You don’t need to be a Spider-Man fan to love Spider-Man: Homecoming. You definitely don’t need to be a Marvel fan to love Spider-Man: Homecoming. You couldn’t choose a better movie to jump on to the MCU bandwagon if you aren’t on it already. And as a Spider-Man fan for the last 28 years all I can say is, welcome home Spidey! Here is why it was such a “Homecoming”.

It doesn’t have an origin story. Thank god! I mean, even those who have never read a Spider-Man comic book know how he gets his powers so it is great that Jon Watts skips that part. We don’t even get a lowdown on what exactly his powers are, and that’s okay. Oh! Also, no mention of Uncle Ben. Hallelujah!

You don’t have to be well-versed with the Marvel Universe to grasp the story. Of course there are tie-ins, many of them. But they are handled so smartly — for example (not a spoiler since you’ve seen a part of it in the trailer) bits of the tarmac fight in Captain America: Civil War, where Spider-Man is first introduced, is seen as a shot footage — and handed out in balanced doses. This Spider-Man is very much one of the audience and has grown up watching all that the Avengers have done and is somewhat a fanboy, and that’s a great way to tie-in the MCU. This is not an Avengers movie, even though Iron Man and Cap (you’ll laugh so hard at this) turn up.

Which brings me to the next point. There isn’t actually as much Tony Stark in the film as we were made to believe by the trailers. That is my second ‘hallelujah’ moment. Stark fans, don’t get ornery. He still gets some fantastic lines. But I am just glad that this film was very much Spider-Man’s, and was not taken over by the ‘genius billionaire playboy philanthropist in a suit’. 

And finally, finally, it is a movie that is very much about the friendly neighbourhood web-slinger. You know, the guy who is a high-schooler who is nerdy and awkward but funny; the one who has to handle teenage drama (and not just pining for Mary Jane) along with his super-powers. Peter Parker loves being a superhero but it creates friction with his Decathlon team. He can’t approach the girl he admires, even though she is crushing “a little bit” on Spider-Man. And he’d rather be the friendly neighbourhood guy than a big hero saving the world. The best parts of the film are the ones where he is doing exactly that — stopping a bicycle from being stolen, helping a lady with directions, riding atop a moving train. Then there are the places where he is being a normal teenage boy making goo-goo eyes at the girl he likes, hanging out with his friend, and building a Lego Death Star. It’s great the film focuses on these small things rather than the spectacular web-slinging action.  

The casting of Tom Holland as Peter Parker is perfect. He is effortless both as a superhero on a mission and the teenager with a crush. He nails the frustrated superhero who wants to make a difference but feels he’s being treated like a child by Tony Stark and not being called on missions with the Avengers. He is funny as the superhero who is still discovering his capabilities. We couldn’t have wished for a better version.

Then there is Jacob Batalon who plays Peter’s school friend Ned. He lifts the film to a different level. His face when he discovers Peter is Spidey? Priceless. His reactions thereafter? Even more so. Oh, the questions he asks! “Can you spit venom?” he asks during a lab experiment, “do you lay eggs” he asks at another time, or “can you summon an army of spiders”. And he’s always got his buddy’s back. I so want him as my “chair guy”.

The humour is another point in the film’s favour. It is effortlessly funny and not all of it is the slapstick version of Dr. Strange, nor is it the sarky version of the Iron Man films. I haven’t laughed this hard during a movie since Deadpool.  

Michael Keaton’s Toomes/The Vulture may not be as magnificent as Doctor Octopus (he is still my favourite villain from the Spidey movies) but he is definitely very different from the usual supervillains. His villain is not an experiment gone wrong or driven by revenge or the result of a serum. He is a villain because he needs to “keep a roof over his family”. His desire isn’t world domination but sticking it to the wealthy. And while The Vulture is meh (we’ve seen many such costumed villains and CGI-driven final showdowns like this one before), Toomes is chilling. 

P.S. Stay for the end credit scene. No, seriously. Stay for it. *wink*

Chandreyee Chatterjee