spider man homecoming movie review

Spider-Man: Homecoming

I am a little out of touch with the inside-baseball commentary on superhero movies and sci-fi franchises, so I have to ask the reader to indulge me a bit. I’m perhaps not the best person to draw the distinction between something called “fan servicing,” which I understand is very, very bad, and giving an audience what it wants, which I have been told from an early age is at least kind of good. That said, I can report from where I sat at a preview screening that was evenly divided between what I suspect were sympathetic-from-the-get-go reviewers and enthusiastic fans and their families, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is a comprehensively crowd-pleasing success.

This is the second movie to star Tom Holland as Spider-Man in this incarnation (after “ Captain America: Civil War ”). Both the superhero and his high-school-student alter-ego (or is it the other way around? That’s another thing I can be hazy on) Peter Parker, are presented at their most awkwardly adolescent. In the timeline of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), “Spider-Man: Homecoming” begins directly after Spider-Man’s participation in a superhero gang fight in 2016’s “Civil War.” But the movie itself begins eight years prior to that, in the aftermath of Loki unleashing the Chitauri, which trashed much of NYC and the Avengers’ sleek headquarters in 2012’s “ The Avengers .” (That’s a 2012 movie, and it’s only 2017 now, but don’t look at me, I’m just going by the on-screen texts.) In the wreck of the Avengers’ HQ, Michael Keaton ’s hard-working salvage dude Adrian Toomes is showing a colleague a drawing of the Avengers scrawled by Toomes’ own ten-year-old child. Those in the audience with a familiarity with possibly fake Chekhov quotes will recognize this as the gun on the mantelpiece in Act One that is obliged to go off in Act Three, and by Odin, off it does indeed go, but it’s a long way from Act One to Act Three. Soon Toomes and his crew are kicked off the site by an officious Tyne Daly and it’s revealed that Tony Stark is ostensibly self-dealing by heading a government clean-up crew to handle the superhero mess. To give credit to the six screenwriters on this movie, oodles of rather convoluted plot detail are relatively clear even if you’re not super paying attention.

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” sees Peter Parker being shunted aside by his adult mentors Tony Stark ( Robert Downey Jr.) and Happy Hogan ( Jon Favreau ) to tackle the more down-to-earth challenges of high school on his own. These include Parker’s pushy best friend Ned ( Jacob Batalon ), who wants to know all about Peter’s “internship” at Stark Enterprises; the High School Academic Decathlon (College Bowl for high schoolers, that is), whose captain Liz ( Laura Harrier ) Peter has a major crush on; and Peter’s guardian Aunt May ( Marisa Tomei ) from whom Peter must hide his amateur crime-fighting activities as Spider-Man, and protect from the possibly wayward affections of a local sandwich shop manager.

This version of Peter Parker is less cocky than the prior incarnations of recent years. He is also rather whiny a lot of the time. The Peter Parker I grew up with was agonizingly tetchy, but he didn’t hunch over like a weasel whenever he had to get out of a social situation to go fight crime. While Holland hunches over with sincerity and skill, I have to admit I am not enthralled by this variation on the teen superhero’s alter-ego (I don’t think I got it right this time either). Peter Parker as nerd, I can roll with; Peter Parker as dork, not so much.

That said, once the movie gets all its ducks in a row (and after serving up a Queens-set crime-fighting foray that highlights some of the movie’s worst visual effects, looking flat-out like video game action for most of its length), it delivers some genuinely effective action/suspense set pieces, including one set in the Washington Monument that worked me up a treat. A subsequent near-disaster on the Staten Island Ferry is less effective but does lead to the movie’s most effective narrative coup. That is, the nifty Spidey suit that Stark afforded Parker is taken away, and “Spider-Man: Homecoming” has to swing to its thrilling climax with its hero in a very low-rent outfit. Is this the opposite of “fan-serving,” or is it “fan-serving” itself, presented in a cleverly inverted form? I cannot say. I can say that the film’s adaptation of one of the original “ Spider-Man ” comic’s most graphically exceptional scenes, from 1966’s Issue 33, “The Final Chapter!” um, isn’t as good as the comic book was, quite honestly. But I give director Jon Watts and the other seventy thousand craftspersons involved in this production credit for trying.

I can’t emphasize enough that these are my personal impressions, and I understand they are probably going to be out of step with those of the masses of people who are going to attend this movie and have a good time with it. This is a picture designed to provide bright vivid thrills and breezy bits of amusement. As someone who’s kind of trained to notice such things, I might say “This movie really wastes the talents of Hannibal Buress and Martin Starr ”; whereas a less concerned person will see these performers and say, “Oh yeah, those guys are funny.” Marvel movies are not concerned with altering your precious bodily fluids. This one is a slightly better-than-average example of the species. Watch it in good health. 

Glenn Kenny

Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

• Zendaya as Michelle
• Donald Glover as Aaron Davis
• Jacob Batalon as Ned
• Tony Revolori as Flash
• Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes / Vulture
• Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
• Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
• Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts
• Marisa Tomei as May Parker
• Laura Harrier as Liz
• Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
• Chris McKenna
• Christopher Ford
• Erik Sommers
• John Francis Daley
• Jonathan Goldstein
• Dan Lebental
• Debbie Berman

Writer (screen story by)

• Michael Giacchino

Cinematoagrapher

• Salvatore Totino

Writer (based on the Marvel comic book by)

• Steve Ditko

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‘spider-man: homecoming’: film review.

Tom Holland plays the beloved webslinger in 'Spider-Man: Homecoming,' his first full adventure in Marvel's Cinematic Universe.

By John DeFore

John DeFore

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As any observer of the corporate side of superhero cinema can tell you, the title of Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: Homecoming doesn’t only refer to its hero’s status as a 15-year-old dealing with all the usual high-school concerns. It also celebrates an intellectual-property marriage, in which Spidey , the greatest creation of the ink-and-paper Marvel Comics empire, finally enters Marvel’s big-screen “Cinematic Universe,” hitherto dominated by Avengers like Captain America and Thor.

Previous Spider-Man movies (for you non-geeks out there) were Columbia Pictures offerings with no Marvel Studios overlap, much as the X-Men franchise is controlled by 20th Century Fox. And if Homecoming is any clue, one can assume that any Marvel Studios exec getting access to those famous mutants would immediately start wondering if Wolverine would be fiercer with a little Hulk blood in him, or if Professor X might enjoy getting out of that wheelchair with the help of one of Tony Stark’s surplus exoskeletons.

Release date: Jul 07, 2017

That’s the kind of overeager cluelessness displayed in this occasionally exciting but often frustrating film, which seems to think the iconic character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko will appeal more to tech-addicted teens if only his costume has as many gizmos baked into it as Iron Man’s.

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Though it doesn’t approach the abominations of recent DC movies, which (with the happy exception of Wonder Woman , but certainly including the cringeworthy Justice League trailer) seem intent on making those initials stand not for “Detective Comics” but “ Douchebag Corrosiveness,” it represents a creative misstep for the studio — albeit one likely to ride fanboy enthusiasm to much better receipts than those enjoyed by Amazing Spider-Man , the recent incarnation starring Andrew Garfield.

Where Garfield’s Peter Parker displayed a believable 21st-century angst, we return largely to the character’s wide-eyed roots with Tom Holland , whose performance is thoroughly winning even when the script isn’t helping him. (With no fewer than six writers credited on the screenplay, could we not have had more of the wisecracks for which the teen crimefighter is famous?) Holland’s Peter enters the film with superpowers intact (get your origin-story kicks elsewhere, kids), shooting an “I can’t believe this is happening” video diary of the events we saw in Captain America: Civil War .

After strutting his stuff in that battle, Peter rightly expects to be joining the Avengers. Instead, he’s given something like the brush-off by Robert Downey Jr. ‘s Stark: The industrialist gives him a multimillion-dollar outfit full of electronics, makes his flunky Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau ) Peter’s “point guy,” and essentially says, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” So Parker watches the clock impatiently every day at school, waiting for the final bell so he can go fight petty crime, checking in with Hogan in hopes that he’ll get Stark’s attention.

Of the things the movie gets right about Peter’s quotidian academic life — his swooning over the pretty upperclassman Liz (Laura Harrier); the mockery he gets from Flash (Tony Revolori ); the withering commentary of scene-stealer Michelle (Disney Channel veteran Zendaya ) — one false note is how careless he is with his secrets. In chemistry class, Peter tinkers with formulations of his web fluid, conveniently labeled as such; after he blows his cover with best friend Ned (the likably excitable Jacob Batalon ), he dissects alien technology with him right in the middle of shop class.

That alien tech was left behind by a crew of baddies led by Michael Keaton , who was just a hard-working salvage contractor back when the Avengers first wreaked havoc on Manhattan some years ago. Keaton’s Adrian Toomes realized that the Battle of New York left behind enough super-powered debris to make him rich; now, he’s an arms merchant who flies around in a cool-looking rig with big metal wings. Comics fans will know to call him The Vulture, but given who’s playing the villain, the rest of us will inevitably call him Birdman.

Spider-Man crosses paths with the Vulture’s crew just as he’s understanding the potential of the suit Stark gave him. Turns out that Stark has enabled a “training wheels protocol,” setting most of its more powerful features off-limits until Peter is more experienced. But no mere genius-billionaire-inventor-superhero could be expected to craft tech impervious to a high-school sophomore. Within minutes of discovering this protocol, Peter and Ned have unlocked it.

'Spider-Man: Homecoming': A Breakdown of the Superhero's Stark Technology

This commences the movie’s most muddled action, in which Spider-Man is technologically granted heat-vision, super-hearing, assorted drones and tracking devices, and, of all things, a parachute. At their best, these augmentations refer cleverly to the hero’s pulpy past (as with some little webbed wings) or provide nonsensical visual fun (finally, a technological explanation for the masked hero’s expressive eyes). But they’re usually at their worst, with Spidey interacting incessantly with the same kind of artificial-intelligence assistant Iron Man has in his suit.

Peter initially calls the female voice “Suit Lady,” and she ruins things in a variety of ways. Not only does she introduce this character to the kind of baloney normally reserved for spy or sci-fi movies — as when she somehow calculates exactly how long an elevator’s damaged cable will hold before sending Peter’s friends to their doom — but she introduces a multiple-choice element that distracts from the usual webslinging fun. This Stark-designed suit, it turns out, can sling spiderwebs in ways Parker has not yet imagined, and poor Peter is likely to be bickering with Suit Lady about the available options when he should be thrilling us with his agility.

While much of the film’s midsection sinks under these developments, the pic enjoys a sustained success in the sequence for which it is named. Peter manages to score a date to Homecoming just as his crime-fighting alter ego is at a low ebb. He seems, finally, to be about to engage in real life instead of rock’em-sock’em dreams. But comic books don’t work that way, and a back-to-basics Spider-Man winds up in an unlikely but thrilling battle on the outside of a jet plane high above Brooklyn.

Satisfying from its day-of-the-dance prelude (where Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May shines) all the way to its fiery, cathartic conclusion, this sequence hints at the film Homecoming might have been — had Marvel Studios execs and a half-dozen screenwriters not worked so hard to integrate Peter Parker into their money-minting world. But integrate they do, and the film wraps up with an ending recalling the incoherent, have-it-both-ways finale of Iron Man 3 — attempting to embrace the “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” ethos while exploiting the rich-dude glitz afforded by Spidey’s new buddies. Hang in there, True Believers: Maybe it’ll get better the second time around.

Production companies: Marvel Studios, Pascal Pictures Distributor: Columbia Pictures Cast: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei , Robert Downey Jr ., Jon Favreau , Jacob Batalon , Laura Harrier, Zendaya , Tony Revolori , Martin Starr, Hannibal Buress , Donald Glover, Tyne Daly Director: Jon Watts Screenwriters: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers Producers: Kevin Feige , Amy Pascal Executive producers: Louis D’Esposito , Victoria Alonso, Patricia Whitcher , Jeremy Latcham , Avi Arad , Matt Tolmach , Stan Lee Director of photography: Salvatore Totino Production designer: Oliver Scholl Costume designer: Louise Frogley Music: Michael Giacchino Editors: Dan Lebental , Debbie Berman Casting: Sarah Finn

Rated PG-13, 133 minutes

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Spider-Man: Homecoming Reviews

This is Ferris Bueller's Day Off but with Spiderman.

