‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Is ‘One of the Best Marvel Movies Yet’ and 6 More Glowing Reviews

Critics hail the latest Spidey movie for bringing a John Hughes-inspired flair to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Spider-Man Homecoming mj mary jane

At long last, Spider-Man is in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and according to critics, it was worth the wait.

With early reviews still coming in for “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” the film currently has a 97 percent Rotten Tomatoes score with submissions from 30 critics, who praised director Jon Watts and a cast led by the new Peter Parker, Tom Holland, for showing what John Hughes might have done if he directed a superhero movie.

“The most obvious novelty to this version of the webslinger’s story is a hammered-home reminder that while Peter Parker is a legitimate threat to any supervillain, he’s also only 15 years old,” wrote TheWrap’s Robert Abele. “To that end, Tom Holland’s casting is a real plus, his fresh-faced buoyancy, hyper earnestness and general teen-ness a far cry from the too-old-for-high-school vibe of [Tobey] Maguire and especially [Andrew] Garfield, and placing this ‘Spider-Man’ firmly in John Hughes territory.”

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” hits theaters July 7. Check out more of the film’s glowing reviews below.

David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“At its best, “Homecoming” is a riotously fun riposte to the logic of firing Phil Lord and Chris Miller for daring to make a ‘Star Wars’ adventure into a comedy (or, for that matter, to the logic of firing Edgar Wright off “Ant-Man” for having the gall to make it into an Edgar Wright movie). It argues that the next Batman movie could be a horror film, that the next installment of X-Men could be a sobering mid-budget drama in which Magneto examines his Jewish heritage.”

Brian Truitt, USA Today

“Once we get to the hallowed halls of Midtown School of Science & Technology — an anticlimactic turn for Peter after hanging with quasi-mentor Tony Stark — ‘Homecoming’ becomes the perfect teen movie that you never realized Marvel needed, complete with girls debating Thor and Spider-Man’s hotness quotient in gym class and Captain America starring in cheesy physical-fitness videos.”

Tim Grierson, ScreenDaily

“Downey brings gravitas as an older, wiser Stark who doesn’t want Peter repeating his brash mistakes. Taking the young man under his wing, Stark admires the teen’s brilliant mathematical mind and rebellious streak, seeing in him the son he never had, but he also worries about Peter’s inability to appreciate the lethal dangers that await. The actor’s scenes with Holland have a tough-love poignancy that’s rare in the Marvel world.”

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Kristy Puchko, CBR

“…brewing a backstory of relatable rage and disillusionment, Keaton makes his baddie a working class hero gone off the rails. And so gives us the best MCU villain we’ve seen since Loki. He’s not as theatrical, or arguably as brazenly sexy as Tom Hiddleston’s fan-favorite. Yet Keaton brings that heated volatility that made him iconic in ‘Batman’, and channels into a rogue you can’t help but root for, just a bit.”

Benjamin Lee, The Guardian

“In a few short scenes, [Holland] made a more powerful impression than poor Andrew Garfield did in two whole movies. As well as his ease with physical comedy, he seemed like an actual high-schooler – which immediately marked him out from his two predecessors, both in their late-20s when they played the character. It means that the decision to turn his first full-length adventure into a teen movie is one that pays off heroically, the structure serving as the ideal device to describe the web-slinger’s journey to maturity.”

Alan Cerny, ComingSoon

“This is one of the very best MCU movies yet, full of fun, joy, excitement, and everything that we have loved Spider-Man for. Jon Watts and the many screenwriters involved eschew the origin story and instead focus on Spider-Man’s first serious test of his abilities and of his heart. Technically, this is an origin story, I suppose, because it sets Peter Parker (Tom Holland) on a path from eager but immature kid to a hero for the ages.”

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