Young British actor Tom Holland made an extremely memorable entrance into the MCU in last years blockbuster Captain America: Civil War, slipping easily into the role of Spiderman and instantly becoming an extremely lovable version of the character. Finally we have a solo Spiderman film, and it does not disappoint.
Holland is the perfect Peter Parker; he's upbeat and irrepressible, and despite the young age of the character (only 15) he is an engaging protagonist who is able to stand strongly on his own. The rapport between him and Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man is excellent, and it was a good choice to include him in this film. Surprisingly, Tom Holland is not overshadowed even by RDJ's superb performance. This is mostly because he gets a relatively small amount of screen time. There is a good amount of Iron Man included, but this is first and foremost a Spiderman film and the focus is rightfully placed on him.
It was also a good move to de-power Peter for half of this film. The suit made by Stark for him is incredibly impressive, providing him with an array of awesome abilities and serves to show us Peter's potential as a superhero. But having it taken away also shows us what he's capable of by himself. It proves that he isn't reliant upon other superheroes and establishes the character as an effective hero in his own right, which is especially important for Holland's Spiderman given that he's automatically being compared to both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.
Michael Keaton gives what is easily the most standout performance as Vulture, the films antagonist. Arguably Vulture is one the best supervillains we've seen recently. Partly due to Keaton's outstanding performance and also because he's a very well written character. For once a decent amount of time is devoted to developing the villain's character and portraying his origins and motives. Vulture isn't a generic villain who runs on cliches, he's quite a relatable character with a normal family life and who acts out of perceived necessity in order to make a living. And that is something relatively uncommon in a supervillain, and part of what makes Homecoming such a great film.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is a brilliant addition to the Marvel franchise, and a fantastic first solo outing for Tom Holland's Spiderman. A wonderfully fun film with great performances from Robert Downey Jr. and Michael Keaton.
