MartyBon

Solid Spider-Man film, probably my favorite out of the MCU quadrilogy of Spider-Man films that I’ve seen. My previous misgivings with the ones before this was that I felt it didn’t have enough of a directly Spider-Man edge to it, with him constantly being more tethered to his role within the wider extended universe than his own personal character as a hero, so I was very satisfied when this film proved to develop more on Spidey as a man, than upon the MCU Extended Universe elements that I really don’t care for. The best Spider-Man works have Peter Parker, or whomever else dons the mask, deal with very adversarial and challenging circumstances in his everyday life—or in other words, it’s better when Spider-Man is miserable, which he truly is for much of the film, as that shows the underlying perseverance that makes him such a compelling character. This is the first film where I really felt like Tom Holland *is *Spider-Man, rather than just someone playing him, which speaks to how good of a performance he gives. That somber and tired yet ultimately warm and plucky energy that he carries really endears me to his version of Peter in the film, especially at the end, with his looks to the crowd outside the hospital, and all those conflicting emotions on his face. It’s really good stuff for a bogstandard superhero action flick; Peter and Frank Castle, played by Jon Bernthal, have a wonderful chemistry throughout the film, and form a friendship that I took an immense liking to; Bernthal’s performance in general was a highlight for me in the film. With Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, I admit I had trouble seeing her as more than “that girl from Stranger Things”, but she did a good job nonetheless with what she was given, as some of the lines she says would’ve been rather awkward if delivered with less skill, which she clearly has as an actress—she gives a heart that the film really needed, and which elevated it beyond many other MCU films. I really like what it said about self-acceptance while not overdoing it with self-independence, and the importance of asking others for help when needed. I’m not sure if I will watch *Avengers: Doomsday *when it comes out, as that looks to be a mess in the way that this film is not (I really appreciated this having a solidly constructed narrative despite 15 things going on at once, it performs a successful juggling act) but I would happily watch the next Spider-Man film that follows it.

I feel a great weight in my body, yet simultaneously, a great lightness in my heart.