Spider-Man Homecoming represents the third time in 15 years that this comic book hero has been re-booted for the movies.  Directors Sam Raimi and Marc Webb got plenty of mileage out of the academically brilliant but awkward teenager turned superhero with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield respectively.  Now the 36 year old Jon Watts, with a resume that lists Cop Car and Clown as his noteworthy efforts, takes aim at this successful franchise.  He brings a fresh take to the story that’s filled with action and excitement.  Is the third time the charm?  Is a tub of buttered popcorn hard to resist?

Spider-Man Homecoming features 21 year old Tom Holland, of West End Billy Elliot fame, as the socially inept high schooler Peter Parker. Now movie goer beware, Watts provides no narrative exposition of how Peter Parker became Spider-Man –  there’s an assumption that everyone knows he was bitten by a radio active spider and that you have already seen the 2012 version of The Avengers which culminates in ‘the Battle of New York’ because that’s where the movie picks up.

These stories always seem to incorporate a solid citizen who turns villainous due to a random injustice.  This time is no exception as Michael Keaton portrays the hard working contractor Adrian Toomes who, in the film’s cold open, while cleaning up alien rubble is summarily dismissed due to government red tape.  But with the help of a few bobbles of alien ‘glow in the dark stones’ (remember to catchup on The Avengers) and a few devious pals, Toomes becomes the Vulture and voila! – We have our good versus evil story.  I enjoyed Keaton in this role, he’s a good comic book foil – deviously entertaining and filled with expressive wit and a dash of darkness.

Right on the heels of Keaton, Robert Downey Jr appears and shifts his Tony Stark/Iron Man character into high gear. He keeps the revs up in limited but memorable scenes.  Since rebooting himself in 2008 as Iron Man, Downey 2.0 continues to demonstrate that he is marvelously adroit at delivering spot on performances.  Visually and verbally his portrayal of the over the top Iron Man’s alter ego Stark is wildly entertaining and better than the likes of any Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne that’s ever hit the screen.

But let’s get back to Tom Holland because he’s refreshingly vibrant and brings a welcome change to the Parker/Spidey role. While Maguire and Garfield both incorporated a bit of brooding edge to their characters, this time under Watts’ direction young Holland will have nothing of that.

This is a Spider-Man filled with youthful exuberance, unboundless energy and a naïveté that throws caution to the wind. And while the story may lack a foundational background upon which to build this character, it clearly makes up for it as Peter Parker learns how to go from high schooler to super hero. Tom Holland does an admirable job, bringing a well choreographed physicality to the role, surely a byproduct of his London days as Billy Elliot.

Typical of summer blockbusters, there’s a cavalcade of actors in supporting roles. All of the new faces play fellow high schoolers providing context for Peter Parker’s trials and tribulations. I can’t say any of the performances standout and it remains to be seen if one or more of them will emerge as stars in their own right as they leverage the success of this film.

Better known faces are there too including; Tyne Daly, Donald Glover, Jon Favreau (reprising his Iron Man right hand man duties) and Marisa Tomei as Aunt May – yes she’s old enough to be somebody’s aunt. There’s even a Gwyneth Paltrow cameo to keep the Pepper Potts/Tony Stark romance alive. All of them are up to the job albeit Ms. Tomei would have done even better in a larger role.

Yep, Spider-Man Homecoming delivers – its good clean action filled fun and most importantly it’s fresh. So get your phone out, click that movie app and buy yourself a couple of tickets.  And hey…save a little of that bucket of buttered popcorn for me, I might just show up to see it a second time.