Trailer review: Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017 – Captain America Civil War

Our appetite was whetted in Captain America Civil War, a movie that already, in effect, provided a trailer to Spider-man. The anticipation was unsurmountable. And it did not take much longer for Marvel to release the much awaited trailer for the new Spider-man and even better to confirm that it was for release in no later than 2017. The wait feels like it is over with a preview that takes us through Christmas and 2017 hitting the calendar almost immediately. With a cameo from Tony Stark whose incredible persona works and balances improbably well with Spidy, we cannot help but feel the upcoming treat.

So much so that we almost missed the fact that ex-DC comics’ Batman aka Michael Keaton is a baddy, that a number of hero-formula baddies also show up, that the nerds look like they’re getting a cliché treatment, that Aunt May is a little too young, that there are hints of a a permission request to the audience as to a possible romance between her and post-Pepper Tony, that we are getting a new girl on Pete’s block, to cite only a few question marks…

Trailer review: Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017 – Peter Parker

What a great choice it was to cast Tom Holland as Peter Parker. His voice, the way he speaks, the manner in which he handles himself in and out of his costume, properly reflect the supposed age of his character. Particularly, they convey a young character for whom being a hero is a natural thing to do with the abilities he has acquired but it is still something too awesome to completely understand, the awesomeness, the miracle, the unbelievability of which it remains incredibly difficult to totally fathom.

Spider-man is one of the most interesting characters of the MCU because he is the age of the targeted audience, continually interacts with normality and his real persona, unsheltered by money and big houses like Tony Stark, an “alternate” world like Thor, a team like Natasha and any other Fury sorry Schield agent, members of Fantastic Four (yes I just mentioned them!) or the Avengers. Having to deal with the changes that are happening to him uniquely and originally, the changes as part of his age, the world and what is expected from him as a young man, a pupil and as a superpowered individual are a number of threads of intrigue that weave together into what we hope to be a really well developed, likeable and relatable character. I want to remember my young years and remember why it is great to have been there and why I would never want to go back! lol.

Trailer review: Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017 – Other main characters

Of course, Parker gets a love interest and refreshingly it is neither of the two females whose names are almost now synonymous with Spider-man’s or is it Peter Parker’s self-imposed kryptonite. There is no need to name them here, a simple wiki search will find these. What is good is that this time, the subject appears to be handled in a fresher and more genuine manner.

Tony Stark serves very well to battle this charisma with the overwhelming personality and experience of Robert Downey Jr. paralleling the interaction of the characters they play with those of the actors. Marisa Tomei is a welcomed face even though the choice can be argued, less because of the actress abilities than because of her age.

Trailer review: Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017 – The villain

Michael Keaton?

Let’s first address the use of Michael Keaton as what seems to be the principal bad guy. His acting ability means that I have no doubt he can pull this. My problem is not there. My problem is that Batman is a baddy in the Marvel Universe. Yes, that is what happens when like me you don’t feel that you must be choosing between two competitive fictional universes. I love the MCU (Marvel Universe) and I love the DCU. They both have flops and they both have great movies, beyond what the misunderstandings. The only thing that can salvage this abuse of Batman, sorry Michael Keaton, is a worthy character development, a justifiable grudge (I know, let go already, but sometimes pain needs to be acknowledged even though we highly condemn acknowledgement turning into killing or even hurting others!), a way that we can both sympathise with his character yet condemn his choice of actions and agree to let him be incarcerated by the end, like you would someone out of love for good measure.

A previously played villain?

One of fears I add when thinking of baddies is the way that previous Spider-man movies have handled the revenge of Spider-man. So my question is: are we spared the death of Uncle Ben? That one almost matches the number of times Batman’s parents passed away on screen. As much as we do not tire of the old man’s words “With great power comes great responsibility” especially needed these days, I am sure the writers can find a way of mentioning this without going to deep into exploring the emotional blackmail that the death of his uncle is on Peter or worse scripting the handling of his killer(s).

Vulture

All this to wonder which villain Michael Keaton is going to play. We have had more than enough of the ones attempted previously and so it was a pleasure to find out that the villain this time would be someone we have not seen in the movie versions as yet, i.e.  Adrian Toomes also known as Vulture. The interesting aspect of this villain is the parallels that can easily be made with the hero and how the young Peter Parker’s mind will get into fighting the crime while handling the man that is Toomes. I very much admire the choice of the older villain and the casting of an older actor for this in today’s Hollywood; this might balance out the fact that they felt they had to drop aunt Mae’s age. This character is also less of a caricature than other villains without the need to make him a comics face that would just look absurd on film. He is one the most relatable villain in Spider-Man’s universe and it is what makes him interesting at a pshycological battle level. His strength is in par with our hero so it should be interesting to see a satisfying outcome to their fight, which involves none of Tony’s ex-machina machines, nor convoluted coincidences hinting that God looks after its heroes.

I remember seeing some minor baddies shown arising in situations that looked poor and deja vu and really played heavily against my wanting to see this film. I am guessing though that minor baddies would be the best way to get Spider-man started and would accept this as a natural and inevitable turn of Spider-man’s homecoming as long as it does not linger beyond its welcome.

Trailer review: Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017 – To watch or not to watch

It is easy to now take for granted the time it took for the rights to Spider-Man to be acquired so that we could finally have him as part of the Marvel Universe alongside his fellow heroes.

Captain America Civil War had sold us Spider-man. The new Peter Parker was the real Spider-man and this trailer kept this feeling, placing the young adult in various settings and situations to confirm the realism and freshness of the character. The presence of Tony Stark creates a dynamic that strengthens the character and makes this version more original and even juicier if at all possible. I am still not sure that, with all his great acting, I accept that Michael Keaton could only cross the DC Comics-Marvel divide by appearing as a baddy. I am not looking forward to him in this negative light in this version. I can’t help it. But his character has so much potential if handled well and drawn in parallel Peter Parker. Marisa Tomei is far too young-looking to be a traditional aunt Mae (more of a gran Mae) but it is still and always a pleasure to watch her. We are particularly looking forward to the film having a reason for this that is stronger than the possible hint of romance with Robert Downey Junior’s character. Oh dear. I am hoping a second trailer will soon clarify these things and truly kindle the fire that was lit by Captain America Civil War and the fun tones of the cinematographic trailer.