Film Review - Spider-Man: Homecoming (12A)

Can't you just be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?

Spidey's back! I know - he's never really been away, but this time around there's a youthful twist to the character. Yes, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were young, but they weren't such a believably gawky high-school kind of young. Here it's the UK's Tom Holland who wriggles into the iconic costume, combining noble intentions with teenage folly. The results are crowd-pleasing from first to last.

Holland's Spider-Man made his inaugural appearance in last year's splendid Captain America: Civil War, the events of which act as something of a prologue to this film. Enlisted by billionaire entrepreneur Tony Stark (aka Ironman) to take sides in said civil war, Peter Parker now views himself as an apprentice Avenger - a Stark 'intern' who now has to prove himself so he can become a fully fledged member of the team. This he must do while keeping his grades up along with his place on the school quiz team, and trying to impress the girl he likes (naturally well out of his league). Oh, and he must keep his super-alias a secret of course, from all but his best buddy Ned.

Stark exhorts him to keep his crime-fighting activities modest rather than punching above his limited weight. But sinister events are afoot in Peter's native New York borough of Queens, and he can't resist taking on some heavyweight bad-guys, whatever his mentor's advice.

The joy of this new incarnation is that Spider-Man is a superhero in the making - more boy than man, with a sometimes flailing lack of control over his recently acquired powers. Holland is hugely winning as the student, despite an over-enthusiasm that can create more trouble than it prevents. There's an endearing clumsiness to even his best efforts. This is a school movie too, and anyone who enjoyed the John Hughes films of the '80s will feel more than a little nostalgic here. (Think Duckie in Pretty in Pink if he could shoot webbing and climb walls.) 

Spider-Man: Homecoming contains multiple other pleasures. The rapport between Peter and his awestruck pal Ned (Jacob Batalon) produces some snappily entertaining exchanges, while his relationship with mentor Stark - Robert Downey Jnr coasting in the role he's made his own - is possibly even funnier. Michael Keaton brings conviction and menace to a much more grounded supervillain than we're used to (ironic, since he can fly). The action sequences play out on a well-utilised backdrop of iconic New York (and in one case Washington) landmarks, and the whole thing has a comic-book vitality to it. It's fast-paced and full of primary colours to match Spidey's suit.

If there's one flaw it's that the whole enterprise is just too fast and crammed with incident; sometimes it would do well to catch its breath. Also the cross-over elements from the Marvel shared universe will bewilder casual viewers, although Tony Stark's innovations to Spidey's costume provide a fun new aspect to proceedings. 

Overall it's great family-friendly summer fun - shrugging itself free of all darker elements in a fit of youthful zest. This Spider-Man does whatever a spider can, albeit with hilarious ineptitude.

Gut Reaction: Considerable laughter, mildly accelerated vital signs and one satisfying moment of 'Did not see that coming.'

Ed's Verdict: 7.5/10. A welcome light-spirited and joke-filled addition to the Marvel Universe canon. Tom Holland is the likeable fresh face of Spider-Man.