Tom Holland continues to hold the mantle as our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in this fun, emotionally impactful sequel to Spider-Man Homecoming. Coming off the intensity created from Avengers: Endgame, the action continues through this sequel as we see Peter starting to come to grips with his new responsibilities as he and everyone around him tries to recover from the damage from the snap. With Peter being persistent on having a normal summer and actually confessing his true feelings to MJ (played by Zendaya), this opens up a more realistic aspect to the story in more ways than one.

What I liked most about the film was the way Tony Stark's death was handled, actually seeing how this parental figure not only affects Peters' powers, but his mental health as well. Some may complain that Tony Stark's element to the story is unnecessary, but I beg to differ. It really tackles the aspects of the mourning process I did not think would be addressed in such a film. It is clear that even though Tony is gone, he won't be forgotten as his presence is felt throughout the film and very much apart of the progression of the current story. 

Now even though we have that side of things dealing with death and mourning in the film, the comedy aspect is definitely alive; Nick Fury returns funnier than ever, delivering the best line in the film, “Bitch please you’ve been to outer space.” Marisa Tomei, J.B. Smoove, Zendaya, Jon Favreau and Jacob Batalon all also come through with hilarious lines in the film. Now aside from those layers of the film, it’s a superhero movie, so the action was phenomenal. 

The action takes a minute to really get going but when it does, it's truly visually pleasing. The pacing of the film really gave us time to enjoy the characters in a different way. As this was my first time going to see a Spider-Man film since the last incarnation of Spider-Man, I saw what I was missing out on. From the hilariously relatable characters to the unexpected comedy, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

The introduction of Mysterio was a nice way to tie him into the entire story which is what I love about Marvel and their movies, the continuity within the story and the characters. Jake Gyllenhall plays a wonderful trickster from another world who is set on destroying the Elementals as they have just destroyed his world and moved on to Earth as their next place to destroy. The relationship between Peter Parker and Mysterio was a great touch to an already great story. It was like the bromance no one knew was coming but nonetheless enjoyed.

As the film progresses we see our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man truly dig deep into being a hero and finally understanding what that means. While of course he gets the girl, we also got to see another aspect to Peter and MJ’s romance, which I feel was very important as another layer of the new MJ erupts and proves to be quite pleasing and entertaining.

There are also mid-credit and end-credit scenes you HAVE to stay for as it truly sets up the next phase of the Marvel cinematic universe. The movie also pushes the story to new levels for Peter and everyone else in our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man's world. It gives you something to be hyped about especially since Marvel has released a report stating they have plans for two more films exploring this version of Spider-Man into his senior year and college as well. Lets just say we should get used to this Spider-Man, and after seeing the film you'll understand it's within good reason.

Echo Grade: B+

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