Got a chance to watch a movie this past weekend, and my wife suggested Spider-man Homecoming. I have never been a huge Spidey fan, so I skipped this Marvel flick in the theaters. However, I can saw without a doubt that Homecoming was a lot more fun and inventive than I thought it would be.

First off… SPOILERS Proceed below the fold only if you have seen the movie or don’t care about being spoiled.

First, the one thing I really like about Spider-man Homecoming is that they don’t start with a cheesy origin story. They just assume you know what’s going on, or, even more importantly, don’t care how he got his powers. At one point he tells a friend that he got bit by a spider, and that was about the end of it for him. His friend kept badgering him with questions, but to Peter, it was no big deal.

I also really enjoyed the humor in this version of Spider-man. It was fun without being cheesy. There were typical teenage subplots about love and high school, but they were somewhat lighthearted, and didn’t distract from the overall theme of the movie, which was Peter Parker figuring out how to be a hero.

I also really enjoyed the ending where Peter turns down a spot on the Avengers so that he can just be a kid for a while longer. I know we’ll see him with the Avengers from time to time, but I like that they didn’t just thrust him into the spotlight, upending his whole life. The writing managed to show a lot of maturity in his character with that choice.

My main quibble with the movie was that I found it really hard to believe that these kids were all 15-16 years old. I understand the desire to want to cast more mature actors for tough roles, but I wish they would have just admitted that he looked more like a high school senior than a sophomore. Granted that might have detracted from the theme of growing up, but it would have been more believable.

All in all, a great movie, and I had a great time watching it. I hope to see more of Spider-man in future Marvel installments.