Story
Spider-Man: Homecoming opens in New York City where salvage operator Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) and his co-workers collect all manner of strange alien technology buried among building wreckage and debris. Without warning, officials from the Department of Damage Control arrive and shut Toomes down, ordering him to hand over all the salvaged technology. Unhappy with the way they’ve been treated Toomes and his co-workers decide to keep the salvaged goods and go into business for themselves, making and selling hybrid weapons. Eight years later Toomes has taken his salvaged alien technology to a new level, creating a suit that enables him to fly as Vulture.
Meanwhile teenager Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is at a loose end after an exciting time fighting with the Avengers. He’s waiting for a call from Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) about his next mission. Peter fights crime and helps people in his local neighbourhood as well as attending high school during the day. At school Peter hangs out with his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), is a key figure on the school’s quiz team. Peter also has a huge crush on popular student Liz (Laura Harrier).
During one of Peter’s night-time neighbourhood surveillance tours, he tries to apprehend four men who are using alien weapons to steal an ATM machine. Unfortunately Peter accidentally sets off one of the weapons, which destroys an adjacent shop and nearly kills its owner. Peter becomes determined to track down those responsible for the weapons and this leads him to a confrontation with Vulture.
Themes
Superheroes; alien technology and weapons; responsibility; growing up
Violence
Spider-Man: Homecoming contains fantasy action violence throughout, some large-scale destruction of property, and a violent murder. Minimal blood and gore are shown. For example:
- In the movie’s opening scene a man punches a second man hard in the face, knocking him to the ground.
- In one scene Spider-Man takes on four men armed with shotguns and alien weapons who are trying to steal an ATM machine. One of the men fires a weapon at Spider-Man, throwing him through the air. Spider-Man throws sticky web at the men, then pulls on the web. This slams the men into walls and knocks them out. During the mayhem the alien weapon gets dropped and discharges, destroying a building across the street. Spider-Man enters the burning building to rescue a man and his cat.
- In one scene, Vulture descends without warning and uses his taloned feet to lift Spider-Man into the air before dropping him. Spider-Man falls towards the ground and lands in water before Vulture pulls him to safety.
- A man says to Peter Parker, ‘I’ll kill you and everybody you love’.
- Vulture attacks a large jet plane and steals alien weapons. Spider-Man confronts him and is thrown into a jet engine. They continue to fight with Vulture slashing at Spider-Man with his metal wings and cutting great gashes in the plane. This causes more explosions and flames. Spider-Man uses webs to guide the burning plane past city skyscrapers before it ploughs into the ground. Vulture descends and attacks Spider-Man, punching him in the face and throwing him against buildings. Vulture uses his wings to slice through concrete pillars, causing a concrete ceiling to come down on top of Spider-Man’s head, burying him under tonnes of concrete. The trapped Spider-Man panics at first, but then becomes determined and rises up, lifting the concrete with him.
Sexual references
Spider-Man: Homecoming has sexual references and innuendo throughout. For example:
- While in a car a man reaches over a teenage boy as if about to give him a hug. The boy hugs the man in response, and the man says, ‘That’s not a hug – just grabbing the door for you’.
- A boy says that his aunt is a very hot Italian woman.
- An aunt talks to her teenage nephew about puberty, telling him that it was difficult for him to fit in with all the changes going on, and then telling him that he is ‘flowering’.
- A gym full of teenagers watch a video of Captain America talking about going through puberty. In the video, he says, ‘So your body changes and believe me I know how that feels’.
- A teenage boy using a school computer without permission is caught by a teacher. He panics and says that he was watching porn.
- A father tells a boy who is escorting his daughter to a homecoming dance, ‘Show my daughter a good time – but not too good’.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Spider-Man: Homecoming shows some social beer-drinking.
Nudity and sexual activity
Spider-Man: Homecoming has several scenes that show women wearing tight and revealing clothes. Other scenes show men’s muscular bodies.
Product placement
The following products are displayed or used in Spider-Man: Homecoming: various car brands, smartphones and YouTube.
Coarse language
Spider-Man: Homecoming has some coarse language.p>
- “hell” ; “damn” ; “Oh my God” ; “what the fu…”, “crap”, “bullshit”; “screwed”; ”shitting me”
- “losers”, “alien bastards”; “arsehole”; “bad-arse”
Ideas to discuss with your children
Spider-Man: Homecoming is a superhero action adventure that targets teens and adult fans of Marvel films. Teens are likely to particularly enjoy seeing the teenage Peter Parker. Younger children who like Spider-Man toys and costumes are likely to be attracted to the film, but it is rated M for action violence and features a number of violent and scary scenes. Some parents may also be concerned about the coarse language. The film is therefore not recommended for children under thirteen and parental guidance is recommended for the 13 to 15 age group.
The main messages from this movie are:
- It’s what’s inside you that makes you the person you are, not the clothes you wear on the outside.
- Small local neighbourhoods are just as important to protect and save as large cities.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to discuss with their children include courage and perseverance, as shown by Peter Parker who has some big responsibilities for a teenager to deal with.