Spider-Man: Homecoming

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Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Reviewed by: Donna Pan (Program Assistant at Youth Advocacy Training Institute)

Spider-Man: Homecoming is an action, adventure and science fiction film rated PG-13. It was released July 7th 2017 and is directed by Jon Watts. It is another revival based on the Spider-Man franchise created by Marvel Comics and stars Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Zendaya, Donald Glover and many more. As it follows Peter Parker’s life in high school, I would say that the target audience would be for all ages with a focus on teenagers as they can relate to the protagonist.

In this latest coming of age remake, Peter Parker is desperate to earn his title as a true avenger by working to please his mentor Tony Stark. Like any superhero, he puts the needs of his community first and is constantly caught in an internal conflict between his priorities and fighting against crime. With great power comes great responsibility right?  Young Spider-Man must look beyond the needs and problems that come with the average 15 year old. In the film, he finds himself head on with Adrian Toomes who is selling advanced lethal weapons after his salvage company was put out of business by Stark Industries. Does Parker choose between helping his decathlon competition win nationals or does he put justice first? What about attending homecoming with the girl of his dreams or bringing down Toomes before he successfully hijacks the weapons of Avengers Tower?

Like any Avengers film, Spider-Man: Homecoming is jam packed with action. While it was incredibly exciting and kept me on the edge of my seat, I would not recommend this film for families with younger children as some of the fight scenes were a little intense. The general age range of audience members would be 8+ years. The most enjoyable part of this film was watching Peter Parker continuously persevere even after he was fired by Tony Stark for meddling. He followed his heart and initial gut instinct and took down Toomes the right way- he could’ve left him to die after the materials began to explode, but Peter still chose to save his life and safely leave him to the police. What is interesting to note is that at the end of the film when Tony Stark finally offers Peter a full-time position as one of the Avengers, he respectfully declines as he chooses to focus on other after school hobbies like a regular teenage boy. I would definitely recommend this film to others and I am excited to see the future sequels that will be each follow a new school year for Peter Parker.

Was there smoking in the movie?

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Did the character appear less believable/realistic because they did not use tobacco? No.

What are the benefits of not having tobacco present on the screen? Having little to no drug or alcohol present in films that are intended for all audience members is crucial in ensuring that younger generations are not influenced by this exposure. Especially when the protagonist of the film is a 15 year old superhero, younger audience members will look to Spider-Man as a role model. Who doesn’t want to be an avenger and fight crime? With that said, as a role model, it is important that Spider-Man embodies every aspect of that.

Why do you think the movie-makers chose to keep tobacco out of this movie? I believe they chose to keep tobacco out of the film because it truly is not necessary to develop the plot or character. At the same time, parents who want to take their children to come see the film would have been deterred had there been tobacco present within the film. Drug and substance abuse in movies has proven to increase the uptake of smoking within youth demographics and so it is highly discouraged across all boards and I am sure it played a role in the movie-makers’ decisions to keep tobacco out of sight.