Full Review | Sep 9, 2024

There is no doubt that Spider-Man: Homecoming sticks the landing when it comes to re-invention. Tom Holland's casting is crucial to the movie's success, and his naturalistic performance goes a long way in making this work on multiple levels.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | May 15, 2024

The film was a refreshingly scaled-down take on Parker’s journey as a superhero. Even the billionaire Iron Man tech he uses, you still enjoy Parker as a scrappy underdog fighting for what he loves.

Full Review | Jun 20, 2023

If it wasn't apparent before, it's super apparent now that Marvel Studios understands their characters better than anyone else does.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 1, 2023

Thankfully the strengths of “Homecoming” outweigh the weaknesses, but just barely.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 25, 2022

Spider-Man: Homecoming does more than restore our enthusiasm for earthbound characters by reminding us that superheroes don't always need to save the planet, galaxy, or space-time continuum.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 23, 2022

Homecoming, in the end, is a coming of age origin story which sticks to the Marvel formula while revelling in how good this franchise now is at it.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 22, 2022

Spider-Man: Homecoming isn't bad. It's safe, unsurprising, and a little choppy at times but never bad.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 29, 2021

The movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been getting darker of late but with Spider-Man: Homecoming we get a true comic-book movie with lots of action, light-hearted fun, and character growth.

Full Review | Aug 25, 2021

In most respects, Spider-Man: Homecoming swings and scores.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 16, 2021

This film gets everything right about Peter Parker.

Full Review | Jun 24, 2021

Just one more forgettable, indistinguishable entry into the rapidly-growing collection of Marvel's superhero extravaganzas.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Dec 5, 2020

It makes such a difference when a villain is given more than the standard arbitrary screen time. Whilst not perfect and Keaton could have benefited from more screen time, but he makes every scene count.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 26, 2020

The first Marvel Cinematic Universe film in a long while, outside the Guardians entries, to truly feel like a live-action comic book. This is the Peter Parker/ Spider-Man we all know and love

Full Review | Jul 14, 2020

A wonderful coming-of-age tale about a kid trying to live his life in the best way possible. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Jul 3, 2020

A good time that revisits a fan favorite character in thrilling, hilarious fashion.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Jul 1, 2020

Maybe I'm just getting old here, but I could barely follow the action set-pieces[.]

Full Review | Jul 1, 2020

This is the Spider-Man reboot we deserve. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 27, 2020

Spider-Man: Homecoming is as perfect a portrait of Peter Parker as I've ever seen, and one of the best Marvel movies to date. Face it, tiger. We just hit the jackpot.

Full Review | May 11, 2020

Tom Holland is good. Really damn good.

Full Review | Feb 19, 2020

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• DVD & Streaming

Spider-Man: Homecoming

• Action/Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Content Caution

In Theaters

• July 7, 2017
• Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man; Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes/Vulture; Jacob Batalon as Ned; Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man; Marisa Tomei as Aunt May; Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan; Laura Harrier as Liz; Tony Revolori as Flash; Zendaya as Michelle; Bokeem Woodbine as Herman Schultz/Shocker No. 2; Donald Glover as Aaron Davis

Home Release Date

• October 17, 2017

Distributor

• Sony Pictures

Positive Elements   |   Spiritual Elements   |   Sexual & Romantic Content   |   Violent Content   |   Crude or Profane Language   |   Drug & Alcohol Content   |   Other Noteworthy Elements   | Conclusion

Movie Review

Like most teens, Peter Parker wants to be one of the cool kids. Only for him, the “kids” he wants to be like include a sentient android; a vaguely Nordic, hammer-holding alien; and a genius/billionaire/playboy/philanthropist.

Yeah, the rich kids’ new Beemers can’t quite compare to a quinjet. Even the priciest designer jeans fall somewhere short of a suit made of nitinol. The high school football team just skunked its archrival, you say? Well, that’s great. Just great. Really. But have you beaten back a horde of intergalactic invaders recently?

Yeah, that’s right: Peter hangs with the Avengers now and then. OK, once. Why, Tony Stark—Mr. Iron Man himself—made Peter his very own high-tech Spider-Man suit. Makes regular ol’ high school feel a little blah, y’know?

But Tony hasn’t been in touch lately. And Happy—Mr. Stark’s ironically named assistant—doesn’t return Peter’s messages. Still, that doesn’t keep the teen from leaving another one. Just in case.

“Just call me,” he says. “It’s Peter.”

“Parker,” he adds.

Sure, maybe Peter’s superhero alter ego, Spider-Man, isn’t as bulky and intimidating as the Hulk, or as powerful as Vision, or, I dunno, as Valhall-rific as Thor. But Peter thinks he still has skills to offer the A team. He’s got those web shooters, after all. Not to mention his super strength and his ability to climb up walls and … those web shooters. Those would be super helpful against the next alien attack, wouldn’t they? He may only be 15, but Peter’s convinced he’s already way more useful than, say, Hawkeye .

But in the meantime, Peter keeps himself busy: If he can’t be a superhero to the world, he can at least be one to the neighborhood. After school, Peter slaps on his outfit and apprehends petty thieves, plucks cats from trees and gives the occasional old lady directions.

But one night when making the rounds, Peter sees something strange down by the local ATM. Some run-of-the-mill crooks are stealing cash using some not-so-run-of-the-mill tools and weapons. Spidey foils their nefarious scheme, but he wonders where their the weaponry came from. Clearly, the would-be robbers got these glowing, high-tech doodads from somewhere —and that somewhere could spell much bigger problems.

But Happy’s dismissive. Iron Man isn’t answering.

Guess it looks like a job for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Positive Elements

Spider-Man: Homecoming marks the third reboot of the Spider-Man franchise in the last 15 years. This film begins after the typical origin story is over, though: after that famous radioactive spider bite; after Uncle Ben dies; and, thus, after Ben gives Peter one of superherodom’s most inspiring nuggets of proverbial wisdom: With great power comes great responsibility .

We never hear that pithy slogan. But Peter still feels a tremendous responsibility to be a hero.

Spidey’s all about saving lives in this movie, not ending them. He rescues high schoolers from certain death and works like the dickens to keep a loaded ferryboat afloat. He even saves a bad guy or two, risking his own life to do so.

But Homecoming isn’t just about Spider-Man playing the hero: It’s about him becoming one, too.

This superhero story concentrates as much on Peter’s high school life as it does on his heroics—and how some of the decisions he makes are the wrong ones. He quits extracurricular activities just to be available for a call from Tony Stark. He bails on his friends. He skips class and even walks out of detention. And in his zeal to help people he sometimes harms them instead. Tony, playing a father figure to Peter, shows him some tough love and takes away his suit. When Peter protests that he’s “nothing” without it, Tony says, “If you’re nothing without the suit, you shouldn’t have it.” It’s a harsh moment, but it forces Peter to come to grips with what being a hero really means.

We see plenty of positivity elsewhere, too. Peter’s best friend, Ned, puts himself at risk for his pal. Peter’s high school crush, Liz, is remarkably kind and understanding when he flakes out on her. Even the movie’s primary antagonist, Adrian Toomes, is not without merit. Yes, he’s a criminal. But he loves his family dearly. “I’m not doing anything to [them],” he rationalizes to Peter. “I’m doing this for [them].”

Spiritual Elements

None, unless you see Spidey’s sacrificial, stretched-out pose while trying to rescue a sinking ferry as a visual symbol for Jesus on the cross.

Sexual & Romantic Content

Peter has a serious crush on Liz, and she seems to return his affections. When they go to a homecoming dance together, Liz’s father tells Peter to have a good time—but not too good a time. We see Liz and other high schoolers in bathing suits. She and her friends play a conversational game of “F, Marry, Kill” (with the “F” standing for an obvious profanity used in a sexual context), regarding which superhero they’d like to do each of those things to or with.

When Ned gets caught by a teacher in the computer lab (where he’s secretly helping Peter), Ned lies and tells the teacher that he’s looking at porn. One of Peter’s classmates mocks him by calling him “penis Parker” instead. (At a party, several revelers chant that modified moniker as well.) Tony makes a rather suggestive comment about Peter’s Aunt May, and a delicatessen owner refers to her as a “very hot Italian woman.” Aunt May can dress rather alluringly at times.

A couple kisses.

Violent Content

I think only one person dies in Homecoming , and that apparently by accident: Toomes points a futuristic weapon and vaporizes one of his henchmen, and the villain seems quite surprised that the weapon wasn’t the antigravity gun he was anticipating. But Toomes repeatedly says he’d like to kill Spider-Man, and he does his upmost to make that happen.

As mentioned, Peter doesn’t want to terminate anybody, even repeatedly telling his interactive, Stark-built suit to turn off its “kill” mode. But Peter does use his webs to thwack people with various hard implements he fashions, and he occasionally resorts to fisticuffs, too.

Peter momentarily stifles a gun with a great deal of webbing (unsuccessfully); holds on for dear life to the back of a car with another person (his body skids into various barriers and brick-encrusted mailboxes); and falls from a pretty big height when his web doesn’t stick as intended. (But he’s a superhero, so he can take it.)

There’s also a huge fight on an airplane—literally on the top, bottom and side of the plane—that looks like it’d be pretty painful. Peter’s knocked unconscious in the back of a truck. He’s beaten badly by a nemesis, and we see that a bit of blood trickles from his bruised face. A teacher, whose students experienced a brush with death, tells a television interview that he “couldn’t stand to lose a student. Again.”

Crude or Profane Language

Someone utters an incomplete f-word, and we hear a couple of other stand-ins for it (“frigging,” “freaking”) as well. At least three s-words are used, along with “a–,” “b–tard,” “d–n” “h—” and “crap.” God’s name is misused a dozen or so times. We see one crude hand gesture. We hear the crude phrase, “You screwed the pooch hard,” and some joking banter about it.

Drug & Alcohol Content

A teen party features some red Solo cups; it’s unclear whether there’s alcohol in them.

Other Noteworthy Elements

Peter’s valorous pastime naturally involves a lot of sneaking around. He lies to friends and even to his Aunt May. (He tells Ned that if Aunt May knew what he did after hours, she’d surely put a stop to it.)

Oh, Spidey. Tony Stark was right: Your enthusiasm is admirable, but sometimes you could be a little more … prudent.

Spider-Man: Homecoming displays its immaturity mainly in its sometimes salty language. Sure, it’s nothing more than most middle- and high schoolers hear during passing period, (or than we hear in many other superhero movies these days, for that matter). Still, the use of s-words, near-f-words and the crude twisting of Peter’s first name feels jarringly out of place in this otherwise fun, fresh-faced flick.

Forget the grit and angst of Spider-Man’s last incarnation ( The Amazing Spider-Man series starring Andrew Garfield). This new Spidey, anchored by a very young-looking 21-year-old Tom Holland, is as much a teen comedy as it is a superhero actioner, its webbing stuffed with young love, geeky best friends, school competitions and intimidating dads. The whole thing even kinda-sorta culminates with a high school dance. See? Just like ’80s coming-of-age movie Pretty in Pink , only with better messages.

Well, and more action, too, though it’s a bit less violent than your typical superhero flick. Yes, Homecoming still boasts plenty of slinging webs and flying bodies. But few folks are seriously injured in the midst of the mayhem. The story concentrates as much on Peter’s inward growth as it does his derring-do. We ultimately see that a suit’s just a suit, no matter how high tech it is. What really matters is the person inside.

It’s a pretty enjoyable movie overall. At times Homecoming veritably dances. And that makes those moments when it steps on your foot all the more disappointing.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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Spider-Man: Homecoming Is One of the Best Superhero Movies in Years

Sony's collaboration with Marvel Studios gets so many things right, it’s almost difficult to list them all.

