SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

(2017) Fresh off his buzz of helping the Avengers save the world (Captain America: Civil War) - which he unobtrusively filmed as a video diary - 15-year-old Peter Parker (Tom Holland, in spidey-shoes already well-tread in by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield), returns home to Queens and his high school life with best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon, in a breakout performance) and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). But Peter's a restless little spider, anxious to help save the world even on a local level while awaiting the chance to pal up with his Avengers buddies again as soon as he's needed. The only problem is, the phone never rings. In fact, Peter seems to be a thorn in the side of Happy (Jon Favreau), head flunkie to Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), who has been assigned to keep an eye on the boy but ignores Peter's insistent calls; so much so that when Peter, as Spider-man, actually foils a string of ATM robberies and learns the crooks have sophisticated weaponry well beyond modern earth technology, Happy doesn't take Peter seriously - leaving the boy to dig deeper into the mystery himself, until eventually he gets a little too close to a very dangerous arms dealer (Michael Keaton), who realizes he needs to squash the spider if he's to keep doing business. Columbia was smart to team up with Marvel to reboot its franchise yet again, but at the same time the film is awash in typical (and stereotypical) Marvel-ocity of overblown action sequences, tons of CGI, and a plotline that comes off as yet another by-the-book Marvel movie blueprint (hero attains minor success, hero is pounded into the pavement by bad guys, at last minute hero rallies back for final confrontation). The truly successful, truly genuine moments in Spider-man: Homecoming are the quiet ones; Peter's scenes with Ned and at school, or trying awkwardly to speak to the girl he's crushing on (this is often where the funniest moments of the film can be found, as well). Michael Keaton, the film winking to his past incarnations as both Batman and Birdman, has his menacing moments as The Vulture, but tends to communicate more menace with a leering grin than dialogue that sounds anything but regurgitated from previous villains. Even Iron Man/Tony Stark, as Peter's mentor, seems to pop in and out as the plot warrants. While there is a lot of fun in the newest Spider-man, and Tom Holland does a good job in the role, Parker himself even comes off annoying at times in his "gee-whiz" boyishness the script overplays; there are more than a few times Peter Parker feels more like an adult's view of what a 15-year-old is like than the real thing. And the film itself, while near-perfect for the lexicon of Marvel and superhero flicks, at the same time feels like the same old superhero story that just keeps pumping out of the studio gates over and over again; inspired eye candy (if you can get past all the CGI), but essentially without soul. (rated PG-13)  6.5/10 stars