"Spider-Man: Homecoming"

While I'm pretty much game to spend time with our favorite web head in just about any situation, even I was worried that starting the Spidey franchise over again would be overkill.

Like, I'm always for more Spider-Man... but just what kind of new adaptation was this going to be? As usual, I had worries. Tom Holland wasn't my first choice for the new Peter Parker. I thought someone had made a huge mistake when they revealed the new Homecoming logo. And the trailer wasn't great... any of them.

On the other hand, it was Spider-Man. Michael Keaton was going to be there. And Tom Holland had thoroughly proven in Captain America: Civil War that he was worth giving a chance. Plus, Marvel was actually on board this time and their chance had finally come to have Spidey swing into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

So that would be cool, I guess.

But that also meant that if they messed this up, it was pretty permanently messed up, it being a part of the Avenger's universe and all. No erase button on that monster.

Yep. The stakes were high.

My first instinct - which seems like it was everybody's first instinct - was to compare this movie to all the other Spider-Man movies we've seen over the past fifteen years. And, admittedly, there have been a lot.

Here's the only comparison I'm going to allow myself: after seeing Homecoming, I realized that this movie is exactly what Sony wanted to accomplish, but couldn't, with the Andrew Garfield series. If you're comparing Spidey films, the fact that Homecoming connects with audiences so successfully kind makes the Andrew Garfield series null and void... BUT that's IF you're comparing.

I'm going to shy away from comparing any other Spidey adaptations. Why? Because I also think that the Spidey movies are doomed to be compared to each other for the rest of time, since we've had so many in such quick succession and all.

Instead, let's talk about why Homecoming is great.

It's a great combination of elements, and word of mouth seems to be that everyone agrees here. When the creative team first claimed they were going to make a John Hughes-style Spider-Man, I stopped. Cause, uh, that's ambitious? They must have been really sure this was going to be good if they were seriously telling the Ferris-Bueller-loving public that they were making a film that was going to be that classic, that much a part of pop culture, that much on the pulse.

But they really did it. And what's even better, they knew how to pay homage to the original as well. That scene where Peter is swinging through the backyards of his neighbors and sees someone is watching Ferris Bueller, about which he comments, "Great movie!" is plenty to rejoice over.

Another plus is that the Spider-Man story is so well known now that the filmmakers got to do what Marvel does best: make fun of itself. This is how Marvel does humor best. They finally got to point out the fact that this whole thing, a teenager being a Spider-person? Yeah, that's totally ridiculous. Which is why it is great!

The trailers had also made me fear that the role of Tony Stark might overshadow the more-important story of Peter Parker, but the filmmakers spent just enough time giving Peter his incentives from Tony without sacrificing giving Peter center stage. *applause*

The only thing I wish was different about this whole situation was that there's a lot of talk about who is "the best" Spider-Man now... and that's inevitable. Like I said, comparison is the logical first instinct.

I wish we could fight this. It's obvious that every Spider-Man, and his accompanying franchise of films, has had their own goals, their own surrounding contexts, their own approach... and I don't think it's fair for us to say that one person was "the best" Spider-Man, especially since we are in the exact moment of culture that Tom Holland's Spider-Man is supposed to target. Can we really know - and does it really matter - who wore the Spidey suit best?

Like, I say let's just all love Peter Parker! It's been fun to see the various sides of his characters that each different actor has emphasized out in him. Sure, his character has become a little bit of a superhero Rorschach test ("now what do YOU see in this version of Peter Parker?"), but I guess that's the beauty of it. Peter Parker is every young guy (and it that was starting become literal with all the reboots), but hey. More Spidey is more Spidey. I'll take it.

And no matter who's playing him, isn't it a great feeling to have a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man on screen again?