“Peter Parker tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens with his superhero alter-ego Spider-Man, and must confront a new menace prowling the skies of New York City.” —IMDB

It took forever to see this movie. You may think that since I work at the theater, I get to see the movies, but that is not the case. I do not get to see the movies when I am working, and after a hard-long weekend, the last thing on my mind is going to the movies. So just keep that in mind the next time you ask the person selling you the tickets if they have seen the movie yet.

However, that is way beside the point (just a little tidbit on why it took so long). Admittedly, I was a little on edge with seeing the movie because I loved all the previous films (Spider-Man 3 excluded) and it just personally annoyed me that they were rebooting the franchise…again. I did understand the change with Spider-Man returning to Marvel and the need to tie it into the MCU. Which is part of the reason I was going to give this film a chance. The biggest reason I was going to see this movie was because of Micheal Keaton as Vulture. That man was Batman! Moreover, Keaton made the Vulture look like such a cool villain in the movie. However, I will get to it.

The story was well thought out, and it captured the young vibe of Spider-Man bringing in young audiences and old into the fandom. The story looks at Spider-Man through the lens of being that friendly neighborhood spider-man that I do not feel the previous films focused on. This film gravitates towards that giving the film a lighter and younger feel to it as it works towards building up a younger version of the character everyone is familiar with on the big screen. In that respect it is fresh, and the direction of the film evolves the character from a kid who wants so badly to be one of the grown-ups to taking a moment and breathe in the fact that he is just a kid. There’s growth to the film, and that is also something that wasn’t prevalent in the previous films. There was certainly growth between the films but not in any one individual film, and that is sort of what makes this film special. From the video recording at the beginning of the film to his need to be the hero he wants to be, the story tapped into Spider-Man’s fun persona very well.

As for the actors, they got into who their characters were. Holland made a good Spider-Man. He captured the fun persona of the character making his performance just fun to watch. Moreover, the additional cast made the dynamics of the film, the structure of the film allows the film to keep that grounded feel of the film. Then there is Michael Keaton who is just amazing! Being honest, in the comic, the Vulture does not impress me as a villain. However, in film, the writing combined with the way the movie brought him to life with the help of the crew and cast was simply amazing. It is such a great way to bring to life this character and the way Keaton portrayed him was amazing!

All in all, I was impressed with the film, and I am happy that I got the chance to see it on the big screen. (★★☆☆ | B+)

—Film Credits—

Directed by Jon Watts

Screenplay by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers

Story by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley

Based on Spider-Man by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko

Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Tyne Daly, Marisa Tomei & Robert Downey Jr.

Rating | Length | Genre: PG-13 | 2h 13min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing