Reviewed: Spider-Man: Homecoming; The House

Spider-Man: Homecoming should be titled Spider-Teen, and that is its strength.

Tom Holland as a young Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Spider-Man: Homecoming should be titled Spider-Teen, and that is the strength of this 16th planet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This is a charming, funny, coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old, Peter Parker, who has more power than he can handle and at the same time is frustrated that he can’t show it off.

It’s reminiscent of a rival comic strip lad named Clark who would run faster than a train because he was tired of being teased by the boys and ignored by the girls.

“What is it like being famous when no-one knows it’s you?” moans wannabe Spider-Man.

English actor Tom Holland returns as Parker, continuing the role he began in Captain America: Civil War (2016). This movie, directed by Jon Watts, picks up where that one left off, opening with a wry scene in which the US Department of Damage Control steps in to stop a salvage operator, Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), from retrieving bits of alien hardware.

Michael Keaton as paternal villain Adrian Toomes in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Toomes goes underground, turning his business into one that finds and fixes scraps of alien weaponry and sells it to criminals. He’s also made himself a kick-ass avian-themed suit of armour. Fans will know him as Vulture. We have moved on eight years from the opening.

Above ground, Toomes is a loving family man, proud of his beautiful daughter Michelle (Zendaya), a senior at Parker’s high school. Keaton, an ex-Batman, gambols on the other side of the fence, bringing in aspects of his mad dad from Birdman and bits of Tony Soprano.

Having impressed Tony Stark-Iron Man in the previous film, Parker is desperate to become a fully fledged Avenger. Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is encouraging, but Parker’s teendom causes trouble. Parker just wants to be a superhero, well before he’s ready for a job that even the greatest (except perhaps Thor) find overwhelming. Vulture causes grief too, as the two sides of Toomes’s life merge in a neat twist.

The result is a 15-year-old sneaking around and making mistakes like the average teen. He eats Doritos, worries about pimples, mopes on roofs and constantly checks his phone for a text from Avenger headquarters.

Stark does provide him with a proper suit to replace his Halloween-store one, but puts clever limits in the software such as Training Wheels Protocol and Baby Monitor Protocol.

Parker deactivates these with the help of his tech-savvy pal Ned (an excellent Jacob Batalon). The results are hilarious, such as when he tries to stop an ATM robbery. The bandits are wearing Avenger masks and when Thor’s comes off, Parker makes the sort of droll in-joke that lifts the Marvel movies. “I thought you’d be more handsome in person.” Hear that, Chris Hemsworth?

Captain America also pops up in amusing circumstances. Marisa Tomei, as Parker’s aunt, and Jon Favreau, as Stark’s major-domo, are fun to watch. There are thrilling action scenes, too, including one on the Washington Monument. But this, the first of several planned movies involving the new Spider-Man, is all about him learning the ropes so he can use the webs. His exchanges with Stark come close to something like tough love. “The adult is talking,’’ Stark reminds him, more than once.

***

Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler and Jason Mantzoukas in a scene from The House.

The Will Ferrell-Amy Poehler comedy The House is interesting to review as it’s topping early lists as the worst movie of the year. Tellingly, there were no preview screenings for critics. So how bad is it? Well, it’s low but not rock bottom. Indeed at the session I attended I was exposed to trailers for coming movies that look worse. I liked watching it for the philosophical reasons above, but I don’t for a ­moment suggest you pay money to see it.

Scott (Ferrell) and Kate (Poehler) say they will be losing their best friend when their daughter Alex (Ryan Simpkin) goes to the prestige college at which she’s secured a place. Then a promised scholarship is cancelled so Scott and Kate have to come up with a $50,000 tuition fee, quickly. Their gambling addict best friend Frank (Jason Mantzoukas) persuades them to open an illegal casino in their home.

From here it’s a no-jackpot comedy with some severed body parts thrown in as the dodgy council, police and mobsters become involved. Jeremy Renner has a guns and blood cameo. There are riffs on Martin Scorsese’s ­Casino and The Sopranos that are not too bad. I laughed a few times. But the up-close moments, the Ferrell and Poehler non-repartee and barely physical comedy, are embarrassing.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (M)

3.5 stars

National release

The House (MA15+)

2 stars

National release