The newest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has arrived. Spider-Man Homecoming was released in theaters on July 7, 2017. The film stars Tom Holland as the newest (and possibly greatest) Spider-Man. The film picks up where Captain America Civil War ended. Viewers follow Peter Parker’s return to normal school life, and witness his struggle to take down a villain while also not being taken seriously.

Spider-Man Homecoming got many things right that the previous Spider-Man movies did not. Peter Parker is a kid. The choice to cast Tom Holland for the role was the right one. Tobey Maguire was 27 when he first played the famous superhero, and Andrew Garfield was 29 when he played the role. Meanwhile, Holland was only 19 when he made his appearance in Captain America Civil War. Along with his age, Holland also has a young-looking face. For once it was nice to see a high school scene full of actors who were not clearly in their 30s, pretending to fit in. The age accuracy for this movie was one of the aspects of Peter Parker that made him a much more relatable character. His troubles talking to his crush and maintaining a social life counter his struggles trying to save the world nicely. Spider-Man is not just a super hero. He is also a teenager, and I believe that that side of his character deserved just as much attention and accuracy as the other. The movie portrays that struggle between the two sides of his life well.

Tom Holland’s performance got better and better as the movie progressed. His acting in some of the final scenes was accurate and touching. He was amazing at portraying both awkwardness and total desperation. Holland’s depiction of Peter Parker drew me in and immersed me in the story. His background in gymnastics also helped to make Spider-Man more realistic. All of the stunts and acrobatics seemed effortless and real.

Spider-Man Homecoming features the early days of Spider-Man. Peter is still learning how to be a hero and control his new powers, but the movie did skip over Spider-Man’s origin and Uncle Ben’s death. Those scenes are important to the character development, but in the end, I think it was a good idea to skip the backstory. Anyone going to a Spider-Man movie will most likely have seen that story before. It was better to get right into the plot instead of rehashing an already well-known backstory. It would have made the movie too long and taken away from the rest of the plot. It’s simply been done before.

I had not gotten around to watching Captain America Civil War before I saw Spider-Man Homecoming in theaters. The first five minutes of the movie did a great job of filling in anyone who had not seen the other movie. It is not necessary to see Civil War before going to watch Spider-Man, however, it may be helpful, as the events from the movie are referenced.

The Vulture was a very compelling villain. He was not inherently evil in nature. He was a blue collar American who wanted to provide for his family and was put into situations that forced him to take things too far. I think it was very interesting to watch a villain on screen whose motive was understandable, even if the things he did were unacceptable.

Now that Peter Parker has joined the MCU, Tony Stark has become involved a lot in the Spider-Man story. Parker is given a new suit by Stark that comes with many new abilities, and an AI named Karen. Many moviegoers may view the new suit as too Iron Man-like, but I think that the suit did add to this movie’s success. In comics, the eyes are a main source of emotion on the face. In previous movies, the old suits that Spider-Man wore hid his eyes behind the mask. In this new suit, however, the eyes are able to move to zoom in on bad guys or do various other tasks. Because the eyes are able to move on the new suit, the audience is able to connect more with Peter while he is behind the mask. It was small details like this that made Spider-Man Homecoming so great.

Spider-Man Homecoming featured a diverse cast, which was a welcome sight for many fans. Actors were casted because they were right for the role, regardless of race or ethnicity. This new Spider-Man movie will create a whole new generation of Spider-Man fans. These young kids will see people who look like them on screen, who they can look up to.

I enjoyed the soundtrack for this movie. The music was intense for scenes filled with tension, but did not distract from what was on screen. The video style for the opening of the movie was creative and translated very well on screen. The scenes really did look as if Parker was filming them on his phone. One compliment I have for the cinematography of the film, is that the Spider-Man suit looked very crisp on screen and the red color popped.

The title of the movie may have been Homecoming, but the dance featured very little in the film. Instead I think that Homecoming referred to Spider-Man’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His return had to be great and fit nicely into the world that had been created already with the other Marvel Movies. I believe that it was one of the best Spider-Man movies of all time, and Tom Holland is my favorite Peter Parker to date. Spider-Man certainly made his Homecoming a spectacular one. I look forward to seeing more of him in future movies. Whether you are new to Spider-Man, or not, I highly recommend that you see this movie.