As the title suggests, I LOVED this movie!
Marvel definitely put their eggs in the right basket! The casting was fantastic, the story was rich with all that spidery goodness that we all know and love from the comics, and the action sequences, even the minor ones, were very visually stunning!
Let’s talk plot! (spoiler free!) So the film picks up after civil war but begins right after Avengers 1. Showing Micheal Keaton’s origin and motivation. (he’s fantastic btw, easily marvels best villain since Loki… not even exaggerating. Keaton wins at everything… the man was Batman for cryin out loud!) Fast forward 8 years and we pick up on a Peter Parker, fresh off his fighting alongside and also against The Avengers in Captain America: Civil War (great film also.) desperate to prove himself to Tony and the world. He makes a few mistakes and falls a lot, as Peter is prone to doing, but learns to be true to himself as both Spidey and Pete.
They did take some liberties with iconic characters, as Marvel has done in the past somewhat unsuccessfully, (cough cough Mandarin cough cough) But this time the unsuspected twists added another dimension to the story as a whole.
Now let’s talk Cast!
Tom Holland as Spidey… PERFECT!
Micheal Keaton as vulture… PERFECT!!!!!!
RDJ returns as Iron Man in a kinda Obi-Wan/Luke Mentor/Mentee relationship, which leads to some touching moments between the two, and also some comedic gold!
Jacob Batalon plays Ned. (no last name, like Madonna) he’s Peter’s right hand and confidante and provides more of the comedy than any of his co-stars.
There are other High school cohorts that are too many to name, but they all provide their own unique aspect to a character drenched environment.
Now… some negatives.
I really feel that Marvel still have no idea how to write compelling female characters… some iconic characters were reduced to fluttering eyelashes and one liners. I mean, they kinda got May right, even if she’s far younger than the worrying old lady that we know from the comics and Raimi’s trilogy, but the spirit of the character was there. Which is more than I can say for the characters of Liz and Michelle (I’ll talk more about them later.)
(Right now, actually) I never really remembered Liz Allan from the comics but I loved her in the Spectacular Spider-Man animated series, where she was a sassy cheerleader who grew up in a tough neighbourhood, in this, she’s a little more like a background character in a crappy teen drama, the quintessential ‘Popular’ girl…
The character of Michelle was honestly a little pointless… If they handled it right, she could’ve been a fresh update on a slightly outdated character but instead she was kinda Just there for no real reason other than an eye roll worthy reveal at the end when she gives Pete and friends her nickname. (I can’t tell you what it is, but I can tell you her initials are M and J…) Poorly handled in my humble opinion.
But all in all a very entertaining and exciting addition to the MCU, and I look forward to where they take it in the future!
4 out of 5 stars!
Here’s some pictures that my girlfriend, Lorinda and I took just before we saw the movie!
Ace in the Hole 