My Top Five Movies of the Summer: Number Two

My second-favorite movie of the summer of 2017 is Spider-Man: Homecoming. I was excited about this movie since the new incarnation of Peter Parker and his web-slinging alter ego appeared in Captain America: Civil War, and it certainly did not disappoint. I consider this the best of all of the modern incarnations of the cinematic wall crawler for one simple reason: they finally got the sense of humor right.

Goddess

As good as the first two Sam Raimi versions of Spider-Man were (I'm talking Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst), they took themselves a bit too seriously, focusing on the darker aspects of the comics. I admit I never saw the Andrew Garfield/Emma Stone films, so I can't really comment on them other than to say I hate Gwen Stacy and will not pay attention to any of those stories even if my inappropriate crush on Emma Stone happens to be part of it.

In any case, the cool thing about Spider-Man has always been that Peter Parker is an unpopular nerd who gets to be a smart-mouth, smart-ass, kick-ass super hero. That's the part that young British actor Tom Holland nails. Peter is a completely nervous, anxious, nerdy little science guy until he puts on the Spidey suit. Being Spider-Man sets him free in a brave, nervy, don't-give-a-shit way that any teenage boy would react upon getting such awesome powers. Plus, he's smart as hell and braver than anyone else his age could ever dare to be. This movie gets that.

That's not Beetlejuice.

What's even better is the villain who plays opposite our hero, the Vulture, portrayed with chilling menace by Michael Keaton, who's proving to age better than a Napoleonic Brandy as an actor. He personifies the charismatic menace of Jack Nicholson without all the attendant baggage that Nicholson comes with (which is mostly not his fault but a result of his iconic status that lends itself so well to parody). Keaton is outright terrifying in this role because he's so ordinary; we can identify with his sense of outrage and understand why he's chosen the path he's gone down. Under different circumstances, the Vulture could have been the hero; in this film, we really believe that he would straight up murder a fifteen-year-old boy without giving it a second thought.

Nailed it!

Tom Holland captures all the right notes of both Peter Parker and Spider-Man, and he's so authentic in both aspects of the role. Equally appealing is his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and his oh-so-close-but-not-quite crush Liz (Laura Harrier). My favorite change was making his Aunt May the still-sexy-at-50-something Marisa Tomei, who makes it necessary to create the acronym "AILF" in this role. She also gets the funniest line of the entire movie just before the credits roll.

The other thing that makes this movie work so well is that it's now an official part of the Marvel Extended Universe and ties Spidey in with the Avengers. I thought John Favreau was hilarious as the impatient and put-upon Happy Hogan, and let's be honest, Robert Downey, Jr., can do no wrong these days as Tony Stark. I really could die satisfied if he simply spends the rest of his career as Tony/Iron Man. I know he won't do that, of course, being as talented as he is, but whatever Disney/Marvel needs to pay him to keep coming back...well, we know they have more money that the GDP of Earth, so write that fat check, guys!

The only thing I didn't like was Zendaya as Michelle, who we learn toward the end prefers to be called "MJ." If you want to exclude Mary Jane Watson from the movie entirely, I can understand that from a creative standpoint. However, I am a purist when it comes to Mary Jane. Stop trying to change her into a different character. She's a gorgeous redhead and the love of Peter Parker's life. Cast the right actress and let the magic happen, Marvel. Trying to change Peter and MJ is like trying to meddle with the romance between Superman and Lois Lane. Some things are just right, and messing around with them is just wrong.

In any case, I think those complaints are minor issues in the light of a movie that was both as funny and as exciting as anything so far in the MEU, and it far exceeded its Marvel cousin this summer, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. I'm not sure if Spidey will return in his own sequel or the next Avengers movie, but whichever comes first, I'm camping out to be at the first showing.