Spider-Man: Homecoming

You'd think with this being the sixth (!) Spider-Man film featuring a third rendition of the character, that this franchise and character would be stale by now. Not so, as director Jon Watts and screenwriters John Francis Daly and Jonathan Goldstein join actor Tom Holland to craft the most accurate and human version of the character yet, in what is possibly the best Spider-Man film ever made.

Enthusiasts of Sam Raimi's first two films (we never talk about Spider-Man 3) will be up in arms with this statement, but I count myself among those enthusiasts. Spider-Man: Homecoming perfectly captures the very essence of the character, his insecurities and his genuine aspirations when it comes to being a superhero. Daly and Goldstein do a great job of weaving the character within the continuity of the MCU, rooting Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes/Vulture in the events of The Avengers, which provided great character motivation for the villain.

However, in their weaving of the Spider-Man mythos into the MCU, the opening scenes had a few pacing issues and I had a hard time keeping my interest. It's when Peter first dons his outfit and an excellent montage portrays him swinging around Queens, helping people and interacting with them that I really began enjoying the film. The film portrays Peter as eager to run around as Spidey, as he runs out of school the moment the bell rings.

And Holland is so great. I loved his performance in Captain America: Civil War but it's relatively one-note compared to his performance here. He's so fleshed out and feels like Peter himself jumped out from the comic pages. The usual Parker luck is on display here, and it feels a lot more natural than contrived stress. He can sometimes be the maker of his own misfortunate, and the film has no problem portraying himself as out of his element.

Everything from the score to the cinematography to the supporting cast were top notch here. If Marvel keeps this up, this can easily be their flagship franchise. My worries post-Infinity War have suddenly been quelled.