SPIDERMAN: HOMECOMING REVIEW

Peter Parker, with the help of his mentor Tony Stark, tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school student in New York City while fighting crime as his superhero alter ego Spider-Man when a new threat emerges.

Starring: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, and Robert Downey Jr

Directed by: Jon Watts

Written by: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers

  With D.C. Comics needing a hit and getting it with “Wonder Woman,” it’s Marvel’s turn to see if they could continue their run of solid superhero movies. Spider-Man is a pretty big superhero to tackle, especially with the run of recent Spider-Man movies. Those movies might have made some tired of Spider-Man by now. So the challenge is to bring something new and refreshing to the table, and it looks like they did in “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”

  One refreshing thing is that they assume everyone already knows the story of how Peter (Tom Holland) becomes Spider-Man. At this point, it’s hard to believe audiences wanted to see that again. Instead, most of the backstory is covered in a quick, funny conversation with his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon). As for his aunt May (Marisa Tomei), there’s mentions of the tough time she’s had, but there’s never any conversation about what happened. The best backstory given is at the start of the movie showing how Spider-Man found his way into the battle in “Captain America: Civil War.” Those few moments were a whole lot better than any retelling of Peter’s story would have been.

  What’s also refreshing is seeing Peter really just be a kid, even when learning how to be Spider-Man. In some of the previous films, Peter was just too serious, and acted more like an adult at times then the kid he’s supposed to be. It also adds a lot of humor like when he’s doing some basic crime fighting. It’s funny watching him stop someone from stealing a bike or car, and not really know if a crime is being committed. All of this is done because of a pretty good performance from Tom Holland. He definitely is nails acting younger than he is.

  It’s even nice seeing the villain, Adrian Toomes aka Vulture (Michael Keaton), not going over the top as a bad guy. He’s really just the average guy looking to make a good living, and support his family. He’s relatable to many in the audience, and they can almost root for him. Once Spider-Man gets on his tail, he gets a little out of control, but again for the right reasons.

  It turns out seeing Spider-Man back in theaters is a good thing. The franchise needed a new start, and it got one. It brought Spider-Man back to the beginning, but without the backstory fans have seen plenty of. Seeing Spider-Man truly be the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man actually turns out to be a good thing, which works out perfectly with a more low key villain. Throw in some humor, well timed appearances by Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), a twist, and of course some good action, and you get another solid Marvel movie. With that, I give “Spider-Man: Homecoming” 3.5 stars.

  HorrO

 *There are two after credit scenes*

TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT REVIEW

Autobots and Decepticons are at war, with humans on the sidelines. Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving our future lies buried in the secrets of the past, in the hidden history of Transformers on Earth.

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Hopkins, Laura Haddock, and Josh Duhamel

Directed by: Michael Bay

Written by: Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, Ken Nolan, and Akiva Goldsman

  For those who grew up watching Transformers they might have mixed feeling about the franchise at this point. It’s awesome to see them transform on the big screen, and even better when they’re fighting each other. However, there always seems to be something to complain about. As for “Transformers: The Last Knight,” there’s no shortage of complaints!

  The first thing to complain about is where in the hell is Optimus? There’s a short scene of him when he meets Quintessa, and is put under her command. Then a great deal of the movie goes by before he appears again. He supposedly has turned bad, but that lasts for two seconds, which makes it almost pointless. When the final battle begins he’s nowhere to be found again, and no one can give a good explanation to why he’s gone missing. He does pull off an awesome move when he eventually returns again, but it doesn’t make up for his lack of film time.

  As for the other Transformers, there seems to be so many of them this time, yet not as many great fight scenes between them. While there’s a shortage of Optimus, at least Megatron gets some action. There’s a strange introduction of the Suicide Squad of Decepticons, who unfortunately don’t last long in an early fight. The Dinobots finally make an appearance, which is fun while it lasts. As for other Autobots, there are some familiar faces, but mostly just the same annoying ones. Really, it’s Bumblebee’s show from beginning to end.

  Which brings us to the overcomplicated story this time around. The audience gets a little history lesson, as they discover Transformers have been on this planet going way back in time. They even have an effect in the days of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round table. In present time, Cade (Mark Wahlberg) is still helping the Autobots, and becomes too much of the focus. In other words, he’s not a good replacement for Optimus! Of course he has to have a so called love interest, who is Vivian (Laura Haddock), and too much time is spent on why they play an important role in the fate of the planet. 

  Even with all the complaints, I’m still a sucker for Transformers. However, when they make the next film, they need to try a different formula. Many of these complaints can be said in the previous films as well. Try telling a simpler story, give screen time to Transformers that actually matter, less focus on the military please, and for crying out loud have Optimus in it for more than five minutes. With that said, sadly I generously give “Transformers: The Last Night” 2 stars.

  HorrO

*There is an after credits scene*