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Clocking in at over two-hours long, this sequel is filled with story, character moments and great audio and visual. While it doesn’t feel as groundbreaking as the first film and ends with a big cliffhanger, the film is still captivating through the entire runtime. The plot works despite remaining somewhat vague. Even by the end, some of the stakes still haven’t been totally laid out. The movie also alternates between its villains. It spends some time setting up the primary bad guy but leaves most of their arc for the upcoming sequel. The rest of the time Spider-Man’s main antagonist is technically a good guy, but he puts a lot of obstacles in Miles’ path. And although Miles is still the main character, Gwen gets such a significant amount of screen time that it’s pretty much her movie too. Between the two leads and their families, there are some strong character moments that are rooted in reality, which helps them land the emotional impact. The visuals are once again amazing, and the score and soundtrack compliment everything very well. The jokes usually land, with a few standout gags. The action is fine, but a lot of it feels like it’s more of an inconvenience for the heroes and not a life-or-death battle. The secondary characters aren’t as memorable as the first film, but they did grow on me. There are probably hundreds of easter eggs, and some of them push the boundaries on feeling too fan-servicey.
**** out of *****