Sony's "Spider-man: Homecoming" gave advanced screenings for critics who largely favored this iteration of the wall-crawling superhero franchise. This reboot stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, and Michael Keaton as the villain Vulture.
Currently, the movie has a 93 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, the review aggregator website. Here are what some of the critics had to say.
Sandy Schaefer of Screen Rant wrote, "Spider-Man: Homecoming works as both a (very) funny high school comedy/drama and strong standalone superhero movie set in the MCU."
The director Jon Watts was noted as saying that he wanted to focus on the high school life of Peter and his relationships in that setting. Watts drew inspiration from the coming-of-age films of director John Hughes like "The Breakfast Club," "Pretty in Pink," and "Sixteen Candles." He even let his young cast watch a marathon of those films to get inspired and prepared before filming.
Stephanie Zacharek of Time Magazine wrote, "It's a relief to see a superhero engaged in deeply human activities, like getting ready for a date. ... This Spider-Man is still just a kid, after all, and he has no energy for existential angst — just dealing with hormones is enough."
The past "Spider-Man" movies starring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield had higher stakes as they battled their foes like the Green Goblin (William Dafoe) and Lizard (Rhys Ifans). Both movies also explored the death of Peter's Uncle Ben who was played by Cliff Robertson and Martin Sheen.
Watts opted not to retread Uncle Ben's death and went for Peter's high school storyline instead. This gave the movie a lighter and less angsty tone which can be seen from the reviews.
J.R. Kinnard from Pop Matters expressed, "This is a lighthearted lark that functions as both a standalone feature, as well as an endlessly entertaining entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe."
Get ready for "Spider-Man: Homecoming" when he arrives in cinemas on July 7.
