Apr 16, 2018
It’s Marvel Monday, and we have just two more movies on the Road to Infinity War. Today’s movie is “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017), the Sony/Marvel collaboration directed by Jon Watts, based on a story by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, and written for the screen in collaboration with Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, and Jon Watts himself. The film had a $175 million dollar budget and made $880 million dollars at the international box office.
I’m so glad Sony and Marvel could figure out how to play nice with this intellectual property, although the limited scope of the Spider-Man canon works well fitting into the MCU. While I’m excited about Disney buying up the Marvel properties from Fox, I’m not sure how to integrate the X-Men, although Fantastic Four is definitely a possibility. The best part about the Sony collaboration is that everyone wins: Sony, Marvel, and we the viewers.
“Spider-Man: Homecoming” skips the origin story, which Sony has already produced twice, and jumps right into the lead up and fallout of “Captain America: Civil War” for Peter Parker (Tom Holland). We don’t need another discovery of powers. What we need is to bring in the other major characters, particularly Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), who are grooming and guiding an overzealous Peter wanting to save lives.
It also includes the introduction of Adrian Toomes in a spectacular performance by Michael Keaton. The big Homecoming reveal blew me away in the theatre. We also get the introduction of the guy in the chair, Ned (Jacob Batalon) and a more mysterious debut for Michelle, aka MJ, played by Zendaya, expanding the Spider-Man corner of the universe and setting us up for the next two films.
“Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017) is a thrill-ride from beginning to end, blended well into continuity, and is probably the best version of Spider-Man on the big screen yet. My only beef with the film is the inclusion of Pepper Potts for less than a minute getting her sixth billing over Ned, which is admittedly petty. If you like superhero movies, and if you’ve been on the Road to Infinity War with us, you do, then you’ll love this film.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% (CERTIFIED)
Metacritic: 73
One Movie Punch: 8.8/10
“Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017) is rated PG-13 and is currently streaming wherever you enjoy movies.