Spider-Man: Homecoming  3.5***  

     As compared to the other comic book action films &  the other Spider-Man films this movie is a delightful change of pace . It is a " coming of age" movie on 2 different levels . First the boy/man who is Spider-Man( Tom Holland) is only a teenager in high school dealing with all the many challenges that is a part of that age. Since he's something of a nerd he has few friends & even less chances to get the girl he likes. There is his  chubby nerdy friend who is loyal and in time shares his secret but more importantly provides spot on comic relief .

         

Then there he is also as the young & somewhat inexperienced Spider-Man who is learning how to be a super hero . We learn that his powers are somewhat dependent upon his suit & none other the Iron Man (a/k/a Tony Stark played by Robert Downey) has control over that and Iron Man wants him to "come of age" before he gets the advanced suit. So we see the young Spider-Man "testing" himself & more or less learning as he goes .  This makes for a fun time as he has many fails along the way including landing  on his butt more than once.

His villain ( Michael Keaton)has long ago "come of age" & knows that what he is doing is evil and not only does he enjoy it he is also profiting hugely from it. There is of course the ultimate show down between him and Spider-Man  the outcome of which is "up in the air" !!

There is plenty of action but nicely for a change it blends into the story & is not the driving force of the movie thus leaving the "coming of age"

stories to be the central focus.

Once again it's the guiding rule that a really good script is an essential ingredient for a good movie and, as here, when you add in solid direction & strong acting, you have an excellent movie .

I was  delightfully surprised by this movie and it's story line ... going back to a basic theme of " coming of age" & applying it to 2 levels .Special praise to Tom Holland as the new Spider-Man ...  he meets the challenge head on & excels. Downey and Keaton are strong in their roles.

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, some language and brief suggestive comment

Clark