Like a small child visiting Disney World for the first time, the youthful Spider-Man captures all the frills and thrills of his once-in-a-lifetime adventure on video with a GoPro-cam. He is in admiration, batting alongside Iron Man, the Black Panther, and Thor, taking it in like an amusement park ride, capturing behind-the-scenes footage of the epic battle. But when the action is over, Peter Parker realizes he is just another quirky teenager trying to get through the ever-challenging life of high school. Unlike his fellow peers, however, Peter has an extra quirk. He can stop a speeding bus with his bare hands and scale any surface like a spider.
“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” directed by Jon Watts and written by Watts and his writing team (Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers), is the first movie in the second Spider-Man film reboot and the first Spider-Man film to be incorporated in the shared Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tom Holland stars as fifteen-year old Peter Parker (the youngest we’ve ever seen the character on screen) and is backed by a supporting cast featuring Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Donald Glover, Tyne Daly, Zendaya, and Robert Downey Jr. In the character’s sixth cinematic iteration, Spider-Man (Holland) is forced to stop a ruthless criminal, Adrian Toomes (aka “The Vulture,” played by Michael Keaton), who is determined to destroy anything preventing him from providing for his family. Peter Parker soon discovers that he cannot enjoy the normal life of a high school teenager, because as a superhero, there is so much more that is needed of him.
“Spider-Man: Homecoming” has many compelling aspects, from Tony Stark mentoring the adolescent superhero to Parker and his best bud Ned trying to break out of the “geek” shell that their peers have put them in. Marisa Tomei as Aunt May is young and sexy like we’ve never seen before, and we—fans, critics, and Marvel executives alike—all witnessed Keaton deliver what is undoubtedly (excluding Vincent D’Onofrio’s portrayal of Wilson Fisk in the Marvel-Netflix “Daredevil” web series) the strongest onscreen villain performance in the MCU to date.
One interesting facet of “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is the mentoring of 15-year-old Peter Parker by multi-billionaire Tony Stark.  His father-like relationship with Parker is both amusing and heartfelt, and is slightly akin to the Ethan Hawke character in the 2014 come-of-age film “Boyhood.”  At times, it is like watching a dysfunctional “Father Knows Best” episode.  Stark makes a special suit for Parker that progresses as Parker becomes more familiar with his abilities and how to use them with greater efficiency and confidence. Stark wants him to avoid the mistakes and pitfalls that a young adolescent super hero is destined to make. 
Although Parker’s behavior is well-intended, his actions can lead to disastrous outcomes including death and destruction.  But Parker, longing for the spotlight, quickly learns that not only “with great power comes great responsibility.” He also learns from Stark, and rightly so, that “if you’re nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t have it.” Tom Holland is brilliant as Peter Parker, grasping at the ever-elusive popularity stick, and as Spider-Man, who sees only black-and-white, because he is too young to recognize the many shades of gray that life too often forces people into.
As a potluck of intellectual originality, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” leaves much to chew on.  From Captain America’s hilarious cameos to the introduction of an old character as new, which brings that “Ah ha” moment. The film captures the essence of a naïve teenaged Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man, enticing the audience to fall in love with the character…all over again.