“When’s our next mission?”

“We’ll call you.”

Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, has just completed his first mission with the Avengers, and he’s eager for further adventures. But Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, thinks Peter could use a bit more seasoning—he’s only 15, after all—and encourages the boy to work on being a “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” for a while before getting called back up to the Big Show. So he gives the kid the number for his security chief, Happy Hogan. Peter, needless to say, texts and calls—and then texts and calls some more—without response.

It’s a perfect setup for Spider-Man: Homecoming : Peter Parker—high-school nerd, eternal outsider, the guy whose greatest successes somehow wind up feeling like failures—waiting by the phone for a call that never comes.

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When Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios announced they were teaming up to re-boot Spider-Man once more—the third iteration of the character in 15 years—it was easy to be skeptical. Sony’s first bite at the apple, with Tobey Maguire, fell apart by the end , and the second, with Andrew Garfield, barely got off the ground at all. But Marvel demonstrates once again that it knows exactly what it’s doing with one of its premier characters: Homecoming , starring Tom Holland in the titular role, is an utter gas, a fast and very funny superflick that inserts Spidey into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe without ever losing sight of what makes him unique and beloved.

The movie opens with a mini-movie—really more of a video diary—by Peter himself, briefly recounting the character’s reintroduction as a temporary Avenger in Captain America: Civil War . (“No one has actually told me what I’m doing in Berlin,” he narrates to his smartphone. “Something about Captain America going crazy.”) But when it’s over, it’s over. And Peter, having had a taste of full-on superheroism, is back to being an ordinary, not terribly popular high-schooler in Queens.

Well, not quite ordinary. He still has his superpowers, the high-tech suit with which Stark outfitted him, and an abiding desire to fight crime. If he can find any, that is. To the brilliant accompaniment of the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” ( Hey! Ho! Let’s go! ), Peter confronts an apparent car thief who turns out to be the owner of the vehicle in question, and recovers a stolen bike that may or may not have actually been stolen. But finally he spots a genuine ATM heist being carried out by goons wielding super-high-tech weaponry.

Did you ever wonder what happened to all the futuristic alien gear with which the Chitauri attacked New York in the first Avengers movie ? Well in theory, it wound up in the hands of a joint venture between the government and Stark Industries called the Department of Damage Control. But given that 1,500 tons of the stuff was scattered throughout the tri-state area, inevitably some of it fell into the wrong hands. And two of those hands belonged to Adrian Toomes, a construction engineer with a decidedly Trumpian sense of aggrievement at the rich elites (looking at you, Tony Stark) who he believes have looked down at him all his life. To compel them to start looking up, he equips himself with giant turbo-powered wings and goes into business quietly selling weapons constructed from Chitauri technology: black hole grenades, anti-gravity guns, and the world’s nastiest joy buzzer.

Thus, even as it reinvents the typical Marvel hero as a shy kid with a severe high-school crush, Homecoming also reinvents the typical Marvel villain: Toomes—occasionally people refer to him as “Vulture,” though he doesn’t seem to bother with the moniker himself—is not bent on global dominion or destroying the Avengers or any such grandiose endeavor. All he wants is to stay below the radar and make a few bucks selling contraband arms. Needless to say, Spider-Man wants to stop him and, given that he isn’t able to get the Avengers interested, decides to go it alone.

Homecoming gets so many things right that it’s almost difficult to catalog them. For starters, there’s no origin story: no radioactive spider and Uncle Ben getting shot and “with great power comes great responsibility” speech and on and on. If you really don’t know how Peter Parker became Spider-Man, look up one of the earlier movies. Peter does still live with his Aunt May, but she’s been reconceived from an elderly widow to younger surrogate-mom played by a very good Marisa Tomei. (A less successful reconception involves Spidey’s gadget-laden suit, which even talks to him; Stark product or no, it can’t help but feel just a little too Iron Man-y.)

As Peter, Holland exudes a sense of boyish wonder even more boyishly wondrous than that of his predecessors. Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau reprise their longstanding roles as Tony Stark and Happy Hogan, respectively, though the former looks as though he may be tiring of the gig after three Iron Man s, two Avengers , and a Captain America . And Michael Keaton is both marvelously cast—he’s almost certainly the best Marvel villain since Loki—and, post- Birdman , a doubly wicked inside joke on what was already, post- Batman , a wicked inside cinematic joke.

Peter’s classmates at Midtown Tech are a likably diverse bunch, featuring a nice romantic bait and switch (even if you see it coming), and a hilarious turn by Jacob Batalon as Peter’s best friend, Ned. (“Do you lay eggs?” he asks, upon learning his buddy’s super-identity. “Do you spit venom?”) High-school bully Flash Thompson is reinvented from a tall, Aryan jock to a diminutive alpha-geek played by Tony Revolori from The Grand Budapest Hotel . And a teacher played by Martin Starr (Gilfoyle from Silicon Valley ) appropriately gets the funniest line in the movie and, arguably, Marvel Studios history to date.

Clever gags are everywhere to be found, which is unsurprising given that the director, Jon Watts, and the many listed screenwriters have their principal roots in TV comedy. The movie’s title, Homecoming , technically refers to Peter’s high-school dance, but it’s foundationally a joke about Spider-Man at last joining the Marvel stable. Captain America ’s Chris Evans makes a few cameos in Public Service Announcements on the importance of staying in shape and avoiding detention. (As the gym teacher who shows the first clip drily notes, “I’m pretty sure this guy is a war criminal now.”) High-school girls play “Marry, F***, Kill” with members of the Avengers, and there are witty bits involving the difficulty of webslinging in the suburbs (not enough tall buildings to swing from), Stark’s marital reticence, what comes after “screwing the pooch,” and the iconic upside-down kiss from the 2002 Spider-Man . There’s even a (sort of) invisible jet to make up for the one that went missing from Wonder Woman .

But in the end, it comes down to Marvel’s deep reverence for character, and the studio’s understanding that every superhero is different. After the extraterrestrial meanderings of the Guardians of the Galaxy and the save-the-world mandates of the Avengers—to say nothing of the grim offerings served up by DC Comics pre- Wonder Woman —it feels like just the right time for a friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man. Hey! Ho! Let’s go!

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Review: Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man’s Day Off

by Susana Polo

Here’s a funny thing: Despite being the first installment in a Sony Spider-Man franchise, Spider-Man: Homecoming does a better job of feeling organically a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe than any of Marvel’s television projects.

It also does a better job of presenting day-to-day life in a world with supernatural forces — not with the modern noir grittiness of Matt Murdock’s Hell’s Kitchen or the matryoshka doll secrets and weird science of SHIELD, but just by just letting us look at some kids, in high school, thinking about college, sitting in P.E. and going to prom.

“A superhero movie by way of John Hughes” is the feeling that Homecoming wears on its sleeve, proudly including a television playing Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in one shot. And while that might sound like it would serve the John Hughes side of the film much better than the superhero side, Spider-Man: Homecoming is smart, incredibly funny and surprisingly clever. It is an entirely unexpected — perhaps even vanishingly implausible — fresh start for the third Spider-Man franchise of the past 15 years.

Homecoming never lets us forget that it’s swaddled in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it also doesn’t demand that we are completely up to date on its current history. Our introduction is a greatest-clips montage of the video journal Peter Parker (Tom Holland) made of his role in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War , deftly re-establishing his powers and his relationship with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and the wider world of superherodom. Our main story picks up several months later when Peter is back in school in New York City, and not dubiously “aiding” Iron Man in attempting to defuse the intractable differences between the Avengers with quips and punches.

Tony hasn’t forbidden Peter from being Spider-Man, but wants him to start small and, despite Peter’s excitement, clearly has no immediate plans to put him on the Avengers roster. Peter chafes at the lack of contact from Tony and the boredom of finding small crimes to stop in Queens. And so when he discovers a group of men manufacturing high-tech weapons from stolen superhuman and alien technology, selling them to street-level criminals, he takes it upon himself to stop their operation.

declining to hash out Peter’s origin story yet again is one of Homecoming ’s smartest choices

The leader of that group, Adrian “The Vulture” Toomes, is played by Michael Keaton, hitting all the right notes in a role that asks some surprising things from a supervillain. Jacob Batalon takes a strong turn as Peter’s compelling and lovable best friend, confidant and occasional sidekick, Ned.

Many reviews of Captain America: Civil War highlighted Tom Holland’s debut as the webslinger among the movie’s bright points. Here, he is given the chance to deepen and broaden the character — among Peter’s friends and family, on his home turf — and he does not disappoint. We find out where he gets his bodega sandwiches, where his aunt’s favorite emergency dinner spot is and that he loves to build Star Wars Lego sets in his spare time.

In addition to fighting crime, we get to see him goofing off as Spider-Man — playing, even. Literally, playing at being a superhero, emphasizing how fundamentally his age sets him apart from every other core character of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And all of this time spent with our hero’s day-to-day is incredibly refreshing, given that so many blockbuster superhero tentpoles now have to cram a team’s worth of characters into the plot, or still insist on an origin story’s worth of introduction in the first act.

Spider-Man: Homecoming leaves Peter’s origin story almost entirely out of the proceedings. Peter alludes vaguely to something in Aunt May’s past and mentions being bitten by a spider, but other than that, it is absent. And thank goodness, because we’ve already seen that story in two other franchises since the year 2002; declining to hash it out yet again is one of Homecoming ’s smartest choices.

(That said, I’m sure you’ll be relieved to know that the movie keeps other reliable standards of Marvel superhero films. There’s a Stan Lee cameo and two credits sequences, one mid-credits and one at the very end, for those with the patience to get there.)

Smart choices define Spider-Man: Homecoming ’s story, within and without the narrative. With Peter at a premier science high school for advanced students, all of his friends are nerds. And not just nerds as in awkward (although some of them are), but nerds as in smart . While so many other films lazily hang their plots around a character being slow on the uptake, Homecoming repeatedly hangs its story on Peter or his friends being exceptionally clever, rolling out its characters’ intentions precisely when it needs to and no earlier.

Homecoming repeatedly hangs its story on Peter or his friends being exceptionally clever

Homecoming also never uses the infinite narrative possibilities of comic book technology as a crutch. Its devices are established, sometimes embellished upon, but they ultimately have clearly elucidated rules that bind the constraints of its plot, threading that needle of the simultaneously fantastic and realistic.

In a similar vein, Homecoming doesn’t shy away from the classic characterization of Peter Parker as a bumbling and unlucky hero. Between Peter’s traditional self-aware wit and his superpowers — immense strength, physical resilience and agility — Homecoming uses him for slapstick comedy at every opportunity. And yet, despite all the bashing and flipping and dropping he bounces away from, when the gloves come off, Homecoming still has the ability to make us fear keenly for Peter’s life and well-being, even when we know that this is a superhero movie and he’s going to be just fine.

Especially attentive fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may be looking forward to Homecoming as a continuation of Tony Stark’s emotional journey from the wreckage left at the end of Captain America: Civil War . The relationship between Peter and Tony is perhaps the simplest arc of the film — it’s not bad, it’s just that they both play the roles you expected them to play going in. Homecoming also tries to set up a blue-collar vs. elite sort of dichotomy to its hero and villain lines that feels shallow. But in both cases, you barely notice, thanks to whip-quick plotting, expertly timed comedy and engaging performances all around.

For example, there is a moment at the heart of Spider-Man: Homecoming ’s climax ... I hesitate even to mention its existence here because it’s so good. (Don’t look up the full names of the cast of characters; you may spoil yourself.) But I feel compelled to call out how it paints the entire final act of the film in a deliciously tense, but also hilarious, layer of perspective that would be impossible for any other superhero in the MCU to pull off. It’s a masterful stroke that culminates in a climactic resolution not quite like any other I’ve seen in a modern superhero film.

