Summer is, in my opinion, the season for ice cream, vacations, and movies. All of which can be perfect escape methods from the crazy I-just-burned-my-hands-touching-the-car-steering-wheel level of heat we get this time of year.

If you know me at all, you’ll probably be able to guess what my choice is for this year’s perfect summertime movie.

Yep, it was the recently released “Spiderman: Far From Home,” a sequel to 2017’s “Spiderman: Homecoming.” Both are a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the most recent one being a sort of transitional piece after the earlier blockbuster “Avengers: Endgame” wrapped up pretty much all the ongoing storylines in their vast movie-verse.

For those of you not familiar with the MCU storyline, the story stars high school student Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland) who’s looking forward to an upcoming school field trip to Europe so he can take a break from his “friendly neighborhood Spiderman” duties in taking care of New York City. What he really wants to focus on is his plan to confess his romantic feelings to his friend, MJ (played by Zendaya). It doesn’t help matters that Peter has recently lost his main mentor, and he doesn’t feel like he can live up to the task of saving the world anymore.

The movie also prominently features actors Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, and Jake Gyllenhaal.

As far as movie plots go, this is a decent one. It has some emotional conflict simmering underneath fun teenager shenanigans and exciting fight scenes with the movie’s villains. At one point, the visual effects during the fights are so mind-boggling, I felt as though I had accidentally stepped into a Doctor Strange movie. (To be honest, the visuals were my favorite part of the Doctor Strange movie, so that’s high praise.)

I can’t say this sequel is as good as Homecoming, but sequels are never as good as the originals 99 percent of the time anyway. That’s not to say this isn’t an entertaining movie at all. It does a great job of picking up where “Endgame” left off to answer questions moviegoers might have had after that one ended. But it’s also a good self-contained movie to continue Peter Parker’s ongoing storyline.

What I think a lot of people will like about the movie, especially perhaps younger people, is how relatable it is. Peter is a young superhero just starting out, just picking up the pieces after something traumatic happened, just trying to figure out how to handle all his power. It makes sense that he’d rather just go on a vacation and focus on teenage romance instead of worrying about the next threat to humanity. Wouldn’t we all rather leave responsibilities behind for some sightseeing in Europe? (Another good point for the movie: the film showcasing a lot of beautiful European cities! It made me want to travel there too.)

I eventually will run out of Spiderman movies to talk about one day, but I’m glad we’re not there yet. Though some people may find it annoying to sort through the influx of all different kinds of Spiderman movies from the past 10 or more years, I think this version of Spiderman is one of the most entertaining ones.

So if you, like me, want to escape the blazing heat for a while, maybe buy some ice cream, take a vacation, or just head down to the movie theater to check out “Spiderman: Far From Home” which is also about escaping! Of course, we can’t escape forever, but a little break never hurt.

Holly Taylor is a Staff Writer at Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact her at holly.taylor@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7206.