The Marvel blockbuster success formula is definitely showing signs of wear and tear. While Tom Holland gives an amazing performance, I couldn't connect with the story and side characters. I feel like real character development in those pivotal coming-of-age moment was siderailed for bigger (and also more chaotic) fight scenes.

In contrast, the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man gave us the best on-screen chemistry between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy while Andrew Garfield was also given much better and deeper material to connect with. The scenes in which he struggled with the normal versus the super life were just that much meatier and better handled, not to mention the romance between him and Gwen. That scene at the clocktower will always be my number one Spider-Man moment precisely because of a deeply rich character development and superbe acting performances.

Here's hoping Phase IV will focus more on individual stories and favor character and plot development over bombastic CGI-heavy set pieces.