The movie grounds its humor, its weird science and its action in a lot of heart — in Peter’s hopes, his belief in people and his love for his friends. Unlike a lot of movies about teenage rebellion, it is not founded on Peter making selfish or rash decisions, just foolhardy ones. He wants more responsibility — he feels that because he has great powers , it follows that ...

Oh no. You won’t get me that easily, Spider-Man: Homecoming .

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Movie review: 'spider-man: homecoming'.

Kenneth Turan

In the newest Spider-Man movie, the studio is aiming young and trying to leverage that Marvel Comics magic.

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‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Review: The Joy of Being Spider-Man

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The 13 Worst Marvel Movies, Ranked

Netflix to adapt another murder mystery novel from 'the thursday murder club' author, quentin tarantino called this kevin costner movie "one of the best directorial debuts" ever.

[Spider-Man: Homecoming is now in theaters. In case you missed it, here's my review from last week. ]

Spider-Man: Homecoming presents the third solo iteration of Spider-Man in the last 15 years, but it’s arguably the best one yet. While Sam Raimi ’s movies have their merits, and the less said about The Amazing Spider-Man films the better, Homecoming takes Peter Parker in a fresh direction not only by making him a teenager (and actually investing in that world rather than using it as a backdrop), but by letting him run towards being Spider-Man rather than wrestle with the weight of his responsibilities. Raimi’s movies couldn’t resist Peter seeing his powers as both a blessing and a curse, and the Marc Webb films are too busy weaving a conspiracy plot, but Jon Watts ’ picture features a young hero desperate to prove himself and having a blast while doing it.

After quickly recapping the events of Captain America: Civil War from the POV of young Peter Parker ( Tom Holland ), who clearly had relished being part of the action, he’s dropped off back home in Queens and told that he should keep in touch with the cantankerous Happy Hogan ( Jon Favreau ). After two months of expecting Tony Stark ( Robert Downey Jr. ) to call, an antsy Peter comes across some dangerous high-powered weapons, which leads him to tracking down the scavenger Adrian Toomes a.k.a. Vulture ( Michael Keaton ). As Peter tries to maintain his friendship with pal Ned ( Jacob Batalon ), pursue crush Liz ( Laura Harrier ), and keep his identity secret from Aunt May ( Marisa Tomei ), he also starts taking greater risks to bring down Toomes and his crew.

The best word to describe Spider-Man: Homecoming is “fun.” It’s a joyous, effervescent picture that may not have the thematic heft of darker pictures like Logan and The Dark Knight , but nevertheless forges its own identity within the confines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a hefty helping of the MCU’s primary virtue: humor. It’s a movie that will have you laughing throughout even though it’s not technically a comedy. Other Marvel films are busy spinning epic yarns, but Homecoming is very comfortable keeping its hero close to the ground.

While the Marvel Netflix series have touted their identity as “street-level heroes,” the Spider-Man of Spider-Man: Homecoming feels like a better realization of that promise. He’s still got superpowers, and he’s working against a powerful villain that can wreak havoc, but Watts always wants us to know that this Spider-Man lives among us. He’s not a billionaire or a demigod or a super soldier. He has superpowers, but he’s also visiting his local bodega and swinging through the suburbs. Homecoming is a movie that emphasizes the “neighborhood” part of “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.”

For some, that may sound like the movie has lower stakes, but if anything, it gives this Spider-Man a unique identity to the point where his struggle feels far more character driven. Other Spider-Man movies are about the angst of being Peter Parker, but Homecoming is about the desire to grow-up and be a part of something bigger. Civil War gave Peter a taste of something greater than himself, and now he desperately wants to stay at that level even though he’s not ready for it. You also kind of feel for the kid because he could desperately use a mentor, and Tony Stark is rarely around.

As a side note, Tony has always been one of the more nefarious personalities of the MCU, but Homecoming really piles it on. The movie notes that he basically gave a teeanger a super-powered suit, no guidance, and barely any supervision. When Peter repeatedly tries to tell Happy and Tony that there’s a guy dealing superpowered weapons, Tony’s response is that Toomes is too small-time for The Avengers but too big for Spidey. Later, when Tony gets frustrated with Peter, he says he wishes Peter could have been better than him, but never does anything to make that happen. In a weird way, Tony is the epitome of what Peter should never be—great power with no responsibility.

Thankfully, Tony isn’t around too much to sour up the joint and the movie trusts that Holland can carry the picture. He was immensely likable in Civil War , but Homecoming shows why he’s been entrusted with the franchise. It’s not just that he’s young or enthusiastic; it’s that he has an eagerness to jump into danger. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were both good Spider-Men, but Holland makes the role his own, not only by virtue of his age or being in the MCU, but through his personality. In its best moments, Homecoming shows the weight of this responsibility on a 15-year-old kid. He never runs from it, but he doesn’t always know what to do.

In a way, Homecoming functions as a new origin story even though there’s no murder of Uncle Ben or training montage. The origin is in Spider-Man learning that he’s swinging by the seat of his pants and doesn’t always know how he’s going to save the day. It’s heavy stuff that never feels heavy thanks to Watts’ light touch (although there are a couple of dramatic scenes that really hit hard) and an investment in the character of Peter Parker and his world. It’s great seeing the diversity among Peter’s classmates, to finally take him out of New York City, and to see how he tries to balance being a teenager with being a superhero.

Homecoming is drastically different than the other Spider-Man movies, but it’s for the better. You care more about his relationships (the relationship between Peter and Ned is just the best), his classmates ( Zendaya is a scene stealer as deadpan friend Michelle), and even the villain. Keaton is legitimately terrifying as Toomes but his goals are remarkably relatable. He feels jilted by the system, and he’s taken up a life of crime to support his family. That may not be on the level of “Try to destroy the world,” but I’ve found that the MCU villains with more modest goals tend to be more compelling.

The movie also never misses a beat to really make Spider-Man not only feel like part of the MCU, but also that the MCU’s history has grown up around Spider-Man. Captain America does instructional videos; there’s a photo of Bruce Banner alongside other great scientists in Peter Parker’s classroom; Toomes and his crew salvage the wreckage from the Avengers’ battles. For most of the MCU, we’ve been in the middle of what’s happening, but Homecoming is the first film that’s able to take a step back and provide an outsider’s view of how these superheroes have changed the world. While the movie could have gone a bit deeper with a critique of superheroes being around, it’s still a welcome POV that we haven’t really gotten before.

As one would expect after seeing Civil War , Spider-Man is right at home in the MCU. The franchise’s sense of humor jibes with Spidey’s attitude, and the lighthearted tone makes the character feel fresh even though we’re on our third version. Weighty notions of responsibility can come later. The tragedy that follows Peter Parker around has been done. This new Spider-Man is swinging high and fancy free, and he finally feels right at home.

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Spider-man: homecoming.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 128 Reviews
• Kids Say 362 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Diverse, entertaining reboot has some language, violence.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Spider-Man: Homecoming is a fun, tween-friendly take on one of Marvel's most enduringly popular characters. Starring an actual teen (Tom Holland) as web-slinging high schooler Peter Parker, its spirit is very much in line with the original comics. While there's no shortage of peril…

Why Age 10+?

Frequent peril and explosive action violence; the bad guys make, sell, and use e

Regular but not constant use of words including "s--t," "bulls--t," "damn," "bas

Teenage crushes/flirting. One joking reference to porn. A few suggestive comment

Smartphones used. Car brands, including Jaguar and Audi. NASA logo. YouTube. Lot

Party where underage teens hold red Solo cups; never clear exactly what's in the

Any Positive Content?

Spider-Man's core message has always been, "With great power comes great respons

Peter wants nothing more than to use his powers to help people; that said, he ca

Violence & Scariness

Frequent peril and explosive action violence; the bad guys make, sell, and use extremely destructive weapons to blow things up and abruptly disintegrate a character. Peter and Toomes confront each other several times; Peter is dropped from heights, bashed around, and buried in rubble; Toomes threatens Peter and everyone he loves. Teens in peril in a damaged elevator atop the Washington Monument. Ferry splits in half; passengers panic, scream, and are in danger. A plane crashes, narrowly avoiding buildings; fiery debris is scattered on a beach. Peter is dragged by a van; later, a wild car ride ends in a crash. Fights/tense stand-offs; some punching. Guns brandished in anger/as threats. Peter gets in skirmishes with petty crooks. Aftermath of the Battle of New York (from The Avengers ) includes crumbled, damaged buildings. Behind-the-scenes glimpses of fights from Captain America: Civil War .

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Regular but not constant use of words including "s--t," "bulls--t," "damn," "bastard," "hell," "a--hole," "bada--," "friggin'," "screwed," "dumbass," "jerk," "crap," "penis," "lame," "loser," "idiot," "stupid," "sucks," "oh my God" (as an exclamation). One memorable exclamation of "What the fu--" (the word isn't completed). Middle-finger gesture.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Teenage crushes/flirting. One joking reference to porn. A few suggestive comments made to/about May (i.e. "hot Italian woman"). Peter shown shirtless/in his boxers a couple of times. Some form-fitting outfits/swimsuits. Teen girls play a round of "F, marry, kill." Crude reference to "screwing the pooch." Adult characters kiss.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Smartphones used. Car brands, including Jaguar and Audi. NASA logo. YouTube. Lots of merchandising tie-ins offscreen.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Party where underage teens hold red Solo cups; never clear exactly what's in them, but drinking is implied. May has a beer at dinner. Peter is offered a drink but refuses because he's not old enough.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Spider-Man's core message has always been, "With great power comes great responsibility"; Peter takes that seriously, looking for ways to help his community and putting himself in danger to save others. Friends and family are always there for you, but you shouldn't do the wrong thing in their name. Your true character/measure of worth is who you are on the inside, not what you wear/use on the outside. Communication is important to avoid misunderstanding and even danger. Courage and perseverance are themes.

Positive Role Models

Peter wants nothing more than to use his powers to help people; that said, he can be impatient, getting into danger before thinking things through. Tony means well and wants to keep Peter safe, but for a long time he doesn't listen to his young protege, which contributes to much of the trouble Peter finds himself in. May loves Peter, but she does drive him and his friend to a big party where it's implied that teens drink. Peter's Queens, NY, high school is realistically diverse; his friends, classmates, and teachers represent a wide range of races and body types. Cool kids are members of Academic Decathlon. Female characters are in supporting roles; they're portrayed positively but don't do a whole lot.

Parents need to know that Spider-Man: Homecoming is a fun, tween-friendly take on one of Marvel's most enduringly popular characters. Starring an actual teen ( Tom Holland ) as web-slinging high schooler Peter Parker, its spirit is very much in line with the original comics. While there's no shortage of peril and action violence, it's not as unrelenting or large-scale as in many of the other Marvel movies. Death is minimal (a supporting character is disintegrated), and even sequences like that in which a ferry boat splits in half, causing panic and mayhem, aren't too scary. Spidey does get in brawls with the main villain in which he's bashed, buried in rubble, and dropped from heights, and there are some explosions and fiery crashes (including a plane strewn along a beach). There's a bit more salty language than you might expect (including "s--t," "bastard," "dumba--," and more), but it's not constant. Teens flirt, and adults kiss and make a few suggestive comments. There's one jokey reference to porn, and Peter is shown shirtless a couple of times. A house party scene shows teens holding red cups (the contents are unspecified). As always with Spider-Man, there are messages about power and responsibility, finding strength within yourself, being brave, and persevering. And the cast is impressively, realistically diverse; Peter's friends, classmates, and teachers represent a wide range of races and body types. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (128)
• Kids say (362)

Based on 128 parent reviews

Bad Language. Unsuitable for young kids.

Not totally a kids movie, what's the story.

In SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, 15-year-old Peter Parker ( Tom Holland ) can't wait to help his new mentor, Tony Stark ( Robert Downey Jr. ), with any superhero work the latter might have available. But Stark wants to keep his young protege safe at home in Queens, living with his Aunt May ( Marisa Tomei ) and going to high school with friends like his good buddy Ned (Jacob Batalon). Peter chafes at being sidelined, so every night he goes out looking for crime to stop around the neighborhood. One evening he comes face to face (well, face to mask) with a group of ATM robbers armed with powerful, high-tech weapons. Eventually Peter traces the dangerous gear to a gang run by Adrian Toomes ( Michael Keaton ), who's long harbored a grudge against the Avengers and the secretive agencies that work with them. Peter's quest to put an end to Toomes' dangerous game leads to peril and surprising revelations, as well as one very annoyed Iron Man.

Is It Any Good?

Clever, funny, and true to the Spider-Man spirit, this take on everyone's favorite web-slinger is thoroughly entertaining. The world was understandably skeptical of yet another Spidey reboot, but in this case, it was the right call. Even more than the Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield takes on the wall crawler -- as good as those were -- Spider-Man: Homecoming really captures the tone of the original comics. A large part of that is thanks to the fact that, for the first time on the big screen, Peter is being played by an actual teenager. Holland is believably eager, gawky, and geeky as Peter, who's almost as excited to work on Ned's Lego Death Star as he is to fight bad guys. Also, because it's (mercifully) not an origin story, director Jon Watts can get right to the action.

It's not a perfect film; the plot doesn't always have a totally clear trajectory, and there's no real fall-out (other than Tony Stark's punishment) for the fact that half of the scrapes Peter/Spidey gets into are, frankly, his own fault. But it's so fresh and relatable that it doesn't matter. It's great to see such a diverse group of teens playing Peter's friends and classmates; in addition to Batalon, Laura Harrier and Zendaya are stand-outs as, respectively, Peter's crush and a laconic, enigmatic classmate. And while Tony and Peter's lack of communication/mutual frustration brings to mind Harry's relationship with Professor Dumbledore during some of the Harry Potter saga, their dynamic brings something new and powerful to the Marvel-verse as well: true mentorship.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence in Spider-Man: Homecoming . How does it compare to what you've seen in other superhero movies? In other kinds of movies? Do different types of violence have a different impact?

What does Tony mean when he tells Peter, "If you're nothing without the suit, then you shouldn't have it"? What does Peter learn from having to go without his suit for awhile?

What character strengths does Peter develop over the course of the movie? How does he demonstrate courage and perseverance ?

How might the story have been different if Tony (or Happy) had listened to Peter better/sooner? Can you think of other movies in which beloved mentors have fallen short in a similar way? (Hint: Prof. Dumbledore/Harry Potter.)

Do Peter and his friends feel like genuine teenagers to you? How does that compare to previous versions of Spider-Man? How does his group of friends reflect the real-life diversity of Queens, NY? Why is that important?

Movie Details

• In theaters : July 7, 2017
• On DVD or streaming : October 17, 2017
• Cast : Tom Holland , Robert Downey Jr. , Marisa Tomei , Michael Keaton
• Director : Jon Watts
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Topics : Superheroes , High School
• Character Strengths : Courage , Perseverance
• Run time : 130 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : sci-fi action violence, some language and brief suggestive comments
• Award : Common Sense Selection
• Last updated : August 31, 2024

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Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) Review

A CELEBRATORY HOMECOMING

The Marvel superhero character Spider-Man (aka Peter Parker) has been done his circuit on the big screen for many years, with different iterations being brought to each installment of everyone’s favorite webslinger. Based on its comic book source material, which was created by Marvel legend Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Spider-Man made his leap onto the silver screen back in 2002 in the film Spider-Man with actor Toby Maguire playing the title character as well as actress Kristen Dunst as Mary Jane, and actor James Franco as Harry Osborne. This first cinematic iteration (at the so-called “Dawn of the Superhero film” genre we all know of today), received positive reviews and was high successful at the box office (roughly making $820 million globally), which prompted the studio to churn out two more follow-up sequels with 2004’s Spider-Man 2 and 2007’s Spider-Man 3 . After that, Sony / Columbia Pictures (the studio behind these films) went silent with character of Spider-Man, observing (and watching) as now popular Marvel Cinematic Universe began to grow and dominate the box office; amassing comic books rights for their films and gaining a steady incline of moviegoer fandom. It was soon decided that Sony Pictures would return to the superhero genre by “rebooting” their Spider-Man franchise from scratch and released The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012, with actor Andrew Garfield playing the role of Peter Parker / Spider-Man and actress Emma Stone playing his love interest of Gwen Stacey. The film did make a splash with critics and fans and amassed a very profitable return (over $750 million at the global box office), which prompted the studio make a sequel film with 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2. After that, however, Sony Pictures had several ideas planning for Spider-Man , ranging from another sequel, to spin-offs, and even rebooting franchise again, but nothing ever material realized as Marvel’s MCU, which now was under the control of parent company Disney, continued to flourish and expand. Eventually, after some time and many rumors, Sony / Columbia Pictures and Disney finally came to an agreement with the rights to Spider-Man, allowing the character to appear in the MCU franchise and did so in 2016’s blockbuster juggernaut Captain America: Civil War , with actor Tom Holland playing the role of Spider-Man. Now, with this being the third iteration of the comic book superhero, Marvel Studios (along with Sony / Columbia Pictures) and director Jon Watts present the first solo Spider-Man feature under the MCU banner with the film Spider-Man : Homecoming . Does this newest Spider-Man movie deliver on launching the superhero new heights or is it time to retire everyone’s “Friendly Neighborhood” webslinger?

Several months after the events of Captain America: Civil War , Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has returned to his home in Queens, New York and is back at school, under the guise of seemingly normal high school student and dealing with regular 15-year old teenage angst, including palling around with his science genius friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and crushing on senior Liz (Laura Harrier). Peter’s alter-ego of Spider-Man is very much life and the dual side of his life; now equipped with the technologically enhanced Spider-Man costume that was designed by Tony Stark / Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) to assist Peter in carrying out his superhero deeds as a “friendly neighborhood” webslinger. However, Peter, feeling up to the task ready to leave his old life behind and join the Avengers officially. Trying to find balance between school life, superhero training, protecting New York City from crime, and trying to be on his best behavior for his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), Peter eventually comes face-to-face with big trouble, arriving in the form of Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) a disgruntled blue-collar worker seeking revenge on a society that has wronged him. Salvaging Chitauri weaponry / technology from the Avenger’s “Battle of New York” alien invasion, Toomes becomes “The Vulture”, a flying villain that’s capable of pulling off extraordinary heists, building a fortune through black market arms dealings. Eager to earn his stripes and prove to Mr. Stark that he’s ready to join the Avengers, Peter struggles to become the hero he so desperately wants to be, dealing with his own inexperience and adolescences as he tries to foil The Vulture’s latest plans.

THE GOOD / THE BAD

Phew…. that was a lot of ground to cover in that opening paragraph. As I said, there’s been several incarnations of Spider-Man and everyone has a different opinion on each webslinger iteration in both character and story. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy (the ones with Toby Maguire for those who don’t know) did bring this comic book character to life and did prove to have one of the better entries of superhero films with Spider-Man 2 as well as given us the best portrayal of  J. Jonah Jameson by actor J.K. Simmons. However, Spider-Man 3 was riddle with problems with too many villains and Maguire’s Emo version of Peter Parker (as well as that super awkward dance number). Then came Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man movies, which I did like a bit more than Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, especially with Andrew Garfield’s performance of Peter Parker as well as Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacey (their on-screen chemistry in both films did help me buy into their characters more so than Maguire and Dunst did in the previous trilogy). Unfortunately, Webb fell into the same trap that Raimi did as The Amazing Spider-Man 2 try to cram too many villains into the feature, which hindered the movie, as well as the internet leaking of the surprise twist towards the end of the film. This is probably why (amongst other reasons) that Sony / Columbia, who felt that the movie underperformed, pulled the plug on The Amazing Spider-Man series, despite its numerous spin-offs ideas and its profitable return at the box office.

Of course, things changed (for the better) and when Disney finally acquired the rights to use Spider-Man in the MCU I was completely overjoyed, especially after Tom Holland’s small supporting role in Captain America: Civil War. To see Spider-Man alongside already established MCU character like Iron Man, Captain America, and Falcon was amazing and Holland’s performance of Peter Parker / Spider-Man was definitely a highlight and scene stealer of the entire film. This, of course, bring us to my review of Spider-Man: Homecoming, the first solo movie of the title character within the MCU. From the trailers, the movie looked pretty interesting, especially with the inclusion of Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark / Iron Man being incorporated into the movie as well as seeing actor Michael Keaton as the film’s villain. Being a huge fan of the MCU movies, I was super excited to see this, hoping that this iteration of the webslinger would the best. So, what did I think of the movie? To simply put it…. I loved it. Spider-Man: Homecoming succeeds on several levels acting as a standalone MCU movie, a high school coming-of-ag story, and a terrific remake film to the title character.

In the director’s chair for Spider-Man: Homecoming is Jon Watts, whose known for his previous directorial work includes several short films ( The Invisible Dog and Clown ), a couple of TV shows ( The Onion News Network and Onion SportsDome ), and the feature film Cop Car . Unlike past film installments of Spider-Man, Watts takes a different approach in helming this newest iteration of the famed NYC costumed superhero. While both Raimi’s trilogy and Webb’s two Amazing movies were more your stereotypical comic book superhero drama endeavors that pushed Peter Parker’s high school life to the background (or went beyond that), Watts makes sure that Homecoming takes the opposite direction, making the aspect of high school in the foreground for most of the movie and the MCU fanfare nuances second. Yes, there’s still plenty of Marvel superhero fun in the movie, but Watts carefully weaves the classic high school trails of being a teenager (i.e. school work, crushes, best friends, and enemies, etc.) throughout the feature and makes that particular aspect important in the movie. Watts also, along with the film’s many writers who crafted its story and screenplay, finds a narrative that feels appropriate for this character of Peter Parker (and his Spider-Man alter-ego), interjecting plenty of comical light-hearted moments that’s mixed together with superhero action and drama. Basically, Homecoming is about how a young and inexperienced Peter Parker must balance his regular 15-year old daily teenage life as well as his desire to become a fully-fledged superhero.

With this more focus on “teenage high school” life playing a large role in the movie, Homecoming (as a whole) is one of the more grounded installments within the MCU. As I said, there’s plenty of Marvel superhero frivolities and nuances to make feel a part of this cinematic universe, but Watts doesn’t indulge or overkill in that aspect too much; always returning the trials of Peter Parker, who’s ambition and superhero experience are not on the same level. To be truthfully, the film is set on a more smaller scale than other MCU films, but that doesn’t take away from the overall entertainment and well-received execution of the film’s likeabily, disproving the age of old saying “bigger is better”. Homecoming also works great as a standalone feature. To be truthfully, the film is set on a more smaller scale than other MCU films, but that doesn’t take away from the overall entertainment and well-received execution of the film’s likeability, disproving the age of old saying “bigger is better”. Again, there’s plenty of MCU crossover references to bring a sense of continuity to the film’s proceedings (including a hilarious home video of Peter’s journey to Berlin during the events of Civil War ), but it doesn’t become too bothersome that it takes away from the story being currently told. If you can recall, Homecoming wasn’t originally part of the MCU Phase III saga lineup when it was first announced and was added after the studio acquired the rights to use Spider-Man within this franchise. Thus, Homecoming can stand on its own and not tied to its world-building overarching narrative of the MCU (i.e no finding / talk of Infinity Stones or any shadowy appearance of Thanos) as the movie is structurally earthbound and grounded.

In truth, one of the best things that Watts does with this portrayal of Spider-Man is that he jumps right into the movie ( Homecoming ) without having an elongated first act of displaying Peter’s origin story. Since these comic book characters have been around for quite some time and have taken root within other media outlets (rebooted / reissued comic books, animated cartoons series, TV, and film, etc.), many know of these origins for these superheroes and becomes a bit monotonous when each iteration for these characters keeping showing origin backstory development. How many times must be watch Krypton explode in Superman? How many times do we have to see Thomas and Martha Wayne get gunned down in Batman? How many times do we have to see the Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben get blasted with cosmic rays and get bestowed their “fantastic” abilities in Fantastic Four? How many times do we have to see Peter Parker get bit by a radioactive spider and see Uncle Ben get killed? I can go on, but you get the general idea. Thankfully, Watts, along with Marvel’s decision to have Spider-Man’s first appearance in Civil War , doesn’t rehash that particular origin element in Homecoming , which is different and sort of a breath of fresh air for a superhero movie, especially in his first character-based feature film.

