In the character’s third portrayal on the big screen, we join Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland, who looks like he is having a lot of fun) already as his alter-ego Spiderman. With no origin journey this time around, we see Peter at 15 years old, back at a high school setting in Queens. Somehow, given how many Spiderman films have come out in the last 15 years, the film manages to feel fresh and exciting. What I like so much about the Marvel films is that they are bright, lighthearted, and funny, just like opening a colorful comic book. This film continues to capture that spirit, and further connects more characters together in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The film opens with a set up for the main villain in the film, Vulture (Michael Keaton). We then jump in time to see Peter’s excited perspective of joining Iron Man in last year’s Captain America: Civil War. As we catch up to the present day, we see Peter anxiously awaiting to again hear from Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Iron Man’s chauffeur friend Happy (Jon Favreau). Jacob Batalon plays Peter’s best friend Ned (a nice change from the usual Harry Osborn in the previous Spiderman films), who is a big standout in the film. Peter’s big crush in the film is Liz (Laura Harrier), also a new character to the Spiderman films, who produces the film’s biggest twist. Marisa Tomei reprises her role as a young-version of Aunt May, and the cast is rounded out by Zendaya and Donald Glover, whose small roles are seemingly meant for bigger things in the future.
With Peter still in the newly gained stages of his powers, we get to see him come to terms with unexpected changes in his life. There are little moments that give this version of Peter Parker new sides to his personality and character that weren’t in the previous films. This includes a scene when Peter is scared to scale the Washington Monument, showing the fear and uncertainty he goes through in a location away from the usual New York streets.
We also see Peter unsure how to work his fancy new suit from Tony Stark, where he discovers a “suit lady” named Karen (wonderfully voiced by Jennifer Connelly, creating a perfect nod to Jarvis, who her husband, Paul Bettany, voiced before taking on his current role of Vision). Most notably though, we see Peter after a defeat, panicked and covered in a pile of rubble. To see him truly vulnerable and frightened was something you don’t really see all that much in these superhero films, and it made me root for him more. These moments also show how young this Peter is, providing an interesting balance to the other characters in the Marvel Universe. It will be exciting to see how he continues to develop and interact with the other heroes. This new film also makes me hopeful we will finally see some new and intriguing villains, something that the Spiderman comics have plenty of.
I found myself appreciating that this film didn’t have a huge focus on romance, which was a large part of Peter’s journey and life in the previous films. It was nice to see love be a bit sidelined with Peter just having a crush on a girl, and not much else riding on it. The movies before this always had Peter’s love interest taken or used by a villain, who then Peter had to try save before it was too late. This story finally took a different turn, making him a normal teen. At 2 hours and 13 minutes, the film goes by very quickly, managing to fit in many scenes and characters smoothly. Some characters don’t get to stand out because of this, but it still sets up a great future.
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