We know that Marvel needs to incorporate the character into its cinematic universe. Peter Parker is too notable to leave out. I'm happy to admit that for once they got the character right (according to the logistics of him being a sophomore in high school). The movie itself is just as predictable as we might expect from Marvel.
My main groan for this film was having to sit through a third 'origin story,' that narrative in which the awkward and dorky Peter Parker gets bit by a spider, learns to use his powers, makes a suit, and fight a bad guy in the end. Surprisingly, the movie follows the Marvel narrative (after Spidey's debut in the Civil War movie from last year). Parker's already in the suit, he's fighting neighborhood crimes. He knows what to do... Kind of. The movie pairs Peter with Tony Stark (Robery Downey Jr, of course) as Stark mentors the young boy and grooms him to become one of the Avengers. Peter goes about classes just admitting he has an internship with the famed billionaire. His classmates gossip about who their favorite Avenger is. It's funny that in this cinematic universe, the superheroes aren't godly beings that swoop down from heaven. They're discussed the same way we might talk about the President or a famous sports star.
Peter's main high school friend is a lumpy boy named Ned (Jacob Batalon), a nerdy kid who geeks out when he happens to discover his buddy is the famed superhero. He's even more thrilled when they plan on having Spider-Man attend a house party and give Ned a fist bump. They're in high school. There's a sense of shyness and awkward social skills that these two boys have. It feels real. Behind the costume, Peter is still a young boy trying to prove himself to the world. Sometimes even the crooks can see through the rouse.
We have a somewhat clunky villain in Michael Keaton as the Vulture. He's a construction, blue-collar guy who was hired as clean up after the citywide destruction we saw in the first Avengers movie. On the side, he steals alien parts and sets up an underground weapons hub where he sells crystal technology to thugs in and around New York. One thing leads to another and Spider-Man discovers his scheme. Another thing happens and Vulture finds out it's Peter Parker under the costume. Dun-dun-DUN!
I liked a lot of this movie despite my overall tepid attitude towards the superhero fad. I liked Tom Holland as Spidey and his boyish charm that works well in the role. I enjoyed his aunt, May (Marisa Tomei) for being a spunky middle-aged woman who just wants her nephew to be cool. I liked the classmates Peter knows through his knowledge bowl league - geeky, funny, authentic. The parts that missed the mark for me were several: Peter's relationship with Happy (Jon Favreau), Tony Stark's assistant and overall bore. Also tedious was the final battle scene: a duel between Spidey and Vulture on the side of a holographic plane that is nothing but fast cuts and flashing lights (it was virtually unwatchable). Also despised was the "deus-ex-machina" suit that Stark designs for Spider-Man. Despite it being mostly nylon, it comes equipped with a voice-operated computer program (Jennifer Connelly) and hundreds of gadgets for any given situation. When the plot finds Spider-Man lost in the suburbs of Washington DC, the suit tells him the fastest route to get home. When he's face to face with the girl of his dreams, the suit tells him now is the appropriate time to kiss her. Okay.
The movie is fine. I can't grade it as better or worse than Tobey Maguire's version or the two messes that featured Andrew Garfield (terrible films but Garfield was great). The movie functions as a cog in the great wheel that is Marvel cinematic universe. All their films now have the same dry humor. The same plots. The same washed out color palate that lacks all the vibrancy of an actual comic. These films rely on a wit that is written into each character on a script level. It doesn't matter who directs it or who is in the starring role. Marvel churns out these movies with a machine-like efficiency and with predictable results. Maybe Guardians of the Galaxy or Deadpool were so loved because they tried to do something different. Spider-Man isn't a bad movie, but when comparing it to the Marvel universe, it's one step above "Dr Strange" and somewhere shy of great.
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