On a technically filmmaking level, Watt’s Homecoming is a solid entry within the MCU. Like past Spider – Man movies, the webslinger’s home of New York City plays the central backdrop of the film for most of the film’s setting. However, Watt also takes Parker “on the road” with the film traveling to Washington DC. Of course, and thanks to cinematographer Salvatore Totino, there’s plenty of nifty angles and camera swoops that the movie employs in both of these settings. Everything else from production design (Oliver Schooll), to costume designs (Louise Frogley), to film editing (Debbie Berman and Dan Lebental) all good great work in their respective field, collectively adding to the technical sides of Homecoming in both in front and behind the camera. Even popular musical composer Michael Giacchino score for Homecoming is pretty good and is a great addition to his growing catalogue of film’s score.

For all the positives that this film has, there are a few minor nitpicks I have about this movie. As one can imagine, the past Spider-Man entries try to appeal to its fans and blockbuster moviegoers by showcasing a lot of visual style and flair throughout the movie. Homecoming doesn’t quite reach that same level as its action sequences, while good and entertaining, are more lighter and restraining in comparison. I’m sure that was part of the movie’s concept plan, especially since this iteration of Spider-Man is going to play a larger role within the MCU (more future installments). Also, some of the elements of the narrative are a bit problematic, especially those surrounding The Vulture and why no one except Spider-Man is after him and his gang. Yes, I understand that Homecoming takes place after Civil War , so the Avengers team roster has diminished since then, but if a bad guy, who has salvage alien tech from the Chitauri invasion from The Avengers and advance weaponry that was salvaged battle in Sokovia during Avengers : Age of Ultron , is on the loose, one would expect powerful team (such as the Avengers) would try to stop them. Heck, even Coulson’s team from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D could’ve tackled that. Again, I know it had to be like this to fit the movie’s narrative, but still…. you know what I mean.

The cast in Homecoming is a solid one, with plenty to like about them, especially with the film’s lead being young British actor Tom Holland who plays the film’s main protagonist character of Peter Parker / Spider-Man. Holland, known for his roles in Locke , In the Heart of the Sea , and the TV mini-series Wolf Hall , already made his big screen debut as Peter in Civil War (a real scene stealer of the feature), but Homecoming allows the actor to take center stage and fully develop the character in his own right rather than a glorified fan-favorite cameo in a superhero team up feature. Hollands’s young age and charismatic performance of Peter Parker is a fun spin on the iconic superhero (the most youthful version of the character in comparison to the other film versions of Spider-Man), which makes for a more convincing good-natured high school kid who’s in way over his head. In addition, the film’s narrative of making Peter inexperience as a superhero is a great plot point to run throughout the film, which makes the character more human and gives Holland (as both actor and his character) more room to grow and evolve from onset to conclusion. What also helps is that, despite all the characters that I mention below, Watts keeps returning to the character of Peter Parker as a fixed spotlight on the feature. Personally, while I liked Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man movies , I can now say that I like Tom Holland’s version of Peter Parker / Spider-Man is better and the best iteration of the character on-screen. Can’t wait to see him continue playing the roles in future MCU films (both solo features and superhero “Avenger” team films).

Alongside Holland is the other young co-stars of Homecoming who are equally both believable and likeable in their respective high school roles. For starters, actor Jacob Batalon ( North Woods ) does a humorous and solid job as Peter’s nerd BFF Ned, with several moments for him to shine in the spotlight with his comic angst. Likewise, actress Zendaya (from the Disney channel shows Shake It Up! and K.C. Undercover ) is effectively great (and hilarious) as the smart but anti-social loner Michelle. He screen is limited in Homecoming , but I have feeling that she’s gonna be around for the future Spider-Man installments (hopefully Zendaya returns in those features). Keeping up with the high school aesthetic, Peter finds that awkward school crush angle, with the Type-A driven yet friendly disposition character Liz, who is played by Laura Harrier ( One Life to Live ). It’s not the classic Peter Parker love interest found in Mary Jane or Gwen Stacy, but the character of Liz works for the film and as a high school “first crush” love interest. The only character that I didn’t like in the movie was Flash Thompson, Peter’s infamous enemy, who is played by Tony Revolori ( The Grand Budapest Hotel and Dope ). Granted that Revolori’s acting is not in question and I understand that Watts and the screenplay writers are trying to put a different spin on the character, but it’s exactly how I pictured Flash to be like. I picture more like how actor Chris Zylka portrayed him (look and personality) in The Amazing Spider-Man rather than a wise-cracking “preppy” kid in Homecoming .

As for the main villain of the feature, actor Michael Keaton is given that roles to play as Adrian Toomes / The Vulture. Keaton, known for his roles in Batman , Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), and The Founder , is fine and respectable actor in Hollywood and was almost inevitable that his talents who one day grace a MCU film (I suspected he would be a bad guy of some sort). Keaton does have that way of acting as villain (see him as Ray Kroc in The Founder ) and sure delivers at being a sizable threat to the inexperience Peter Parker. When it comes villains, the MCU movies have had fair share of problems with them, who are usually played by talented individuals, but are usually underdeveloped characters as the film is usually more focused on its protagonist rather than its antagonist. Thankfully, but still not outshine Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, the character of Adrian Toomes is definitely one of the more better and fully-developed villains within the MCU. Toomes is an indeed a bad guy, but the character, like most of Homecoming, is grounded in reality. He’s not a super megalomaniac comic book villain with world domination on its mind, or loss his insanity to a “freak accident” gone wrong, or a puppet to a “behind the curtain” person, he’s just a man that was wronged and frustrated with how society treats those more privileged than him. This whole background aspect to his character as well as Keaton’s solid performance, makes Adrian Toomes a compelling and interesting baddie to watch.  While other past Spider-Man movies used more bigger and more iconic bad guys (i.e Rhino, Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, Electro, Lizard, Venom, etc.), it’s interesting that Homecoming decided to choose The Vulture, a lesser known Spider-Man villain. I, for one, glad that they decided to do this as it gives a more obscure bad guy to shine in the movie with the possibility of saving the more “bigger” enemies of Spidey for future installments.

Homecoming also sees the return of two MCU veterans (both major and minor characters) with Robert Downey Jr. reprising his role as Tony Stark / Iron Man and actor / director Jon Favreau as Tony’s assistant / driver Happy Hogan. Downey Jr, known for his roles in Chaplin , Sherlock Holmes , and The Soloist , continues to the one of the driving forces within the entire MCU as Tony Stark (the other, of course, being Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America) and further proves that with his involvement in Homecoming as Peter’s sort of a superhero “parental figure”. Thankfully, despite the marketing campaign for the movie heavily featuring him, Downey’s Tony Stark only appears sparsely in the film as a minor character. This is a good thing because it allows the film to rest squarely on Holland’s Spider-Man character, which it should, and gives the role of Tony Stark / Iron Man only as a large cameo appearance in the film. As for Favreau, known for directing / starring in Iron Man (and its sequel) as well as The Jungle Book and Chef , delivers probably the largest role we’ve seeing of Happy Hogan within a MCU film, which is kind of fun to see, especially with Favreau way of delivering his lines.

If Downey’s Tony Stark acts as a somewhat “parental figure” to Peter in the movie, then actress Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May is the more traditional parental figure to the character. Tomei, known for her in The Wrestler , Crazy, Stupid, Love , and The Lincoln Lawyer , is, more or less, delegated to being a supporting character in the film and does a good job in the role. As a side-note, with Holland’s being the youngest actor play the role of Spider-Man, Tomei is youngest portrayal of Peter Parker’s Aunt May (a running gag on the internet). Rounding out the cast, in minor supporting roles, are Donald Glover ( Community and The Martian ) as low-level criminal Aaron Davis, Michael Chernus ( Manhattan and Orange is the New Black ) as Phineas Mason (aka The Tinkerer), Logan-Marshall Green ( Prometheus and Brooklyn’s Finest ) as Jackson Brice (aka The Shocker), and Jennifer Connolly ( Blood Diamond and A Beautiful Mind ) as Spider-Man’s voice command suit A.I. Karen (similar to Jarvis or Friday in Stark’s Iron Man suit) or known as “suit lady”.

Lastly, it won’t be a MCU movie without having something to watch at the end of the film as Homecoming as two Easter Eggs scenes (a mid-credit scene and a one at the end of the credits)..

FINAL THOUGHTS

Peter Parker’s Spider-Man swings back into action and faces the trails of becoming a fully-realized superhero as well as a typical high school teenager in Spider-Man: Homecoming . Director Jon Watts newest film brings a new iteration to the famous webslinger, working as both a high school comedy and a MCU comic book tale about a youthful, but inexperienced superhero. The movie doesn’t necessarily move the MCU’s overarching story forward, but ultimately succeeds at being more of a standalone entry in this franchise rather than being dependent on its own cinematic universe world-building and “larger story” components. While the film may not be as boisterous and high-styled action as other Spider-Man or MCU features, Homecoming does deliver on an impressive smaller scale adventure, thanks its narrative been told, Watt’s direction, and the movie’s solid performances from its cast, especially from actor Tom Holland, who is now my personal favorite iteration of Peter Parker / Spider-Man. Personally, I loved this movie. Sure, it doesn’t have the grandiose comic book feel as Captain America: Civil War or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but it shouldn’t be and all of Homecoming positive marks prove that point. It was fun, humorous, poignant, and a worthy entry in the MCU as well in the various cinematic reimagines of Spider-Man (probably the best one of the bunch).  Thus, as you can expect, this movie gets my highly recommended stamp of approval. With Avengers: Infinity War (and its still untitled Avengers 4 ) approaching and all the rumors of characters being killed off within those installments (as well as actors who hang up their superhero costumes and call it quits), it’s clear that Marvel is gonna make Spider-Man a solid pillar for the coming “next” generation of superheroes with the MCU. Given how Homecoming turned out and with plenty of room for future installments, I certainly hope so and welcome it.

4.4 Out of 5 (Highly Recommended)

Released on: june 7th, 2017, reviewed on: june 8th, 2017.

Spider-Man: Homecoming   is 133 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, some language and brief suggestive comments

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10 comments.

Glad to see you enjoyed the film! After a second viewing I’m happy to say that this is easily my favourite Spider-Man movie.

Definitely agree with you on that. Homecoming was an awesome film. Can’t wait for the next sequel movie to it…

Yeah with the sequels and avengers movies it’s gonna be exciting g to see Peter develop!

Feels like Tom Holland was made for the role. Super glad you enjoyed the movie, Marvel really is on fire!

Thank you. And you were right about this movie, it was great. Definitely agree with you that Marvel is on fire.

Nice to read that you enjoyed Homecoming too, Jason. Marvel really injected a lot of thoughtful, fun touches to this movie, which makes it so fun to watch. I can’t get enough of interrogation mode.

Yeah, I agree. Homecoming was a lot of fun too watch as well as being entertaining. Plus, Holland’s was great as Peter Parker / Spider-Man.

Can’t believe how fresh this movie felt. I too am excited to see where they go from here. I’m sure we’ll eventually see Spidey as the franchise face of The Aveengers. Great reintroduction.

Definitely agree with you. It was quite a different (and fresh) approach to a Spider-Man movie and it worked wonders by doing what it did. Can’t wait to see where the rest of the films go from here. Thanks for the comment!!!

