Spider-Man: Homecoming

I’m pretty happy that Spider-Man has been rebooted as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was nice to see him appear in Civil War and it’s nice to have him much younger than before, with the dynamic of him being an experienced, reckless kid mentored by Iron Man. Of course, this is done in the slightly awkward American Saved By The Bell land where 20-year-olds play 15-year-olds but look at best like 18-year-olds and you have to just pretend they’re kids, but Tom Holland putting on a high-pitched American accent just about pulls it off and makes for the most naïve and likeable of the recent Spider-Man actors.

After the events of Civil War, Spider-Man hopes he’s going to be included in more Avengers shenanigans. However, the call never comes. Spider-Man tries to make a contribution fighting minor crimes, and eventually gets caught up in a bigger plot. He does his best, messes up several times, disappoints his school friends, but keeps on trying and eventually pulls through.

What makes the film a success is that it doesn’t focus too much on plot and instead allows its characters to develop. The background characters are likeable, especially the kids Peter hangs out with. There are some great moments, mostly when various people discover one another’s secrets, and there’s a great surrogate-father and surrogate-son relationship between Iron Man and Spider-Man that’s new to these characters. There’s goofy humour throughout, and the threat is relatively low-key, making this a fun, light, easy-to-watch entry into the MCU.