It all started in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War”. An entire blog could be written on just that movie and its story, but for purposes of today’s subject matter, it is enough to state that this film introduced a new era: Tom Holland had taken on the newest incarnation of Spider-Man. I was impressed with the Spidey scenes in that film, even if they were brief. The next year, the first Holland-led Spider-Man film – “Spider-Man: Homecoming” – was released. This one was a home run. I enjoyed the plot, the villain (Michael Keaton was great as Adrian Toomes/Vulture), and Holland was excellent.
However, my enthusiasm waned considerably after seeing the
sequel. The 2019 film “Spider-Man: Far from Home”, had very
little I enjoyed (although Jake Gyllenhaal was a bright spot). To this day, I still can’t quite put into
words why this flick irks me so much.
But the movie hurt my heart in a visceral way. After this, I wasn’t keen on seeing the next
installment in the movie series: “Spider-Man:
No Way Home”. That is, until I saw a
plot synopsis online. Then I understood
the hype, and was anxious to see it.
“Spider-Man:
No Way Home” was released back in December, and while I
didn’t get the chance to watch it until just recently, it was worth the
wait. This movie is just
sensational. It is the best superhero
movies I’ve seen in years, and certainly the best Spider-Man movie I’ve seen
since “Spider-Man 2” back in 2004.
You might be asking yourself, “So what? So you saw your 1,000th superhero thing? What difference does it make?” I have two items, I’m calling them takeaways,
that I want to bring up. I will mention
the first today, but I’m going to leave the second one for next time.
Takeaway
number one: “Spider-Man: No Way
Home” in many ways, is the origin story for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Even though this Peter Parker/Spider-Man knew
loss, he had never learned the famous Spider-Man credo: “With great power,
comes great responsibility.” But did he
ever learn it in this film! I dare not reveal
how he learns this maxim, but it is a fresh, powerful, and gripping take on the
famous Spider-Man life lesson.
Furthermore, at one point, Peter was acting out of
character. He was angry and vengeful
after a personal loss. He wanted to take
matters into his own hands, and obtain revenge (it’s harder than I thought to
lay all this out without revealing spoilers).
But in one of my favorite moments of the film, one of Peter’s allies
heroically swoops in and stops him from making a big mistake he would have
regretted.
This is a Biblical idea.
In Romans we read, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for
God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the
Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is
hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink”” (Romans
12:19-20). Once again, without going
into specifics, I was impressed by the kindness and care that Spider-Man gave
to everyone in this film, ultimately that includes his enemies.
In conclusion, I love “Spider-Man:
No Way Home”. While I stand by what
I stated back in March about 2004’s “Spider-Man
2” being the best superhero movie ever made, “No Way Home” is now in my top five list of best superhero
films. This flick has the action and the
humor that you’d expect from a Marvel movie.
But what makes it truly fantastic is it inspires the viewer to live a
life of virtue and heroism, no matter the personal cost (because there was a
cost for Peter; something I will touch on next time). Only the great superhero films leave you
feeling inspired.
Kevin
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