SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

Here's the honest trade-off. Tom Holland makes a terrific, likable Peter Parker, the humor lands more consistently than in any prior Spider-Man movie, and Robert Downey Jr., Michael Keaton, and Jacob Batalon all shine. The story also carries real moral weight: Peter learns that character matters more than a fancy suit, sacrifice is honored, and even loving your enemy gets a nod.

But the craft underneath the fun is thin. The writing is lazy in places, the Peter-and-Aunt-May relationship feels stale next to the original trilogy, and character development gets rushed to make room for action. And the content is a real step down from earlier Spider-Man films: a flurry of obscenities, a near-complete "f" word from Aunt May, and a jarring joke about watching porn that treats the subject far too lightly for a movie aimed at kids who love this character.

That combination — solid performances, sloppy writing, and content too rough for the target audience — argues for the couch, not the theater, and for parents previewing it first. Bottom line: worth a look at home, adults deciding first.

Fresh off his brush with the Avengers, high school freshman Peter Parker is back home in Queens with a brand-new Spider-Man suit courtesy of Tony Stark — and strict orders to stick to small-time crime while he learns the ropes. Peter has bigger ambitions. When he stumbles onto a criminal outfit selling dangerous weapons built from alien technology, run by a mysterious man in mechanical wings, Peter decides he's ready for more than Stark thinks he is. What that decision costs him is where the story really begins.

Three stars means this one is genuinely entertaining but not as well-made as its reputation suggests. The humor is sharper and more consistent than in previous Spider-Man films, Tom Holland's Peter is likable and convincing, and Downey, Keaton, and Batalon all bring real energy to their roles.

The seams show elsewhere. The film rushes past character development to get to the action, leaving the Peter-and-Aunt-May relationship flat compared to the original trilogy, and Marisa Tomei's performance suffers from writing that doesn't give her much to work with. It's a fun watch carried by good casting more than good craftsmanship — enjoyable, but not as sharp as it could have been.

At its core, this is a moral, redemptive story. Peter learns he has to be someone of character with or without the suit. Sacrifice is honored, listening to rightful authority matters, and the film even nudges toward loving one's enemy — Tony Stark's insistence that Peter be better than he is lands as a genuinely good note. There's a passing reference to a "miracle," and Stark himself says "Thank God."

That moral center comes bundled with some murkier elements. A strand of paganism runs through the film, including a reference to Hinduism, alongside some rebellious behavior the story treats too lightly. A light anti-capitalist thread — the villain framed as an entrepreneur just trying to "build" something against a one-percenter — is softened by Stark's own portrayal as a good mentor, but a teenage character's claim that the Washington Monument shouldn't be celebrated "because it was built by slaves" is a politically loaded, historically inaccurate line (most of the monument was actually built after slavery was outlawed) that parents should be ready to correct, not just absorb.

Underneath the humor and the alien weapons is an old, true longing: to be someone worth trusting even when no one is watching, to be more than the power you're given. Scripture puts it more plainly than any suit can: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

There's a lot to like here — Tom Holland is the Spider-Man fans have wanted, the humor works, and the film's heart is in the right place. But lazy writing and rougher content than earlier Spider-Man movies mean this one's better previewed by parents and watched at home than taken to the theater as a family outing. Our answer stands: wait for home — adults only. Looking for something the whole family can watch together instead? Start with our latest family-friendly picks.