“Spider-Man: Homecoming” came out on Jul. 7 and is knocking out all other prospected box office hits. After racking in a grand total of $257 million after the worldwide opening of the film, the numbers speak for themselves in saying that the movie is one to see.  Due to the fact that there have been a few sequels and reboots of ‘Spider-Man’ this particular rendition played as a test for the producers at Sony Pictures.  The need for a fresh take on the famous superhero was needed and it was done so with some seriously positive feedback.

This film is the first serious breakthrough for Sony Pictures since its cyber attack in 2014. With an all in budget of $175 million for the movie, Sony knew that they needed to pull out the big guns for this one. For the first time, Sony took steps into partnering with Marvel Studios to produce the movie. The producers, Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal, had only three days to pitch the idea to marvel in hopes of getting them to participate. Marvel agreed to work with the film adding a handful of credibility along with definite following of fans, and so began the rise to the top of the box office.

Another one of the attributes to the film making it such a hit is that it is super family friendly and was specifically made to appeal to a wider audience but specifically to the youngsters. This film focuses on the high school years of Peter Parker.  Lead actor, Tom Holland, plays a sophomore version of Parker. Like other ‘Spider-man’ films the high school setting is said to be what’s represented but it was always hard to follow along just based on how adult-like the actors playing the characters came off to be. Holland is most distinguishable in terms of his take of Peter Parker because of how well he actually acts like a high school student.  In this film Peter is facing the adolescent high school years; he’s corky and nerdy, and just trying to make it through the 10^th grade.  The take on the youngster years makes the film that much more authentic and relatable.  He portrays a kid that looks up to the Avengers and their superhero ways just like any other teenager. Parker has love interests and bullies but while dealing with those he is an aspiring junior superhero.

Peter Parker attends a magnet high school which sets the movie on the originality scale but at a different standard.  It’s like any other high school scene except that everyone is just a little above average in terms of academia.  All the students in the magnet school are nerdy with a drop of the predictable high school stereotypes.  For example, Peter Parker’s bully, Flash Thompson, played by Tony Revolori is callous but with a side of overachiever.

Among other things that makes this movie so appealing is that it is extremely diverse in casting.  Tony Revolori who played Flash the bully was commentated on a lot about the difference in portrayal of his character in the comic versus the movie.  Some hardcore fans didn’t think that he fit the mold in their heads but others are raving about his performance and how he depicted it. Revolori even gained 60 pounds just solely for the role.  The diversity in characters makes the movie so much more relatable and was one of the many contributing factors for the film’s success.  Apart from that the actually actors that were casted each had their own audience. Some known from TV shows and other movies, some are just plain old movie stars like Robert Downey Jr. and Zendaya.

The film includes characters from some of the earlier comics including Michelle Jones played by Zendaya who plays the edgy, careless classmate, as well as Flash Thompson and his girlfriend Liz played by Tony Revolori and Laura Harrier.  Robert Downey Jr. plays a mentor role in the film portraying his well know role of Tony Stark or better known as Iron Man.  He is worked into the movie by being Peter Parker’s boss for an internship.  He introduces the superhero life to Parker and even gives him a super-suit with a few Iron Man features.  The suit does not take away from Peter Parker’s spidey-sense it just adds a twist with a technological feel. When living the superhero life it is expected face one or two villains.  Michael Keaton plays the role as low key villain named Vulture, who is a ravenous thief and weapons dealer, the perfect match for the adolescent Spidey.  Vulture has no plans of world domination but his crimes are big enough to be left in the hands of Peter Parker part-time superhero. The battles between the two fulfill every conflict need, from fighting to the witty remarks.

If the weekend is looking bare, everything about this movies success rate is suggesting that it should fill the place of that empty timeslot.  It’s the superhero fix that can appeal to the whole family. “Spider-man: Homecoming” takes a new take on the well-known plot and exceeds all expectations.