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Spider-Man: Homecoming Is as Light and Powerful as Spidey's Web

You’d have to reach back into Marvel’s movie history to find a film quite as delightfully spry as Spider-Man: Homecoming —all the way back, in fact, to 2008’s Iron Man . That heartfelt romp not only fully rehabbed Robert Downey Jr.’s career, it also drafted a workable blueprint for the modern superhero flick, one that few entries have managed to follow. Nowadays, of course, Tony Stark is caught up in the globe-hopping skirmishes of the Avengers' saga, but in that first installment, he was just a semi-relatable, power-burdened weirdo trying to win over a girl and put away the bad guy; he came, he saw, he quipped fast. Later Marvel movies may have been weightier, but Iron Man’s light touch made it one of the best comic-book adaptations of its era.

Homecoming —which stars The Impossible ’s Tom Holland as Peter Parker-slash-you-know-who, and was directed by Cop Car ’s Jon Watts—maintains Iron Man ’s breezy vibe by keeping the stakes (relatively) low, and by leaving out the cosmic McGuffins that have locked the Marvel movie universe in a state of constant convolution. Instead, it focuses largely on Parker’s attempt to adjust to his newfound powers while also wooing a classmate (Laura Harrier) and fending off an airborne villain named the Vulture (Michael Keaton). The world is still in danger in Homecoming , of course, but it’s hard to get too consumed about all that when you still don’t have a date for the homecoming dance.

Watts and his five(!) co-writers establish the movie’s free-swinging vibe early on, as 15-year-old Parker enthusiastically keeps the peace in his native Queens, where he recovers stolen bicycles and helps his neighbors, while also trying to convince Stark that he’s Avengers material. Holland is swell here—not quite as emo as Tobey Maguire, nor as smart-alecky as Andrew Garfield. That’s not a knock on either, but Holland’s smart-kid goofiness makes him the most realistically awkward Peter Parker by far.

We’ve seen Spidey’s origin story twice now in the movies, and Homecoming wisely skips it, as well as the ponderous “With great power…” speechifying that’s so embedded in the hero’s DNA. Instead, Peter and his buddy Ned (Jacob Batalan) start out having a blast with his new powers: At one point, Ned begs to be “the guy in the chair,” the computer-jockeying assistant every superhero needs. In these early moments, Homecoming feels less like a costumed-crusader tale than an ‘80s high-school comedy, the kind of movie where a character intones, “This is going to change our lives”—but instead of talking about some powerful new gadget, he’s just trying to get himself psyched for a party at the cool kid’s house.

That easygoing feeling changes, though, when Keaton shows up. His Vulture character starts out as Adrian Toomes, a working-class industrial cleaner-upper who’s tasked with picking up after the Avengers’ mess, and steals some high-tech weaponry along the way. He then turns plunderer-profiteer, dressing up in a cool, Condorman -indebted flying-bird outfit in order to steal more toys and build his empire. As fun as his Vulture get-up is—and as dazzling it is to watch him tangle with Spider-Man mid-air—Keaton’s best moments come when he’s unmasked. Now in his mid-60s, Keaton has the same middle-aged irritability of his old Batman foe Jack Nicholson, and his creased face and bomber-jacket attire give him a look of dad-gone-bad coolness. He’s one of the more memorable summer-movie villains in recent years, and proof that with great glower, comes great possibilities.

Like pretty much every other Marvel movie in recent years, Homecoming culminates with a clankering, overly noisy third-act showdown that overstays its welcome. But by then, we’ve also witnessed a sleek rescue operation at the Washington Monument; a series of wonderfully withering putdowns courtesy of classmate Michelle (a spot-on sardonic Zendaya) and a third-act reveal that’s so deftly delivered, you barely have time to gasp. In fact, there are pleasant surprises scattered throughout; if you want in on the fun, you may want to stay off the film’s IMDb page. As Hollywood doubles down on the reboot biz, Homecoming is proof that even a story that’s been told countless times before can be spun into something at once intimate and universal. For two hours, you’ll have a great time being the gal (or the guy) in the chair.

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Spider-Man: Homecoming

Peter Parker tries to stop Adrian 'The Vulture' Toomes from selling weapons made with advanced Chitauri technology while trying to balance his life as an ordinary high school student. Peter Parker tries to stop Adrian 'The Vulture' Toomes from selling weapons made with advanced Chitauri technology while trying to balance his life as an ordinary high school student. Peter Parker tries to stop Adrian 'The Vulture' Toomes from selling weapons made with advanced Chitauri technology while trying to balance his life as an ordinary high school student.

• Jonathan Goldstein
• John Francis Daley
• Tom Holland
• Michael Keaton
• Robert Downey Jr.
• 1.4K User reviews
• 568 Critic reviews
• 73 Metascore
• 8 wins & 10 nominations

Top cast 99+

• Peter Parker …

• Adrian Toomes …

• Tony Stark …

• Happy Hogan

• Pepper Potts

• Aaron Davis

• Herman Schultz …

• Anne Marie Hoag

• Coach Wilson

• Principal Morita

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Which Actors Almost Played Spider-Man?

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Did you know

• Trivia In an interview from 2013, while promoting his upcoming film, How I Live Now (2013) , Tom Holland was asked by a reporter what kind of role he might want to try next. When Holland replied, saying a project with action and humor would be of interest to him, the reporter asked if he would ever like to play a superhero. "Maybe Spider-Man, in ten years time," answered Holland. "The reboot of the reboot, if they do that."
• Goofs (at around 39 mins) It is established multiple times in dialogue that Liz's house party is held on a Friday night, yet Peter and Ned have school the next day.

Ned Leeds : Peter, are you okay?

Spider-Man : Yeah. Just keep trying to get through to Happy.

Ned Leeds : It's been an honor, Spider-Man.

[library lights turn on]

Ms. Warren : What are you doing here? There's a dance.

Ned Leeds : Uh...

[quickly shuts his laptop]

Ned Leeds : [awkwardly] I'm... looking... at porn.

• Crazy credits At the end of the closing credits, there is a Public Service Announcement by Captain America on patience.
• Connections Featured in Fuck You, It's January!!!: Fuck You, It's Forever!!! (2017)
• Soundtracks Theme from Marvel's Avengers Written by Alan Silvestri

User reviews 1.4K

• BA_Harrison
• Jul 3, 2019
• Does this film take place after 'Captain America: Civil War'?
• Who is the main villain in this film?
• Is there a post-credit scene?
• July 7, 2017 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
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• Spider-Man: De regreso a casa
• Berlin, Germany
• Columbia Pictures
• Marvel Studios
• Pascal Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $175,000,000 (estimated)
• $334,952,829
• $117,027,503
• Jul 9, 2017
• $880,944,210

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 13 minutes
• Dolby Atmos
• 12-Track Digital Sound
• IMAX 6-Track

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Spider-Man: Homecoming Review

07 Jul 2017

133 minutes

Spider-Man: Homecoming

In the late 1980s, Marvel began a run of comic books called Damage Control , about the underpaid, overworked schmoes charged with cleaning up the mess made by superhero battles. This series is relevant to _Spider-Man: Homecomin_g for two reasons. Firstly, it inspired the movie’s villain, flying crook the Vulture (Michael Keaton), who starts out as a blue-collar construction guy sifting through the rubble left behind at the end of Avengers Assemble .

Watch the 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' trailer below

Secondly, and more crucially, it seems to have set the vibe for the first Spider-film made with Marvel’s direct creative input. This Peter Parker is perpetually on the fringes of something more exciting — less a noble lad discovering his inner hero than a dweeby kid desperate to get into the party around the corner. And, ditching the angst and sludgy plotting of the last few films, Homecoming is easily the best Spider-Man film since Sam Raimi’s operatic Spider-Man 2 .

In no small part this is due to it starring the best screen Spider-Man so far. Nimble and shrimpy (though weirdly buff once he removes his shirt), Tom Holland’s Parker is hugely endearing from his first scene, shooting a video diary of the airport fight from Captain America: Civil War on his phone. He’s barely in control of his powers and appealingly lame. One scene in which he turns up at a party hoping to hook up with cool classmate Liz (Laura Harrier) feels like a superhero Superbad : it’s a refreshing spin on the comic-book-movie template, and nice to have a film this big not afraid to frequently keep things small.

The director, Jon Watts, is making the leap from a small film himself: 2015’s nifty thriller Cop Car . The lightness of touch he demonstrated there is here in spades, with a genius Ferris Bueller’s Day Off joke and even the big action sequences (the standout being a Washington Monument rescue) peppered with sharp gags. The performances he gets out of the young cast are sweet and sparky. And just as Cop Car pitted kids against an adult evildoer in Kevin Bacon’s corrupt lawman, Watts works the same dynamic here, as Peter butts heads with the intimidating Adrian Toomes, aka the Vulture.

It’s a refreshing spin on the comic-book-movie template.

This winged bastard, complete with a furry-collared bomber jacket making him look at least a little vulture-esque, is far from Marvel’s most interesting villain, though it’s nice to have a baddie who’s just out to make some cash rather than drop cities on people’s heads. Despite Keaton’s best efforts, and being described by another character as “a psychopath dressed like a demon”, the human bird of prey is only mildly compelling, and the duke-it-out, CGI-heavy action finale between him and Parker drags somewhat. But the Vulture does provide the movie with some cool sci-fi trimmings: Toomes has adapted the Chitauri alien tech he’s found into a variety of amazing weapons. Fortunately, Peter has his own new tech, courtesy of a suit (two words: web grenades) gifted to him by his Avenger mentor Tony Stark.

Much has been made of the injection of MCU characters into Spider-Man’s until-now hermetically sealed world. The makers of Homecoming had a tricky tightrope to walk: over-Marvel the pudding and it becomes another Avengers movie, but underdo it and it’s just another Spidey reboot. The balance is pretty much spot-on, with the familiar faces treated as sprinkles on the ice cream sundae. Robert Downey Jr. literally phones in most of his performance, but in the best possible way. And there is a recurring cameo from another superhero which gets progressively funnier as the film goes on. Peter Parker geeks out every time one of them swings into a scene. It’s likely you will, too.

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Review: 'spider-man: homecoming' is the best marvel film in years.

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NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 25: 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Photo Call at the Whitby Hotel on June 25, 2017 in ... [+] New York City. (Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images)

Like many people, Spider-Man is by far my favorite superhero. Rather than the typical statuesque demigod, he’s a nerd whose weird side-hobby isolates him from the crowd. Everyone who’s ever felt like an outsider relates to Spider-Man, which is to say, everyone.

Spider-Man helped start the superhero trend, and it’s been frustrating to watch the character decline after hitting the spectacular heights of Spider-Man 2 . And knowing that he’d be integrated into the Marvel machine, that Homecoming was hobbled together by no less than six different screenwriters , I assumed this was going to be a polished piece of marketing rather than a great story.

But I’m delighted to say I was wrong; this might just be my favorite Marvel movie ever, even eclipsing the original Iron Man . While I always found Marvel’s cinematic universe interesting, I didn’t find The Avengers to be a particularly great movie; it was a fun blockbuster, no more and no less. It was Civil War that really took advantage of the shared universe by setting all these characters against each other in a conflict that felt genuine, a clash of perspective rather than another vague world-ending threat.

But in Homecoming , the Marvel universe finally feels alive. I like to criticize Marvel for being overly formulaic, but their recent efforts prove that they’re putting real thought into the wider implications of their interconnected mega-franchise. Homecoming begins during the cleanup of the invasion of New York that took place in during The Avengers , asking the question; what happened to all those broken pieces of alien tech lying around the city? As Civil War proved, considering the consequences of these apocalyptic battles is so much more interesting than just moving on to the next city-destroying set piece.

Peter Parker grew up during the aftermath of the New York attack, and naturally, he’s an Avengers fanboy, a gifted high-schooler desperate to join the legendary superhero team, like a young musician who yearns to become a celebrity. His fellow classmates are busy debating which Avenger is hotter, Captain America stars in embarrassing educational videos; after years of careful world-building, this universe feels real.

Thankfully, at no point do we witness a radioactive spider bite. This, and Uncle Ben’s death, have become as tiresome as the death of the Waynes. I never want to see a string of pearls fall on the floor of a dark alleyway again, and likewise, we all know Spider-Man’s origin off by heart.

