Ed's Review Dot Com

Columbia Pictures, Marvel Studios, Pascal Pictures,

Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyne Daly, Martin Starr, Hannibal Buress, Abraham Attah, Kenneth Choi, Selenis Leyva, Angourie Rice, Garcelle Beauvais, Michael Chernus, Michael Mando, Logan Marshall-Green, Jennifer Connelly, Martha Kelly

After all his exciting adventures with the Avengers in the last film, Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is back home in high school trying to get along. He’s not the most popular kid in the class, and he’s always sneaking out on Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) who is his legal guardian but has no knowledge of his secret identity. But Peter notices something strange going on when he spots some out of this world weapons keep showing up and a spooky flying monster named Vulture (Michael Keaton) is behind it all. Peter keeps digging even though not only will Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) not believe him, but he tries to stop him from fooling around on his own, so Peter has to try to solve the mystery on his own, although he may not survive the week.

To tell the truth, I am getting really weary of all the Superhero movies this summer. It’s been one after another after another, and I think I’m not the only one who’s getting tired of them from the box office numbers this summer. I didn’t expect much from this film, and I was really expecting to wait until it came out on DVD, but my wife and her sister really wanted to see it, so they took me along. It wasn’t as bad as I expected, and I was somewhat surprised at how interesting it was. I wasn’t blown away, and there are some weaknesses in the story, and Tom Holland just isn’t strong enough to carry the film. Cameos by a few of the Avengers and their backup crew don’t do much to help either. The story is kind of weak, and the acting is kind of weak, and so that takes away from the overall enjoyment. If you’re a real Spidey fan, then you probably like the older films a lot better. If you love the mix-up of Avenger characters in each other’s movies, then you might dig that, but all in all this is just a mediocre movie, and I’ve seen it all before. I would have been happy to wait for DVD for this one.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Scott Rudin Productions, Michael De Luca Productions, Trigger Street,

Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali, Michael Chernus, Corey Johnson, Max Martini, Chris Mulkey, David Warshofsky, Yul Vazquez, Catherine Keener

This film, based on real events covers the 2009 hijacking of the Meaersk Alabama container cargo ship by Somali pirates. The Alabama was carrying relief food and water and goods to the people of Somali. They were sailing in risky waters and followed the proper protocol for attempted piracy, but still ended up in a serious situation. This is the minute by minute account of the actions of the Captain (Tom Philipps), the crew, and the pirates as the events unfold in major action and suspense.

There has been a little controversy over the accuracy of the events told in the story. I’m sure there are a lot of liberties taken to make this into a Hollywood blockbuster. If I were one of the sailors aboard the ship, I might take a little offense at the changes from actual events. But as a dramatic telling of the story, this is an excellent movie. Certainly the artistry of Tom Hanks adds a lot to it. He plays the Captain in a remarkable way. The major story is about the Captain and the leader of the Pirate band, and how both are riding a wave of events that are completely out of their control. Neither can really do anything but play out the drama. In the words of Captain Philipps, “We all have bosses.” This is the true meaning of the story. But in getting there we’re placed in a marvelous adventure filled with suspense. This is a roller-coaster ride of emotions from start to finish and one of the finest films of 2013. This is one you should NOT miss.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog