‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ is spectacular, sensational, and unmissable

The newest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s ever-growing list of interconnected films, Spider-Man: Homecoming, features a friendly neighborhood face, in more ways than one. After three different feature film versions over the span of 15 years, Spider-Man has become a semi-regular presence on the silver screen.

Judging from the past 13 years, however, making a Spider-Man film that both gets the essence of the character and satisfies critics and fans alike seems to have become an equally herculean task.

Right from the get-go, Spider-Man: Homecoming had the odds stacked against it. How could it possibly nail the aspects of Peter Parker’s story that its predecessors did, without feeling like a rehash?

And how could a young and inexperienced Spider-Man shine in a universe where super-soldiers, armored billionaires, and mythological gods deal with world-ending threats on a regular basis?

Fortunately, Spider-Man: Homecoming is a cinematic reflection of its hero’s ability to walk tightropes and leap over obstacles. It wisely forgoes the origin story completely, while cleverly integrating itself into the tapestry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe through flashbacks and references without overdoing it.

It's a small, self-contained fusion of a superhero flick and a teen movie that manages to feel significant without having to drop hints about secret histories, global conspiracies, or yet another Infinity Stone.

We saw Tom Holland’s take on Spider-Man for all of 30 minutes in Captain America: Civil War, and for many fans, this was enough to cement him in their eyes as the definitive silver screen version of the wall-crawler. Spider-Man: Homecoming comes even closer to proving this assertion, as Holland brings just the right mix of humor, agility, youthfulness, scientific brilliance, and earnestness that neither Tobey Maguire nor Andrew Garfield demonstrated during their respective runs.

This is a Spider-Man who has just started his journey towards attaining his full potential; a do-gooder who fails but always gets back up, winning by the skin of his teeth with wits, webbing, and dumb luck. And while some may make light of Michael Keaton’s association with film roles named after flying animals, his Vulture joins Loki (from the Thor movies) and Wilson Fisk (from Netflix’s Daredevil series) among the ranks of Marvel’s greatest on-screen villains: ruthless and terrifying, but with enough complexity to almost make you want to root for him.

Forget whatever misgivings you may have about its deviations from the source material, seemingly spoilery marketing, or overutilization of Iron Man: there’s a very good chance that you’ll be proven wrong, and that you’ll leave the theater grinning from ear to ear. Spider-Man: Homecoming is pure fun from start to finish, an experience comparable to the joy of reading your first comic book.

With a healthy balance of action, drama and humor, Spider-Man: Homecoming proves what we fans have known in our hearts all along: that Marvel’s favorite son—one of the greatest fictional characters of all time—is finally right where he belongs. — BM, GMA News

Spider-Man: Homecoming opens in cinemas on July 6.