Spider-Man: Homecoming

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Now to the latest instalment of Spider-Man: Homecoming. In this version Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland) is only 15 and still in high-school. This film follows on immediately from Captain America: Civil War, where we were first introduced to the new incarnation of a more youthful Spider-Man (boy?). I really enjoyed this film, you got the sense that Peter Parker was so excited that he has these new powers and has just fought with The Avengers...but is he an Avenger himself? That is the question the first half of the film grapples with. Peter is not the finished article and I liked that, he is still getting to grips with his powers but he wants to be more than the 'friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man', you could say he's leaping (off tall buildings) before he can even use his suit properly.

The film is funny, quirky and pays homage to 80s high-school films, like Breakfast Club or Ferris Bueller's Day Off (the golf course scene is a particular nod to that film). The action is also enjoyable, I think we have all become a bit de-sensitised to 'crashy, bangy' action scenes, I blame DC for that. The action is light and comical at times, this works well as Peter is getting used his new suit and its gadgets. The Washington Monument scene does standout, it's nice that Spider-Man is not always in NYC and can't rely on the tall architecture to swing from.

The villain in this film is The Vulture played by Michael Keaton, the irony was not lost that he's played a few wing-based characters before (Batman and Birdman). He was menacing enough and I did buy his reasons for scavenging alien tech. There is a particularly tense and well-acted moment that elevated the film beyond its 12A rating.

Overall, I would give this film 4 stars. This a fun and fresh take on the web-slinging hero and I look froward to seeing Spider-Man in Avengers Infinity War.