Review #1,225: 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' (2017)

Marvel fans rejoiced when the announcement was made that Cinematic Universe overseer Kevin Feige had managed to reclaim the movie rights to one of their most beloved and iconic characters, Spider-Man. Along with Bryan Singer's X-Men, Sam Raimi's Tobey Maguire-starring Spider-Man trilogy laid the foundations for the modern superhero movie and proved that comic-books aren't just for nerds. After constant meddling by Sony, Spider-Man 3 was a convoluted mess, and although it raked in the cash at the box-office, plans for a fourth instalment were put on ice. The plan was later scrapped entirely in favour of a reboot with Andrew Garfield, which was also cancelled after its sequel made the same mistakes that saw Raimi's Spider-Man 3 receive a critical mauling.

Marvel cast British actor Tom Holland in the role, and he was quickly heralded as the best Peter Parker yet when he debuted in last year's Captain America: Civil War, and Feige revealed that a standalone reboot was coming soon. The thought of a second reboot just 5 years after the last one naturally had people sceptical, but Holland's exciting cameo also raised hopes. While it certainly doesn't reach the lofty humanist heights of Raimi's Spider-Man 2 (still one of the best comic-book movies ever made), Homecoming - a title that works on two levels - is bloody good fun. Taking Parker all the way back to high school as an overeager 15 year old, with detention, hormones and the homecoming dance as much of a concern to our hero as the villain flying around with alien technology, the film shares just as much in common with the classic John Hughes movies of the 1980s than it does with anything starring Iron Man, Thor or the Hulk.

Having proved himself to Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) by stealing Captain America's shield and helping topple Paul Rudd's Giant-Man during the events of Civil War, Peter Parker now waits eagerly by the phone for a call from Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan to announce his next mission. Only Stark would prefer that he remains a friendly, neighbourhood Spider-Man for the time being, but Parker's eagerness to prove himself and struggle to truly control his powers see him taking on hardened thugs and barely making it out alive. On top of juggling his new responsibilities (thankfully we are spared the Uncle Ben speech this time around), he awkwardly courts the pretty Liz (Laura Harrier), receives abuse from rich douchebag Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori), and must prevent chubby best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) from revealing his superhero alter-ego to the rest of the school. Ned quite rightly believes that the revelation is their ticket to climb the high school cool hierarchy, and Liz naturally has a crush on her local masked vigilante.

A world away from Marvel's previous supervillain Ego the Living Planet (no pun intended), whose masterplan spanned the entire universe, Homecoming's big bad is in the form of working man Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton). Talking in a thick New York accent and favouring a baseball cap and a hoodie, Toomes is introduced cleaning up the mess left by Loki and his Chitauri army during the climax of 2012's The Avengers, only to watch as his contract is snatched away by Stark and his billions. He doesn't leave empty-handed though, as he manages to smuggle some alien technology away and form a lucrative, and highly illegal, arms business. He also has a formidable suit made for him, allowing him to soar through the sky on razor-sharp wings, dubbing him the Vulture. After a number of forgettable Marvel villains, Toomes brings to mind Alfred Molina's three-dimensional and incredibly sympathetic Doc Ock, and Keaton has fun with the role, proving a menacing presence during a particularly tense car journey on the way to the homecoming dance, in what is undoubtedly the film's standout moment.

The likes of Thor would be able to take out Toomes with the blink of an eye, but his family-first motivation and distrust of the rich and powerful ground the movie, and helps make Homecoming Marvel's smallest and most intimate entry since Ant-Man. While the climax does deliver a routine smash-em-up CGI fest that director Jon Watts doesn't seem experienced enough to handle, the film mainly avoids the usual superhero tropes and rarely shifts its focus away from Parker, who is played with irresistible charm and athleticism by Holland. There's an endearing playfulness in the smaller moments, particularly in the dynamic between Holland and scene-stealer Batalon. Having watched Watts's previous film Cop Car recently, it now seems obvious why Marvel placed so much trust in a director so clearly adept in handling young relationships. Homecoming continues the recent trend of proving that superhero movies don't necessarily need to be superhero movies: They can also be a high school comedy, or a violent western. Was a second reboot for a character only introduced to the big screen 15 years ago justified? Somehow, yes.


Directed by: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Zendaya, Tony Revolori
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #763: 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' (2014)

Those who turn their nose up at the thought of another fussily-filmed, wildly colourful journey into the world and mind of Wes Anderson, will no doubt detest his latest, and arguably most perfect work, The Grand Budapest Hotel. His work is criticised by his haters for being too meticulously structured, his camera limited to sideways and occasionally upwards movements, festooned with bold colours, always leading to that dreaded, overused word - 'quirky'. Yet this is a world a sly wit, of characters so ridiculous and charming that you could wish they would replace the monotonous bores that litter our reality, and one in which Bill Murray is omnipresent.

In the pink, mountainous haven of the picturesque, fictitious European country of Zubrowka, sits the Grand Budapest Hotel. In it's heyday, the hotel was meticulously managed by Monsieur Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes), a charismatic, perfume-wearing horndog, who knew all about what his guests wanted before they even knew they wanted it. On the day that one of his elderly conquests, Madame D. (Tilda Swinton), leaves the hotel, he meets new lobby boy Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), and immediately begins to groom him as his possible successor. When he hears of Madame D's death, Gustave and Zero travel to her mansion to hear the reading of her will.

She leaves Gustave a piece of priceless art, something heavily resented by Madame's two evil, leather-jacketed sons, Dmitri (Adrien Brody) and Jopling (Willem Dafoe), who don't wish to see this lecherous lothario receive a dime. Sensing trouble, Gustave and Zero steal the painting, replace it with some kind of grotesque lesbian erotica, and flee. This sets in motion a series of farcical events involving a prison escape, an apologetic police officer named Henckels (Edward Norton), a missing butler, and the rise of fascism. All of this is told by an ageing Zero (F. Murray Abraham) to a curious writer credited only as 'The Author' (Jude Law).

What it all about, you ask? Possibly nothing. This could all be just a splurge of the director's imagination, or a hark back to the grand eccentrics of the olden days. It could be about the state of Europe between the two World Wars, with the Grand Budapest Hotel a multi-national asylum for all of the continent's misfits. But the setting simply seems too fitting for it's comedic approach for it to be labelled with any kind of 'war' or 'period' label, with bursts of slapstick and comedy-of-manners worthy of Lubitsch, punctured by ridiculous exclamations from it's hyperactive concierge. When he hears about an enemy's dastardly plan, he responds "the fuckers!".

So, I don't quite know what it's all about. What I do know is that I loved every second of watching it's ludicrous story play out, anchored by an outstanding performance by Fiennes. He may seem an odd choice for an Anderson film, whose films are usually littered with the likes of Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, and Bill Murray (all of whom appear here), but his Gustave is Anderson's greatest creation, brought fearlessly and completely to life by Fiennes. He's certainly no spring chicken, but he's a strange delight to spend 100 minutes with. And that's really how I felt about the entire experience, it was certainly strange, but utterly delightful.


Directed by: Wes Anderson
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jude Law, Jeff Goldblum, Mathieu Amalric, Harvey Keitel
Country: USA/Germany

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie