Spider-Man: Homecoming is immensely entertaining: Laugh-out-loud funny with workmanlike action sequences and winning performances from a group of top tier actors, Spidey's move to the Marvel Cinematic Universe will undoubtedly be embraced by audiences just as it has been embraced by critics. Go see it. It's great fun. You'll love it.
And yet, I can't help but feel as though it's a bit empty, a reminder of what we've lost in the move from auteur-driven franchises to mass-produced cinematic universes. There's nothing particularly unique about Homecoming, especially when compared to Sam Raimi's early-aughts adventures with the wisecracking webslinger. Say what you will about the Raimi films—and most people seem to agree that the first two are good-to-great while the third is a bit of an overstuffed trainwreck—but there's more heart and style in the Evil Dead mastermind's missteps (Emo Spidey, anyone?) than there is in the single best moment of Homecoming.
Horror author Stephen King helps crystallize this point in his book analyzing horror, Danse Macabre. "There are, of course, filmmakers who either don't know this kind of fear or whose particular visions are so clear and fierce that such fear of failure never becomes a factor in the equation," King wrote. "This factor of vision is so real and apparent that even when a director such as Stanley Kubrick* makes such a maddening, perverse, and disappointing film as The Shining, it somehow retains a brilliance that is inarguable; it is simply there. The real danger inherent in studio films is mediocrity." (Emphasis mine.)
As fun as Tom Holland is as the new Spider-Man and as compelling as Michael Keaton is as the Vulture, the stylistically sterile universe in which they live serves as a stark reminder that no studio will ever again let the director of a comic book movie stage something as distinctive as the scene of Doc Ock reawakening in Raimi's second Spider-Man film. It's like something out of a horror movie. Specifically, it's like something out of a Sam Raimi horror movie. The camera focuses on faces, close up shots of screaming, terror. We see action in shadows thrown in relief against the wall. Raimi zooms in on a man's eyes darting to the corner and then a chainsaw on a table. We even get a point of view shot from the perspective of a marauding tentacle, one that calls to mind the evil presence presaging the appearance of the Deadites in Raimi's most famous movies.
Homecoming director Jon Watts instead opts for a style that is best described as straightforward and unobtrusive, which is not necessarily a negative. After a brief introduction to local construction magnate Adrian Toomes (Keaton)—who loses out on a sweet gig to clean up Manhattan following the events of The Avengers—we skip ahead to the events of 2016's Captain America: Civil War. We see the action via home videos shot by Peter Parker (Holland), who is being chaperoned by Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) chauffeur, Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) to Berlin to take part in the battle royale seen in that film.
And then we're back to the outer boroughs, where Spider-Man takes down bike thieves before Peter Parker does his homework, while waiting for the call from Happy informing him he's been invited to join The Avengers. Until then, Peter will have to prevent Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) from learning that he's Spider-Man, who is busy trying to track down Toomes' illicit arms network, while also keeping his friend Ned (Jacob Batalan) from blabbing about his secret identity to classmates Liz (Laura Harrier) and Michelle (Zendaya).
You know, typical Spidey stuff.
Holland is perfect as Spider-Man, an awkward high school kid who is quick with a quip and eager to help out. Favreau gets as much screen time as he did in any of the Iron Man movies—which makes sense, since this is almost an Iron Man sequel rather than a Spider-Man reboot. Robert Downey Jr. remains Marvel's biggest and brightest star, its not-so-secret weapon, the glue that holds that particular cinematic universe together, or whatever other metaphor you want to throw out there to show he's worth every penny of however many millions Marvel's paying him for five days of work in this movie.
And Iron Man's appearance—in the movie proper as the glue, in advertisements as an enticement for audiences—serves as a reminder of not only what we've gained from the continued success of the MCU but also what we've lost. Spider-Man: Homecoming is a fine, fun continuation of the MCU content factory.
And in a bleak summer season filled with franchise follies, maybe that's enough.
*King, of course, had personal issues with Kubrick's adaptation of The Shining, but it's worth noting that the film has definitely grown in reputation over the years and that growth is entirely related to the singularity of Kubrick's vision.