It is a testament to my ongoing youthfulness that I watched yet another superhero movie in a theater this summer. I watched alone, because I figured my dad would choose to sit this one out. Heck, it's more obviously juvenile than most, given that Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is a high school sophomore, which no doubt inspired the title. (If you think he should relinquish the "-Man" part, might I point out that he's older than 13 and one of his creators is Jewish.)
Most of the film takes place a few months after the events of Captain America: Civil War. Despite his key part in the biggest battle therein, and despite resources and kudos from Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), Spidey has yet to be regarded as a full-fledged Avenger. He sends regular reports to Stark's unfriendly aide Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), hoping to get an assignment rather than deal with the usual petty criminals of New York City, even tho he's still a bit clumsy in handling those. Things finally get interesting for him when he meets some robbers with exotic equipment, but not interesting enough for Avenger backup. Is it wise to hunt down the source of this equipment by himself, against Stark's advice?
OK, I slightly exaggerated with "by himself." Fellow nerdy classmate Ned (Jacob Batalon) discovers who Peter is and can barely stop himself from blabbing to everyone. Peter eventually accepts Ned's offer to serve as the "chair guy," providing remote computer-based support while the wall crawler's in the field (think Felicity from Arrow or Cisco from The Flash if you know them). While Ned provides comic relief above all, he does help unlock the full capabilities of the Stark Enterprises-made suit for Act 2, which helps in no small way to distinguish this Spider-Man flick from previous entries.
As usual, Peter has trouble balancing two lives. People notice he's been dropping out of extracurricular activities, disappearing from numerous events he's expected to attend, and being generally distracted. Only his academic brilliance saves him from expulsion. Scholastic rival "Flash" (Tony Revolori) gives him a hard time. His crush Liz (Laura Harrier) will give such a guy only so much of a chance. I think he expresses the right amount of angst under the circumstances.
As Marvel Cinematic Universe movies go, it doesn't have very high stakes. The main villain, Birdman -- er, I mean the Vulture (Michael Keaton) -- has a power level roughly halfway between Iron Man and the Falcon, and he and his handful of minions wouldn't dare take on the Avengers directly. Furthermore, he's not especially evil; he just finds that selling rare weapons on the black market makes a far more reliable source of income than his salvage company. Of course, unlike even pre-reform Stark, he knowingly sells to thugs and is quite willing to steal the wares and, if necessary to protect the business, kill. Still, there's a reason the body count is low for the genre. At worst, he'd be paving the way for the next major threat without being that threat, hence the perception that he's below the Avengers' pay grade.
Lest you think me disappointed, I find it a welcome relief from the typical formula of a scientist who already happens to know Peter going ludicrously insane from an ambitious experiment. Yeah, it comes pretty close to that, but I definitely have more respect for the Vulture than for any of the previous cinematic Spider-Man enemies. (Some aspects of the story are more formulaic, tho primarily to the point of feeling familiar rather than predictable.)
The impression I got of Holland from Civil War remains intact: He's cute, suitably gawky, and more fun overall than Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield. I no longer mind that he plays an extra young Peter or that the filmmakers took inspiration from John Hughes comedies (we see a clip of Ferris Bueller's Day Off in the background); it gives him a special dynamic with regard to the other heroes.
And yes, it's funny. I heard almost as much laughter here as I did in the theater for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, and frankly, I prefer Homecoming's sense of humor (might have something to do with Spider-Man being way more virtuous than any of the Guardians). Do stick around for the post-credit sequence if you can; it's one of the most rewarding yet.
Well, Dad, I'm sorry I didn't wait and invite you. You probably would've gotten more of a kick than you did from the 2002 and 2004 Spidey outings.
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