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Written by: Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers (written by), Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (based on the Marvel comic book by, Spider-Man created by)
Directed by: Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Tramell Tillman, Marisa Tomei, Mark Ruffalo
Rated: PG-13
Plot
A forgotten Peter Parker lives alone as a full-time Spider-Man until mounting pressure triggers a dangerous change and a powerful new enemy emerges.
Verdict
Instead of another world ending disaster, this narrows the focus. Peter Parker struggles with being isolated and alone. While that allows him to focus on criminals, it leaves his life hollow. Parallels are drawn between Spider-Man, the Punisher, and the villain. All of them have isolated themselves for similar reasons, and that leads to instability. While this is a bit long, Peter's evolution adding length, it remains entertaining while providing emotional and physical stakes. Holland established himself as the definitive Spider-Man with his first movie, and this explores the toll of being everything to everybody.
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Review
The latest Spider-Man entry and the fourth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, following Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). At the end of that movie Peter Parker chose to have the entire world forget he exists to close the tears in the multiverse. That meant he was on his own again, providing the franchise a fresh start.
Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is alone; his aunt is gone and he had his friends forget him for their own safety. He watches them through their social media posts as he lives vicariously with them. Four years pass as MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) attend and graduate MIT. The pair move back to New York where Peter happens to attend their house party. That only makes what he's given up for their safety more painful. Peter has gained acclaim as Spider-Man, having drastically reduced crime in the city, but Peter's only point of contact is the police chief, Dewolff (Liza Colón-Zayas).
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| Tom Holland plays Peter Parker / Spider-Man |
An attack on the Department of Damage Control reveals a new villain, one with telepathic abilities including mind control. The telepath can mentally leap from person to person at will. That makes the telepath not just difficult to catch but nearly impossible to even track. Damage Control houses super villains while backwards engineering any bad guy tech to use for good. This villain stages yet another attack on a Damage Control facility.
Due to isolation, Peter has developed a next level of spider abilities. I think this whole sub-plot could be removed without changing the story. It adds artificial limits and stakes that are surface level at best and more of a nuisance. His new spider abilities make him more powerful yet erratic. He develops an inhibitor device to keep his spider hormones in check. As soon as that happens, we know he's going to have to take that limitation off later to 'level up.'
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| Tom Holland plays Spider-Man |
The telepath can enter any mind except Peter's, but she can track him. That's how she finds his link to MJ, putting her in danger. Spider-man must save her despite the fact she doesn't know him as Peter. The telepath meddles in that, making fun of the trope that one kiss can save everything and restore order. Peter entrusts MJ's safety to the only sort of friend he has, The Punisher aka Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal). Peter also gets a moment with MJ and Ned, though they still don't remember him. It's cathartic for Peter.
The telepath attacks Damage Control yet again, this time using one of the Avengers for an advantage. Peter arrives to save the day. He's learned the telepath's identity, a character we've seen before from other movies in several iterations. While Spider-Man saves the day, he discovers that the head of Damage Control lied to him. That causes him to question the villain's motives against Damage Control. They not only experiment with villain technology, they also experiment on super powered people they capture, and they detain more than just bad guys. That's why the telepath is after them. Spider-Man helped facilitate the telepath's capture, and now he's back to make things right. The telepath has leveled up, it's the final fight after all, and Spider-Man must do the same. He removes his inhibitor to unleash his full power. It's awfully convenient to level up just as the penultimate battle happens to increase the tension. Peter and the telepath have a moment when a memory of Aunt May is accessed. They both know what it's like to have lost someone close to them.
Spider-Man saves the day, but Peter realizes he can't do everything by himself. What that means isn't exactly clear, but he does let the police handle a robbery in progress while he recovers from the big battle. Frank also helps him out as it's clear he cares about Peter.
Peter manages to find some peace, realizing the city cares about him. While he separated himself from his friends, it was in order to protect them. He's always trying to do the right thing. As Frank states, Peter is a good kid. This does leave a remote possibility that MJ and Ned might some day remember him, but that also seems to violate the rules this franchise has put in place. I suppose that's more an effort to end this on a hopeful note. I expect there to be another Spider-man movie, and it will likely explore a way to restore Peter's friendship with MJ and Ned. The next Marvel movie will be Avengers: Doomsday (2026).
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