This is the third time I've seen a Spider-Man movie at an out-of-the-way theater at a friend's invitation. As much as I've enjoyed the Tom Holland entries, the ads didn't make me eager to watch more after nearly five years. Little did I know how much others loved the trailer and, so far, the flick itself.
Peter "Spider-Man" Parker (Holland) is certainly more of a man now, living alone, albeit with no apparent job, and making short work of most New York villains. He's also becoming more of a spider, as his fused DNA asserts itself, heightening his senses, letting him shoot webs organically like the Tobey Maguire version, and making him more brutal under stress like a lesser Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), whose alter ego he visits for advice. Amid this identity crisis, he must contend with a foe (Sadie Sink) who gives other people identity crises by temporarily possessing them. The mystery mind-hopper is intent on infiltrating U.S. Department of Damage Control headquarters, which houses so many sensitive, potentially scandalous secrets that its director (Tramell Tillman) can hardly guess which is being targeted.
I won't say who the antagonist is, but it's someone we see more often as a hero (not the Scarlet Witch), with a slightly different application of powers. The dark turn herein is still understandable under the circumstances, so this is yet another case where the hero can hope to win just by persuasion. That optimism, of course, is not shared by Spidey's fair-weather friend, Frank "The Punisher" Castle (Jon Bernthal), who will do whatever he deems necessary for defense.
Don't worry, action fans; there's still plenty of knock-down, drag-out fighting on the main hero's part. He just doesn't rely on Stark tech as much as he did nine years ago. (Not sure how long it's been in-universe; only two years have past since the 2021 movie.) The main vestige is his AI assistant "E.V." (Naomi Watts) talking into his ear and providing visual displays only he can see.
In case you're wondering, Spidey is uniquely resistant to possession, unlike in SM3. I doubt it's a matter of mental fortitude, as for the Jedi mind trick in Star Wars, given who else falls victim to it. Is the spider side restructuring his brain? Eh, that's not the biggest unanswered conundrum. I'm more concerned that a possessor could take a much subtler approach to breaking into the HQ.
The enemy isn't the only one making questionable decisions. In the wake of (spoiler alert) the amnesia spell, Spider-Man has opted not to introduce himself to former friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) or ex-girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) even simply as Peter. If I were a superhero, I would not hide my identity from anyone I trusted in the interest of protecting them; I've seen enough drama to know it doesn't work out.
Fortunately, while BND isn't as much happier than No Way Home as the title insinuates, it's less traumatic. It gets pretty sweet toward the end. Maybe that's what makes this entry more popular than the rest for now. Only time will tell if it stays that way.
For my part, I'm hard-pressed to rank the subseries, but it's a good sign when I, my friend, and seemingly everyone else in the theater have no trouble sitting through 145 minutes, including end credits. I do put it ahead of Shang-Chi, also directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (with no sequel on the horizon yet). In the unlikely event that Holland dons the red and blue suit once more, I'll be up for it.
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