But Homecoming finds a way to remix the “great power, great responsibility” theme by casting Tony Stark as the authority figure infuriated at Peter’s misuse of his expensive new Spidey-suit, which comes equipped with enough bells and whistles to take down an army.

Iron Man plays a vital role, but he is used with admirable restraint. His presence is really felt offscreen; this is Spider-Man’s story, not Avengers-lite. That being said, the awkward father/son dynamic between the two heroes is hilarious, and persistent rumors that Downey Jr. is going to walk away soon make me sad. This crazy world of magic and weird science is going to feel pretty empty without him.

But Homecoming has enough colorful personalities to stand on its own. Peter’s best friend is a superhero fanboy who practically speaks for the audience. Aunt May has evolved from a helpless old lady into the sexy, sassy Marisa Tomei, a character who Peter can actually relate to rather than spending his life hiding from.

There’s far more of an emphasis on comedy, and on character, than the majority of the superhero fare out there. Peter’s high school struggles feel more weighty than his crime-fighting, and that’s exactly the way it should be.  

Much of what always made Spider-Man’s action sequences interesting comes from the fact that he’s comparatively underpowered, constantly struggling against foes that are clearly much tougher than him. In this incarnation, he’s downright clumsy. He hasn’t gotten the hang of this hero thing yet, and he spends much of the film doing what a teenager does best; making huge mistakes and damaging property.

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is excitable and starry-eyed, not quite the loser Maguire was, not the witty, confident Garfield, but a boy on the cusp of manhood. Refreshingly, his nighttime patrol is depicted as dull, his role as superhero a dream rather than concrete reality. It’s really hard to just walk down the street and see a felony occur before your very eyes, and Spider-Man has trouble tracking serious crime down. Until him and Michael Keaton’s Vulture cross paths, Spider-Man isn’t really needed in this city of heroes.

And who would have thought that The Vulture would make such a threatening opponent? Keaton provides Marvel with one of their best villains; a blue-collar guy sick of being pushed around by the powers that be, determined to provide for his family, however he can. In a sense, he’s really what Raimi was trying to do with Sandman. The role doesn’t actually give Keaton a whole lot to work with, but in the more intimate scenes between him and Holland, Keaton shines. He's sinister, and yet, deeply human, even sympathetic.

Simply put, Homecoming is the best Spider-Man film in years, on par with the sacred Spider-Man 2, in my opinion. Marvel has certainly proved that Spider-Man is safe in their hands. A couple of interesting twists at the end of the film indicate that Marvel is planning to take their Spider-Man down an unfamiliar path, the only direction to take a character so wildly overused. The idea that he may eventually crawl back into Sony’s arms is nothing short of a travesty. Please, Marvel, keep Spider-Man, and never let him ago.

But whatever you do, don’t reboot him again.

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Review: Spider-Man (Again) and All That Sticky Kid Stuff

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By Manohla Dargis

• June 29, 2017

Sony’s latest Spider-Man movie is kind of like the first and fourth, even if it’s hard to keep track of what happened when in this on-and-off again series. Once more, it spins on Peter Parker (the nice, boyish Tom Holland), a teenager who develops super-skills after he’s bitten by a troublesome spider . The title of the likable, amusing “Spider-Man: Homecoming” indicates that this is a return, though to what exactly? To Queens? To youth? The rest of us can’t go home again, but given that this is the second Spider-Man reboot in 15 years from Sony Pictures it seems Spidey has few other options.

“Homecoming” is more or less about how Peter Parker needs to stay forever young, ideally 15 or so years old. What’s always been most appealing about Spider-Man is that he’s a kid, if one who can spin big, sticky webs and swing from rooftop to rooftop, comparatively rinky-dink talents in the flying, magic-hammering superhero world. What makes Spider-Man different and, ideally, work as a character, giving him an off-kilter charm, is he retains the uncertainties and vulnerabilities of adolescence. For all his super-gifts and despite the weird and dangerous company he keeps, he is also a teenage boy — that’s his Kryptonite, what cuts him down to recognizable human size.

The team behind “Homecoming” certainly gets that Spider-Man is a kid, even if the movie plays the naïf angle too hard at times, making Peter look not just inexperienced but also silly, a borderline dumb cluck. The movie — credited to six writers and directed by Jon Watts — opens sometime after Peter has been bitten. He’s still trying to get his bearings and struggling to figure out the limits of his powers, which is complicated here by the fact that this is the first Spider-Man movie that Sony has made with Marvel Studios. It’s a liaison that has brought Spider-Man into the Marvel worldwide domination machine, which is why he’s being mentored in the way of the superhero by Marvel’s Iron Man, a.k.a. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., who pops in and out).

That machine, known to executives and true believers as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is vast, complicated, lucrative and ever-expanding. It’s also intrinsically uninteresting for viewers (at least one!) who just want a good movie. Marvel has produced a string of movies of wildly divergent quality, but Sony has had a tougher time coming up with regular superhero successes. And so, after stumbling with its first “Spider-Man” resurrection, it cut a deal with Marvel, which is also not inherently interesting. Even so it’s modestly amusing to consider that Sony, much like Peter Parker here, needed help getting off the ground again, and so Marvel stepped in to play its Tony Stark-like guide.

For its initial hour, “Homecoming” moves along breezily enough, though sometimes with too much forced airiness. It works best when it sticks close to Peter and is content to be a light, good-natured story of a teenager who’s navigating through, and often badly fumbling, the competing demands of school, home and his emergent Spidey self. Mr. Holland looks and sounds more like a teenager than the actors who’ve previously suited up for this series, and he has fine support from a cast that includes Jacob Batalon as Peter’s best friend. Other good company includes Donald Glover, as a wrong-time, wrong-place criminal, and Martin Starr, who plays his teacher role with perfect deadpan timing.

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Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

Movie Review – Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

June 30, 2017 by Amie Cranswick

Spider-Man: Homecoming , 2017.

Directed by Jon Watts. Starring Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr., Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyne Daly, Michael Barbieri, Abraham Attah, Hannibal Buress, Kenneth Choi, Angourie Rice, Michael Chernus, Michael Mando, Logan Marshall-Green, Jennifer Connelly, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Chris Evans.

Following his Avengers experience in Germany Peter Parker must go back to school and learn to juggle his secret identity and learn how to be a superhero.

Marvel Studios managed to do the near impossible over these last nine years of films, making a wider audience care enough to watch a bunch of its more second tier characters and make it the biggest franchise in movie history. These films have become more and more about huge, planet saving situations so I’m glad to say that in Spider-Man: Homecoming  the stakes are character driven and it feels so much bigger because of it.

Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is back home following his brief time with the Avengers, and is being groomed by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) with the help of Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) to become a new Avenger  – by taking care of his neighbourhood first, much to Peter’s chagrin. Telling his few friends at school, where he and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) are very much losers, that’s he’s part of the Stark Internship, Peter looks to help but it’s not until the discovery of some highly advanced alien weaponry that he becomes entangled in something far more dangerous.

An underground illegal alien weapons group, led by disgruntled former city contractor Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) as the Vulture in an advanced suit, leads Peter into some much dicier situations than giving an old lady directions. One of the film’s multiple achievements is showing the audience how much Peter has to learn. He seems outmatched by the smart, powerful and determined Vulture and his group even if he feels confident enough to take them on.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is the best balanced and most interesting film in the MCU since Captain America: The Winter Soldier , another film where the personal stakes felt bigger than the overarching Universe as a whole. Tom Holland’s casting was a masterstroke at the time and it has shown here again, with Holland portraying a believable teenager who is awkward, funny and fumbling his way through trying to figure out who he is. Michael Keaton chews up every scene he’s in with aplomb and the Vulture is one of the best Marvel villains to date. He genuinely feels like a man railing against Tony Stark’s elite and just trying to get his piece of the pie, with a nasty enough streak to be threatening and a level of confusion about Spider-Man himself similar to Norman Osborn.

Little-known director Jon Watts and the writing team do a great job of giving all the various characters their moment in the sun. Tony Stark is used sparingly and every time we see him it feels like there’s a purpose, the same with Happy Hogan. Peter’s teenage friends especially Michelle (Zendaya) and Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori) have a couple of the funniest moments in the film. Marisa Tomei is underused in her role as Aunt May but is set up for more in the future.

This truly feels like a film that sits within but also apart from the rest of the MCU, with the small parts of fan service handled well, without them ever detracting or turning off the casual cinema goer. Even the action is toned down compared to what we’ve seen previously, being more coherent and watchable for it. Marvel Studios have taken all the best parts of what they are known for, and brought together a perfect cast with a script that is full of energy, wit and peril to make for the best Spider-Man movie to date.

Flickering Myth Rating   – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Matt Spencer-Skeen – Follow me on Twitter

About Amie Cranswick

Amie Cranswick has been part of Flickering Myth’s editorial and management team for over a decade. She has a background in publishing and copyediting and has served as Editor-in-Chief of FlickeringMyth.com since 2023.

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Spider-Man 4 Director News Gets Excited Reaction From Franchise Star

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One star of Marvel Studios' Spider-Man franchise is excited by the prospect of Destin Daniel Cretton directing Spider-Man 4 . Tony Revolori has come out in support of the Shang-Chi director helming the fourth Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movie.

Speaking with Screen Rant to promote Lego Star Wars: Rebuild The Galaxy , Revolori shared his thoughts on the recent report stating that Cretton is in talks to helm Spider-Man 4 . "Oh, man. I've been a big fan of his since Short Term 12 . He's incredible. I think he's an incredible filmmaker, and he did such a great job with Shang-Chi , and I'm excited," the actor said. "I think he has a young adult sensibility to him , which is so awesome and cool. And I think it's so needed for a character like Spider-Man , so I'm just beyond excited to see him do it. I didn't even know that! This is the first time I'm hearing about it. That's awesome. Great."

Simu Liu Gives Honest Shang-Chi Review on Anniversary of MCU Movie's Debut

Marvel star Simu Liu gets brutally honest with his review and rating of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings for the movie's 3rd anniversary.

Revolori's Flash Thompson has so far appeared in all three Marvel Studios-produced Spider-Man movies — Homecoming (2017), Far From Home (2019), and No Way Home (2021). The latter ended with Flash Thompson being accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the comics, Flash joined the United States Army after graduation, losing both of his legs in the Iraq War. He later operated as the superhero Agent Venom after being bound to the Venom symbiote, which he controls via drugs.

At this time, it is unknown if Marvel Studios and Sony have any plans for bringing the Flash Thompson/Agent Venom storyline to the MCU. However, Revolori has made it known that he wants to continue playing Flash in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, telling Screen Rant, "As for what I could do? Who knows, but to be honest, I would [be] happy to join up with those people again. It was so much fun the first time."

Spider-Man 4 Story Details Reportedly Revealed

Plot details remain under wraps for Spider-Man 4 , which is expected to pick up sometime after the end of No Way Home . The 2021 movie ended with Doctor Strange erasing everyone's memories of Peter Parker to protect the multiverse. With no one to turn to following this massive change, audiences saw Holland's Peter Parker becoming closer to his comic book version, living in a cheap apartment, sewing his own comics-accurate Spider-Man suit , and becoming the friendly neighborhood Wall-Crawler that he has all meant to be.

Release Window for Tom Holland's Spider-Man 4 Reportedly Revealed

The fourth Spider-Man movie from Marvel Studios may hit theaters sooner than expected.

Despite Marvel Studios' plans for a grounded Spider-Man 4 , there's a chance that Maguire and Garfield could return for the sequel, as Sony reportedly wants to make another Multiverse movie featuring all three Spider-Man actors. At this time, it remains unknown which version of Spider-Man 4 will ultimately get made, although Holland is reportedly in favor of a grounded Spider-Man movie.

Spider-Man 4 does not yet have a release date.

Source: Screen Rant

Marvel's Spider-Man

Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 in the Silver Age of Comic Books, and has since gone on to appear in multiple movies, television series and video games.

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