After the events of Civil War, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is ready to go all in on being a superhero. And asking Liz (Laura Harrier) out. And graduating! And finishing his Lego Death Star. But Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), a contractor turned arms dealer, has other ideas…

The Holland movies hit the ground running with this adorable puppy of a movie. Holland nails it straight out of the gate, and the role benefits enormously from the fact he was so young when he was cast. Holland is convincingly a kid, and that just makes Peter’s increasingly hard-pressed, hard-luck life all the more endearing. He really is Just A Little Guy, all massive heart and zero filter and he’s very easy to like.

The cast is crammed full of people his equal too. Zendaya’s so-deadpan-she’s-horizontal MJ is a comedy goddess from the moment we see her on screen and Jacob Batalon’s Ned is sweet, very funny and the perfect sidekick. ‘Guy in the chair’ makes me laugh every time. Plus he, and the movie, benefit enormously from not featuring yet another Green Goblin or Harry Osborne iteration.

The script is also built, enormously cleverly, out of the consequences of movies you don’t need to see. If you do watch Avengers and Civil War you get context. Without them you still get the story of an immensely good hearted young man trying to balance school and life and super heroics and almost failing. The Iron Man plot across these movies got a lot of criticism but honestly, especially after the trudging return to canon in the final Garfield movie, it’s a refreshing change. It also leads to possibly the best Iron Man and Pepper Potts cameo in the entire MCU.

The action is shot through with that same sense of intensity and fragility too. Keaton’s Vulture is remarkable, both a dangerous sociopath and a man with an understandable grievance. His connection with Peter is one of the best surprises, and strongest relationships, in the MCU and it’s heartbreaking that he was relegated to Morbius after this. Along with his dismal treatment in recent DC movies, Keaton’s been really hard done by these movies and it’s a real shame. He deserves better and this proves it.

Verdict: Homecoming’s a delight. This Peter is incredibly sweet, likable and hard pressed. You can’t help but root for him and he, and the movie, are more than up to the challenge. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart