'Spider-Man: Homecoming' spotlights the hero's core appeal

The success of any “Spider-Man” movie always depends on how the filmmakers approach Peter Parker, the anxious, often-overwhelmed kid behind the mask.

Lesser “Spider-Man” movies tend to lose sight of Peter — “Spider-Man 3” from 2007 pounded the hero with too many bad guys, while the two “Amazing Spider-Man” movies directed by Marc Webb stripped the character of his endearing goofiness.

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” understands Peter Parker, and the movie soars when it focuses on his high school life. He’s just a kid who wants to be popular, but he knows the one thing that could make him cool is the thing he must keep secret.

As much as Tobey Maguire defined the cinematic image we have of Peter Parker, “Homecoming’s” Tom Holland exudes so much joy as the wide-eyed superhero-in-training. He’s able to steal scenes from heavyweights like Robert Downey Jr., Michael Keaton and Marisa Tomei, but he also holds the screen on his own, talking to himself (and his costume’s high tech “suit lady”) with as much verve as many of us imagined reading “Spider-Man” comics as kids.

“Homecoming” understands how audiences want a Spider-Man movie in 2017. The film skips over the origin story and never even mentions anything tragic about Uncle Ben (it’s still implied). Peter Parker is already Spider-Man, but he’s working his own neighborhood stopping bike thieves and ATM robberies.

Though released by Spidey’s longtime distributor, Sony, “Homecoming” takes place in Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, part of a collaboration which began with Holland’s memorable appearance in last year’s “Captain America: Civil War.” That story continues with Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) keeping tabs on Peter through an “internship,” though Peter hopes his small-time heroics will be enough to earn him a proper place on the Avengers roster.

A bigger challenge arrives in the form of Adrian Toomes (Keaton), a construction salvager forced out of business by Stark’s corporate takeover of all Avengers-related destruction. Rather than turn over powerful alien weaponry, Toomes, or The Vulture as comic fans would know him, uses the tech to create dangerous street weapons he begins selling to local thugs.

For much of the running time, the presence of Keaton in a thinly-developed bad guy role doesn’t make much sense. We don’t learn much about Toomes or his worldview, but rather than being just another case of Forgettable Marvel Villain-itis, “Homecoming” delivers a terrific third-act surprise that gives Keaton the kind of meat expected for an actor of his caliber.

“Homecoming” is also stuffed with other notable bad guys and comic book Easter eggs, though director Jon Watts (“Cop Car”) never lets any of the nerdy stuff take focus away from Peter and his high school life. His teenage classmates are all well-cast and engaging (especially Jacob Batalon as best bud Ned), and the movie treats his everyday troubles at school as evenly as a sinking ferryboat.

If anything, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” loses focus in a couple of late action scenes — notably the two heavily featured in the film’s marketing. The major narrative shift in “Homecoming” is even revealed in the trailers, making the experience of seeing it play out in its feature-length form a bit tiresome. Seriously, Hollywood needs to stop ruining the moviegoing experience just because some studio executive is worried there aren’t enough money shots in the commercial.

The film climaxes on another loud, unimaginative hero-villain fight, something that seems to plague most superhero films (the excellent “Wonder Woman” also whiffed on its climax). At least “Homecoming” finds a couple of ways to make Peter stand out while surrounded by the CGI mayhem, and the movie rebounds with some character-focused final scenes. Even the two stinger scenes in the credits work better than recent Marvel outings.

Holland’s Spider-Man is next set to appear in two massively scaled “Avengers” movies, followed by a “Homecoming” sequel. As much as Spidey’s humor contrasted nicely with the epically staged airport throwdown in “Civil War,” I’m more interested in him tangling with his own small-time rogues gallery and running against Flash Thompson for class treasurer.

The best “Spider-Man” movies make Peter Parker the hero and the Web Crawler the alter ego. “Homecoming” nearly perfects the character’s balancing act.

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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com