats and present us a kind of origin of how Peter Parker grows in to Spiderman, under the guidance of Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark. Holland gives Parker a vulnerability we haven’t yet seen, making you feel for him whether he’s trying to speak to a girl in school or fighting a techno-winged thief.
The design of the characters in this film from the CGI-practical hybrid of Michael Keaton’s Adrian Tombs – The Vulture – to the high-tech Spiderman suit are all vividly executed. Keaton’s performance is more than solid playing both sympathetic and sinister when the occasion is called for. The Vulture is one of the stronger villains to be produced by the Marvel Cinematic Universe being instantly more memorable than, say, Whiplash or Abomination. As with all MCU films it is bountiful with references to the wider universe and its characters, thankfully handled with great aplomb by Marvel than Sony had previously done. Little can be said about the directors’ effect on the film with it having the sterile feel of most MCU films and does nothing to assert a flair of his own on proceedings though his direction is solid throughout but underwhelming during the larger action scenes.
Homecoming seems to take inspiration from the recent Ultimate Spiderman Comics line with a few of its own twists on established characters. It is likely that longer serving fans of Spiderman comics will be disappointed with the character changes, as several are changed to such a degree they are that character in name only. Most of these changes don’t distract from the overall story or relations with one exception of serendipitous threads that could be potentially eye-rolling for some. The other significant inclusion of Tony Stark is perfectly sprinkled through Peters’ journey, never sticking around too long to detract from it being about Spiderman. It is also Stark’s connection that changes another part of the character in the form of the tech-infused Spidey-Suit. As it was in the early days of the comics by Marvel that everybody seemed to suffer some catastrophe with radiation to be turned to a hero or villain, present day Marvel films rely on Technology to get people to the superhero/villain position. Even here, where Spiderman is bitten by a spider and underwent a genetic recoding, his Superhero-ing is enhanced, arguably unnecessarily, with high-tech trimmings.
The AI in the suit does allow Peter someone to bounce off when sleuthing on his own, stepping away from the notion of heroes talking to themselves out loud, even if Spiderman is the most renowned for that behaviour. Holland delivers the quips well, never as corny as Maguire’s webslinger and not as bullish as Garfield’s. Holland’s Parker is the first to really look and feel like he belongs in school and convinces as the nerd he always was, brave enough to run in to gunfire but too nervous to ask a girl to the homecoming dance. It’s this “Homecoming” that is in the film clearly only to permit the title’s meta meaning of his return to Marvel Studios instead of than anything else.
Overall, a mostly enjoyable film and a most welcome return to better form in the Spiderman franchise. Leaning a little too heavily on the tech and teenagers at times still doesn’t damage the film from being a fun time for all audiences. The story plays out more or less how most people will guess as it moves it long but does enough to earn a sequel and establish Spiderman amongst his peers in the MCU. It leaves us wondering, when is it that the Fantastic Four reverts back to Marvel?