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| Finally a Spider-Man film that isn't a reboot |
Spider-Man: Homecoming
The title Spider-Man: Homecoming is a bit of a double entendre. The plot involves the Spider-man's alter ego, Peter Parker attending his school's homecoming dance - but it's also a meta reference to the character, long the property of licensees (Columbia, and SONY) finally coming home to Marvel Studios to be integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). While the first two Spider-Man films, by low-brow auteur Sam Raimi, remain among the best superhero films ever made, the series stumbled on the third installment, and a hasty reboot and sequel (complete with Jamie Foxx playing a cringe-worthy villain reminiscent of Richard Pryor in Superman III) continued the downward spiral. SONY maintained a tight rein on the character, and wasn't going to let go, no matter how many times it flopped at the box office. But then came the SONY email hack, and when the dust settled, the way was paved for a joint venture Spider-Man film that would satisfy both studios.
Without creating another superfluous reboot, The Spider-Man Homecoming quietly "resets" Peter Parker's age to 15 and picks up the story sometime early in his crime-fighting career. And once again we have a truer-to-the-comics Peter who has to juggle school, dating, and web-slinging. And wouldn't you know, his biggest challenge
But the real highlight here is Michael Keaton as the antagonist, The Vulture. At first it might seem a little disappointing to see a healthy looking Keaton playing one of the few scrawny, elderly supervillains in the comics, but the reimagining is so worth it. Standing in what is undeniably a parallel to the post 9/11 Ground Zero site, Keaton is completely believable, and sympathetic even, as a NYC demolitions worker whose company is nearly bankrupted by corrupt government over-reach. He retools his demolitions company into a purveyor of destructive implements made from salvaged alien Kree technology, saving the best - a set of flying robotic wings - for himself.
If that reminds you of Keaton's recent appearance as Birdman, you're probably not alone. In another meta-twist, there seems to be a distinct reference to Keaton's Batman in Birdman, and to Keaton's Birdman in his portrayal of Vulture.
Spider-Man: Homecoming, feels like a homecoming in another way too. While all of the previous Spider-Man films also take place in NYC, this one feels the most authentically New York-ish. There really isn't the kind of rampant crime that existed in the city at the time the comic was originally created, and Peter discovers this as he tries to patrol for crime, only to discover nothing worse than bicycle theft. Previous films featured such recognizable locations as Times Square, The Flatiron Building, and The Brooklyn Bridge, this film features, in addition to the aforementioned fictional destruction site that resembles Ground Zero, the Staten Island Ferry, and locations in other boroughs like Brooklyn and especially Forest Hills, Queens, home of Peter Parker and Aunt May. In a perfect pairing of music to location the film uses music from The Ramones, a band actually from Forest Hills that has long been associated with comic books, and Spider-Man in particular (why didn't anyone think of this before?) Though the filmmakers must be excused for using "Blitzkrieg Bop" rather than The Ramones excellent cover of the "Spider-Man Theme Song" instead.
**** out of *****
Without creating another superfluous reboot, The Spider-Man Homecoming quietly "resets" Peter Parker's age to 15 and picks up the story sometime early in his crime-fighting career. And once again we have a truer-to-the-comics Peter who has to juggle school, dating, and web-slinging. And wouldn't you know, his biggest challenge
But the real highlight here is Michael Keaton as the antagonist, The Vulture. At first it might seem a little disappointing to see a healthy looking Keaton playing one of the few scrawny, elderly supervillains in the comics, but the reimagining is so worth it. Standing in what is undeniably a parallel to the post 9/11 Ground Zero site, Keaton is completely believable, and sympathetic even, as a NYC demolitions worker whose company is nearly bankrupted by corrupt government over-reach. He retools his demolitions company into a purveyor of destructive implements made from salvaged alien Kree technology, saving the best - a set of flying robotic wings - for himself.
If that reminds you of Keaton's recent appearance as Birdman, you're probably not alone. In another meta-twist, there seems to be a distinct reference to Keaton's Batman in Birdman, and to Keaton's Birdman in his portrayal of Vulture.
Spider-Man: Homecoming, feels like a homecoming in another way too. While all of the previous Spider-Man films also take place in NYC, this one feels the most authentically New York-ish. There really isn't the kind of rampant crime that existed in the city at the time the comic was originally created, and Peter discovers this as he tries to patrol for crime, only to discover nothing worse than bicycle theft. Previous films featured such recognizable locations as Times Square, The Flatiron Building, and The Brooklyn Bridge, this film features, in addition to the aforementioned fictional destruction site that resembles Ground Zero, the Staten Island Ferry, and locations in other boroughs like Brooklyn and especially Forest Hills, Queens, home of Peter Parker and Aunt May. In a perfect pairing of music to location the film uses music from The Ramones, a band actually from Forest Hills that has long been associated with comic books, and Spider-Man in particular (why didn't anyone think of this before?) Though the filmmakers must be excused for using "Blitzkrieg Bop" rather than The Ramones excellent cover of the "Spider-Man Theme Song" instead.
**** out of *****
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