I'm going to admit something I've never....wait, I say this all the time: I hate the Toby Maguire Spider-Man movies. He was the least Spider-Man, Spider-Man of all time. I was pretty sure that he was crying even when telling jokes in costume. He was a great Peter Parker but a terrible Spider-Man. That being said, until this movie came out, Spider-Man 2 was the best the character had achieved in the cinema.
This movie picks up right where it should, shortly after the end of Endgame. The events of that movie create a driving force as Tom Holland's Peter Parker tries to figure out his place in the new world created during the Infinity War. There is an emotional level to this movie I wasn't expecting after the first, where the humor seemed to play the key part in the story. The story is surprisingly deep. After it's over you'll be going back over it looking for clues.
Visually, it's a Marvel movie, but there are some surprises. With a character like Mysterio in the plot, visuals are indeed very important and this film takes it to heart. There are some seriously mind-bending sequences in the film that made me insanely happy. It was handled perfectly. I'd like to point out something, if you've ever heard me on the Reel Crime Podcast, you'd know that I cannot stand Jake Gyllenhaal. He absolutely drives me nuts, but here (damn it) I really thought he brought a lot to the part. He was amazingly effective as Mysterio.
Now I'm not going to say it's perfect. It's not. It's got a few flaws, but nothing that overly affects the experience. It's fun with great pacing, clever story-telling, and honestly a few scenes that will give you some emotional gut punches.
If you were one of the people that screamed 'forced diversity', I'm sorry that thankfully wasn't fixed. The performances by everyone were spot on, some more than others (I'm looking at you Samuel L. Jackson with your bad ass self). There is a ton of character growth, a ton of laughs, enough awkwardness that I think I relived my high-school homecoming dance, and in general a ton of fun.
So, I leave you with this, if you're a Spider-Man fan and have either learned to adapt to the changes in the MCU version, or are just a fan of the movies and the characters, you will love this. It truly does hit all its marks and was a true pleasure to watch. I can't wait for all of you to see it so I can 'squee' with you, because there are so many moments that are worthy. Also, there are two after credits scenes and a tribute that should make some of you anti Stan Lee fans or fans of the late great Steve Ditko happy. I'd go so far as to say this is the best Spidey movie I've seen. If it was anything other than Spider-Man, it'd get a four out of five, but it's Spidey. And it's the best one yet.
Nuff Said!
--Trevor West
