With Spider-Man's true identity revealed by Mysterio in what appears to be his final moments, Peter Parker is caught up in a media storm with backlash coming at him from every side. Painted as the bad guy, Peter has no choice but to put his head down and quietly get on with his life without any privacy or the distinguished line between his personal life and his superhero role. A few questionable decisions later and we have what I can only describe as one of the best Marvel movies to date! Read on to find out more...
Your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man; teenager Peter Parker, has had more than his fair share of battles as of recent, and what could be worse than a battle with no specific enemy? The Daily Bugle is pumping out false news left right and centre, with our protagonist seeing his identity revealed by an enemy he's not long defeated. But why is this such a problem? Accused of murder and with his every move being scrutinised by almost everybody, somethings got to give. With the support of his friends he perseveres with school and his extra curricular activities, but MJ and Ned are seeing the negative impact that being friends with a superhero can have. After their applications to colleges are rejected, Peter seeks out help to put the world to rights and give his buddies a fair chance at having a normal life. Queue Doctor Strange and his magical ways. Can anything ever be easy with Marvel? No. Of course not. It's never as easy as a click of the fingers.
This movie is so much more than Peter Parker. It covers the toll that being a superhero has on both the hero and those close to them, features a true redemption story if ever there was one, some cinematic and writing genius moments and, something I can talk about since it was in the trailer, the reappearance of some characters we've not seen in Marvel's own Spider-Man franchise as of yet.
Tom Holland is such a versatile actor, switching quickly from preppy teen to deeply anguished boyfriend. Zendaya ticks off the angst box with MJ's usual sense of foreboding, and Ned is; as usual, the superhero best friend who can't help but brag about his bestie! The trio make a great team, with an enviable screen dynamic which oozes with the sense of an unbreakable bond. No matter how far things go they will always be by his side.
I can't go into the story too much without spoiling it, but in his quest to set things right for his friends and their future Peter accidentally throws the rest of the world into turmoil. The cameos you've seen in the trailer don't stop there, and I can wholeheartedly say that this masterpieces rounds off stories we all wanted to return in one way or another. And the cameos don't stop with just the characters, you'll hear pieces of music you're familiar with too. If like me you're a sucker for a movie score (most recently got choked by Ghostbusters), there'll be a tear in your eye too.
A few things this movie made me realise:
The enemies in the Sony Spider-Man universe are often corrupted by something they desire, or to assist in the advances of their company in their industries; usually science based. 99% of the time the latter applies. You can almost sympathise.
Spider-Man always looks for the good in everyone, but isn't given the benefit of the doubt himself. So hopeful and appreciative of those around him, often looking out for everyone but himself.
The Avengers' previous mishaps have clearly made the public weary of superheros.
I prefer Tom Holland to Andrew Garfield but Tobey Maguire was always my fave, with Gwen Stacey trumping Mary Jane who trumps MJ in my ratings of girlfriends too.
Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, James Horner and Michael Giacchino, 4 of my 5 top movie soundtrack composers, were used across the different Spider-Man movies from both Marvel and Sony.
Alfred Molina has always and will always be my favourite part of any Spider-Man franchise, so I couldn't write a review without mentioning just how superb he is. Seeing him again in the trailer made me know that this film could be the best yet.
I didn't give it full marks because it is a little slow in getting where it needs to be, and at some stage I felt like I lost twenty minutes between unnecessary dialogue and plot additions. I didn't feel like it was all needed to cover the story at hand. But I can wholeheartedly recommend that anyone who reads this goes to the cinema and watches the latest addition to the Marvel franchise because there isn't a company out there that does a better job at building movies up and giving fans exactly what they want. There's a mid credit and post credit so stay for both please - you won't be disappointed!
Review by CB
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