MICHAEL LOMAX: ‘Spider-Man’ back on upswing with ‘Homecoming’

The “Spider-Man” character has seen repeated overhaul in the last decade or two. Tobey Maguire got the chance first, but while his first two films were good, things quickly fell apart from there. Next came Andrew Garfield, though, unfortunately, his incarnation was just never able to get off the ground either.

Now we have Tom Holland stepping into the role, and honestly it looks like Marvel’s saved the best for last.

Set months after the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” Peter Parker (Holland) is back at school in Queens with his Aunt May (Marissa Tomei). Though a very promising student, Parker quits most of his extracurricular activities to roam the neighborhood streets in the evening and fight crime. All while keeping his identity a secret.

But, of course, when you’re a sophomore in high school, being reasonable isn’t always so easy.

One day Parker happens onto an illegal alien weapons deal, and rather than wait for reinforcements, he decides to take matters into his own hands and quickly finds himself way over his head.

Propped by excellent starring performances from Holland and Michael Keaton (who plays main villain Vulture), “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is a very welcome return to form for the franchise. But more so than the acting, the writing is what stands out here.

The last few “Spider-Man” films followed Parker attempting to navigate an adult world. But what’s forgotten about the comics is that Parker is supposed to be a mild-mannered albeit cheeky teenage kid—prone to the same mistakes that all full-of-themselves teenagers make.

In other words, “Spider-Man” is typically an elaborate superhero coming-of-age tale. It just so happens that previous films have moved away from that interpretation. Until now.

“Homecoming” does not pretend to be any more than it is. Parker is a flawed kid with a good heart just trying to do right by the world while staying out of detention. And with the larger “Avengers” umbrella supporting the film, we actually get the chance to see Parker develop.

Thus far Marvel has done an inspiring job building this superhero world. From “Iron Man” to “Guardians of the Galaxy” to “Spider-Man,” there really is a little bit of everything for everyone. If you don’t like one of the movies, another is probably going to be more up your alley.

With “Homecoming” at least we have something small and sweet that should connect with the kids in all of us. And with box office figures already starting to skyrocket, it doesn’t look like our new Peter Parker is going anywhere anytime soon.

Michael Lomax is a writer-filmmaker currently at work on a film script to be set and shot in Albany.