So I saw the movie this afternoon and now that I've had a few hours to digest, I thought I'd mention my thoughts.
It was a hilarious movie. Tom Holland and Michael Keaton sold me 100%, with the result that not only am I completely back on board with Spider-man as a character (who I haven't really been very interested in for years) but I am actively hoping for more Vulture, too. There are other villains I've liked and even loved in the MCU, but this is the first one I'd be actively disappointed to never see again. Part of me actually wonders (hopes) if they're not at least toying with the idea of him being the next Loki if Asgard stops being relevant in phase 4. Or if Sony wants him to headline something involving the Sinister Six.
This was one of the best solo movies in the MCU, right up there with the CA movies. It has a great story and great action. I love the design of all the villains and their weapons. It's easily the best Spider-Man movie, in my opinion, because it's the only one that hasn't tried to force him to instantly graduate to his best self and his most epic villains. He's learning as he goes and bettering himself, which is exactly what Spider-man should be about, to me. Tom Holland is by far the best Spider-man compared to Tobey Maguire (who was terrible) and Andrew Garfield (who was ok, but also way too old to be a teenager and had a few rough spots). And most of all, it's the only Spider-man movie that's actually dared to do something unique. With a great supporting cast, it really does feel like a high school movie about a superhero (possibly the best high school movie since the 80s)- which is not only a rare thing, unprecedented among modern superhero movies, it's also incredibly engaging and humanizing. It doesn't follow the boring Sony formula and consequently it actually feels like a new, interesting, surprising story. He's not stuck on great power and great responsibility anymore: finally, he can now learn more than one lesson and actually feel like a well-rounded person. Yet it does also display a great connection to and respect for the character's traditions - from the cartoon theme song to the web wings and the unique webshots to the great twist that Toomes is his Girlfriends dad. That last bit is actually by far the most effective example of Spider-man's personal connections to his villains we've ever seen in a movie precisely because they manged to convince me that it wasn't going to happen, which made that entire scene so incredibly tense and menacing.
I also love the low-key, but perfectly integrated way it fit into the MCU. It had so many cameos - more than I thought it would - but nearly the perfect amount. Chris Evans' psa videos were fantastic - especially the last one. Even Gwyneth Paltrow's return was a great little moment for Iron Man (who doesn't get his own movies anymore) while still telling you something really important about Spider-man (that he actually was being offered an Avengers spot).
I do think it's ironic that in one of Marvel Studios' best movie, they're now suddenly being attacked for not being comic accurate enough. I see people (not necessarily on this site) complaining about the Vulture's costume (even thought it was fantastic), complaining about a girl named Michelle Jones calling herself MJ, complaining about Aunt May finding out Peter's secret, complaining about Spider-man having too much technology... Seriously, if those are the worst things people could say about this, then great job Marvel!
I'm not saying it's a perfect movie. I agree Stark and Happy were a little too hands off considering they were supposed to be taking responsibility for Peter on themselves. I agree it was weird that there was no form of extra security on the Avengers plane (at least someone keeping a visual eye on it at all times, or, maybe, a quinjet escort or something). And while I love that Peter's final act in the suit in this movie isn't beating the bad guy but saving the bad guy, instead, I do feel a little weird that the final battle mostly consisted of Peter getting his butt kicked and was actually basically a loss until the Vulture tech gave out. But man the Vulture did look awesome and I loved the way he moved and attacked using those foot-claws.
Unquestionably an A+ movie and yet another hit in an incredible year for superheros. Honestly, going into 2017 I wasn't really excited about anything that was coming, but so far I've had 3 fantastic movie experiences, 1 really good one and no disappointments at all. And the trailers for Thor Ragnarok are already looking awesome, as well. That just makes me so happy.