I am not as big a fan of the Marvel cinematic universe as the rest of the world seems to be. I don't hate the films at all, in fact the majority of the ones I have seen I have enjoyed. But I have only ever seen a handful and have never been impressed enough to rush to the cinema to see them or get fully invested in what is happening in the grander scheme of things. What I am a big fan of though is Spider-Man, or at the very least the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films. I even have a soft spot for Spider-Man 3 (2007) even though I can agree that is is far from being good. Therefore, with the popularity of the MCU and my particular liking for the Spider-man character, why not give Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) a watch. And given the very positive reviews it received upon release I was looking forward to it. And my review is not going to be a contrarian one, I really enjoyed this film. I still think I prefer both Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004) but it is very good. The film has a vlog style opening showing Peter Parker (Tom Holland) recording his journey to and involvement in the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016). After these events he is told to wait for instructions by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and not try to get involved in anything to dangerous. After months of waiting and getting no response off Stark's assistant, Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), he ends up getting himself involved in trying to stop a criminal group using new and powerful weapons, and being lead by the Vulture (Michael Keaton). While doing this he is attempting to keep his school work and social life going, as well impressing his crush, Liz (Laura Harrier), and keeping his secret identity from his Aunt (Marissa Tomei), which leads to him getting into more trouble.
As is to be expected from Marvel films at this point, the special effects in this film are top notch. There are sometimes in films like this where you can really see where the CGI has been used, but in this film it is pretty crisp and flawless throughout. This is probably helped by the films setting and plot being on a smaller scale to many other Marvel films and so there is less CGI needed, but even with this it can't be argued that the CGI that is used is very good. Also, despite the smaller scale of this film the action scenes are all a lot of fun. The plot does allow these action scenes to become more creative as the criminals in the film use alien technology they find to power their weapons and it was a narrative choice that I think adds a lot. The best action scene is one where Peter tracks the criminals to the Staten Island ferry. Although the climax of this scene was spoiled in the films trailer it is still exciting and fun enough in the build up that it doesn't really matter that you know where the scene is going. It is the best action scene in the film not only for how fun it is, but also in how it builds the character of Peter. Within the excitement and exhilaration that the scene instils there is a show of both Peter's recklessness as well as his huge heart and desire to keep people safe. It is brilliant in how it is able to show this within an action scene, as so many action scenes do just have action for the sake of it, and this is down to the writers and the great script that this film has.
The script is probably the strongest part of this film. The performances of both Tom Holland and Michael Keaton are also superb and I couldn't not mention them. Tom Holland is brilliant in his portrayal of Peter, showing his awkwardness, his smarts, his bravery, his shyness and his recklessness all brilliantly, whilst also being very funny throughout. It is probably the best portrayal of Peter Parker and Spider-man on screen. Michael Keaton is unsurprisingly great. His portrayal of the Vulture was the most captivating performance in the film. He is able to be threatening but sympathetic at the same time, and he also achieves in being a really good Marvel villain, which is something they have been criticised for struggling with throughout there films. Every time he was on screen I was engaged, and when it was him and Holland working with each other it was brilliantly entertaining. These performances would not be half as good though if the writing was not as good as it is, and I think it is really good. The film flows really well, never getting boring or feeling as though a scene was unneeded. All the characters are written really well also, with clear personalties and motivations and they were able to elicit the responses that they were meant to from me. The strongest part of the script though is in the comedy. A lot of the Marvel films have some funny lines and great moments of comedy, but this one had me chuckling a lot more than I was expecting and this comedic tone fits perfectly into the smaller scale plot that the film was going for. The writing is pretty spot on throughout and I think a lot of praise needs to go to the writers.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is a really fun and entertaining film and one of the better MCU films out of the few I have seen. The action scenes are all really fun, and the CGI is pretty flawless throughout these scenes. The film is really held up through its great script and two central performances. The script keeps everything moving smoothly,with all the characters and their motivations being clear and obvious, and is also very funny. The performances of Holland and Keaton are both great, with both actors able to portray their characters perfectly and they both left me wanting to see more of them, which means a job well done to both of them. It may not be the best of the MCU films I have seen, with Iron Man (2008) still being my favourite, but it is definitely up there with the better ones and with its sequel coming out later this year I can say for the first time that I am actually excited for an MCU movie. Also, with Avengers: Endgame coming out later this year as well don't be surprised if you see a few more reviews of the MCU on here. After all, with seemingly 95 more Marvel films coming out in the next year and a half I am going to have to catch up sometime.