Plot Summary: Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever.

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Director: Jon Watts

Writer: Chris McKena, Erik Sommers

Runtime: 2 hr 9 mins

Runtime:

• Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
• Zendaya as MJ
• Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
• Jake Gyllenhaal as Quentin Beck / Mysterio
• Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
• Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
• Marisa Tomei as May Parker

Review by: Erika T

The MCU has been rocked due to the fall out of Endgame, for the characters of the story and viewers alike. So this was a very important movie to reset, settle in, and usher in the next phase of the MCU.  No pressure. 

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This review will contain Endgame spoilers, but with $2.7 billion in the bank I am going to assume that almost everyone who wanted to see it has seen it. 

Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is back as our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, but he’s traveling abroad to Europe with his classmates, including his crush MJ (Zendaya). He wants nothing more but to enjoy a normal vacation for a few weeks like any other high school student, but evil never takes a vacay so he is reluctantly brought in to help Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Quentin Beck/Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) uncover the mystery of several elemental creature attacks, creating destruction that puts planet Earth in jeopardy once again.

What I liked: I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie was different from the trailer. The trailer was fine, but the film ultimately went a different direction than how I assumed it would go.  With so many movies under MCU’s, belt I am glad that they still bring a level of unpredictability. Initially, I was unsure about Mysterio as an addition to MCU as his powers and origin seemed generic, but as the movie settles in he becomes a lot more interesting.  

I thought it was heartfelt and natural how Peter is still grieving Tony’s death and struggles with trying to fill his shoes. But he is also a genius in his own right, so that starts to shine through a little more here. 

I like the Peter/MJ dynamic a lot compared to the original Tobey Maguire series.  They honestly feel so much more like awkward teenagers through Holland and Zendaya’s portrayal and it’s just…cute! 

The effects and visuals were really well done and so trippy! Watching it in IMAX really enhances that effect. I didn’t know that most of the film (about 70-80%) was shot in IMAX, so that was another great surprise. And they do such a good job with editing that you barely notice when scenes switch back and forth between the two. 

What I didn’t like:  When this threat is initially presented, I thought the excuses for limiting the amount of Avengers who could help combat this issue was a bit weak. We’re shown that this is a threat which could destroy the whole planet, not just a city or a few friends of the titular character. So personally, I’m going to expect all hands on deck for something like this, and at the time it just seemed a little unrealistic to avoid reaching out to others because they were “busy”.  

Images Courtesy of IMDB