THIS WEEK IN GEEK REVIEW
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Reviewer Robert Southgate
This Week in Geek’s Rolling Sausage Party rolled into the theater for a 10:30pm showing of Spider-Man: Homecoming on opening night. Sure we expected a good time and a fun film but expectations were a little tempered as the last three outings for everybody’s favorite web-head were less than amazing. Sure, we like those movies, even the one with Emo-Parker, but we had to approach this movie cautiously as to not get burned. That’s it for any hint of negativity in this review. Spider-Man: Homecoming is a spectacular film. Director Jon Watts, who up to now is best known for directing Clown and stuff for The Onion, truly understands the characters and what we as fans crave from an MCU Spider-Man film. After Tom Holland’s turn as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, I had a pretty good idea of what I could expect from his portrayal of Peter Parker in this film yet I was surprised at how quickly he exceeded my expectations. Tom Holland is Spider-Man. Tom Holland is Peter Parker. The previous actors were exceptional at half the character, Toby McGuire at Parker and Andrew Garfield at Spider-Man, while Holland is solid as each. Some have said in other reviews that they found his performance lacking some and that maturity and time in the role will help yet I disagree. Parker is an awkward teenager. I think Holland displayed this perfectly, in fact, so perfectly that it made some people misinterpret his performance for the real actor. I have also read criticisms that this is more of an Iron Man/Spider-Man Team Up film than a stand alone Spidey movie but this is incorrect as well. While Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark looms large over Peter Parker, the film is about Parker fully with the presence of Stark there to make the connection to the MCU. Michael Keaton is fantastic as Adrian Toomes/Vulture, and Jacob Batalon as Peter’s best friend Ned really stood out. For the Spider-Man fans, there are plenty of Easter Eggs to watch out for while keeping the movie completely accessible to the casual fan or newbie. This is a superhero movie that for fans of the genre and for those that are indifferent toward it. Spider-Man: Homecoming is a swinging good time that gets our highest recommendation. Go see it in theaters while you can.
Robert Southgate is a podcaster/blogger with the Southgate Media Group. He’s also a co-owner. You can find him regularly on the podcasts This Week in Geek, Nuff Said: The Marvel Podcast, the Orange is the New Black Podcast, Disturbed: The American Horror Story Podcast, Ever After: the Once Upon a Time Podcast, Coo Coo for Who: the Doctor Who Podcast, Binge Worthy, and Live at the Blue Box. You can find Rob on Twitter at @rsouthgate and on Instagram at robsouthgate.
