Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Starring Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Zendaya, Laura Harrier, Jacob Batalan, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, Chris Evans, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Robert Downey, Jr.

Directed by Jon Watts

Written by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers

Summary (in 500 words or less):  After the events of Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) - AKA Spider-Man - returns to New York where he wants to officially join the Avengers, but is told by Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) that he is not ready.  Peter returns to high school while fighting minor crimes in the city underneath the Spider-Man outfit.  At the same time, Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) is incredibly angry after the Department of Damage Control reneges on the deal his salvage company had received to continue clean-up of the Battle of New York (which was seen in the original "The Avengers" movie).  Toomes had already uncovered several pieces of extraterrestrial paraphernalia and has discovered that he can utilize them to create advanced weapons.  Eventually, the worlds of Peter Parker and Adrian Toomes will combine as Parker attempts to prove to Tony Stark that he deserves to be an Avenger.

• Undoubtedly the best Spider-Man movie to date, Spider-Man: Homecoming is a fun ride, filled with some great performances and a bad guy in Adrian Toomes - AKA The Vulture - who feels based in reality as opposed to being some maniacal supervillain hellbent on the destruction of Earth.
• Despite having storylines being built upon from previous Marvel films, I couldn't help when watching this to think that this would be a great introduction into the Marvel Universe for a young kid.  There's something refreshingly innocent about the proceedings.
• Sure, there may have been a sextet of screenwriters for this one -- a number which usually doesn't bode well for things -- but this group manages to create a balance between typical Marvel tropes and a 1980s John Hughes-ian vibe which the screenwriters and director Jon Watts admitted they were going for.
• Tom Holland is absolutely engaging as Peter Parker and actually feels like a high school kid which is something the previous iterations could never quite manage.  His classmates -- Zendaya, Laura Harrier, Jacob Batalan, and more -- help to create a humorous and realistic high school atmosphere that doesn't feel fake, but also doesn't feel outside the realm of the Marvel Universe itself.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+