A Geeky Guy's Guide to Spider-Man

I have always been a huge Spider-Man fan. I think his were the second comic book series I ever read. Oddly enough I picked up Daredevil when I was about seven but Spidey came very soon after. i have enjoyed every single iteration of Peter Parker (including the 1970s live action television version that no one on earth should like). I honestly believe that Tom Holland is the best version of Spider-Man that I have ever seen.

For me, Spider-Man will always be a young teenager or close to it. He's like Peter Pan and never lost his childlike wonder. I think Tom Holland portrays that aspect of Spidey better than anyone. I mean the dude is 30 and still looks and acts like a wide eyed, star struck teen. So it is safe to say I'm a bit biased when watching Holland's version of out friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

As always, I promise there will be no spoilers in this post. If you haven't seen it, you should... and I refuse to ruin anything for you.

This movie is a bit heavier, and deeper than the other movies. There are lots of scenes of Peter Parker sulking through his lonely life. Will he reconnect with MJ and Ned? You'll have to wait a long time to find out. In fact, you'll have to wait for a long time for anything to happen. Because it is a Marvel movie (via Sony) of course there are some early action sequences, but those are just there to make sure you know you walked into the right theater. The real action doesn't take place until well after the 60 minute mark. That is a long time to wait, but with a running time of two hours and twenty five minutes, there is still plenty of time for action.

Although the first hour is not packed with action, I was never bored. I love Spider-Man and I wanted to see what he was up to. I wanted the creators to take time to set up this story... which turns out to be incredibly important for the Marvel Universe moving forward. There are some new characters that need to be introduced and fleshed out. They did a great job of doing that. After the first emotional hour filled with important set up, the movie really gets going. Do you know that feeling when you are on a roller coaster and it seems to be slowly drudging up the big hill to get to the thrilling giant drop? Well that is Spider-Man brand New Day. It seems like it takes forever to get started. But once it does, it never stops!

This movie packs in four incredibly awesome Marvel characters and allows them all to be at their best. In fact, I have never enjoyed The Punisher on screen more than I did in this movie. After almost 3 decades, they finally figure out that Frank Castle is not a misunderstood nice guy. He's a freaking killing machine! Great! Let Frank be Frank! And let our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man try to keep him from going over the edge... too far.

Actually, let's make that 5 awesome characters. May Parker is the real hero of this movie... as she should be. Mothers and mother figures are the strongest people in this or any reality. It is only right that Aunt May makes her return in the most powerful way possible. But I can't say anything more about that except Marissa Tomei made water come out of my eyes for some unknown reason. She also made my pants swell a little but let's not talk about that.

This was my favorite Spider-Man movie ever. It had the perfect balance of heart, humor, story and action. Those are the things that I look for in a super hero movie. Although it still can't touch that combination in Guardians of the Galaxy or Thor Ragnarok, it came close enough to put it in the top tier of Marvel movies. This is definitely one that I will leave on if I catch it any time after the first 45 minutes or so.

Man I really wish I could tell you what my favorite part is, but that involves a huge spoiler and I can't do that. Let me just say that they have finally given a Marvel charter the actor and the importance they deserve. i can't wait to see where they go from here!

If you also like your superhero movies with heart, humor, story and action, you will love Spider-Man brand new day. And if you have a son who is growing into a man, I dare you to watch the scene involving Lego without crying. Good luck.

I freaking loved this movie!