Spider-Man: No Way Home, 2021.
Directed by Jon Watts.
Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Tony Revolori, Angourie Rice, Martin Starr, Hannibal Buress, J.B. Smoove, J.K. Simmons, Benedict Wong, Paula Newsome, Arian Moayed, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Jay Karales and Michael Le.
SYNOPSIS:
With Spider-Man’s identity now revealed, Peter asks Doctor Strange for help. When a spell goes wrong, dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear, forcing Peter to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.
When we last saw Spider-Man, it was a pretty big cliffhanger ending as the world discovered Peter Parker and Spider-Man were one and the same. Spider-Man: No Way Home examines the consequences of that revelation as director Jon Watts returns in an emotionally and character driven story that finds the right balance between nostalgia and honouring the character of not only Spider-Man, but of Peter Parker himself.
Throughout his time in the MCU, Tom Holland has given very good performances as Peter/Spidey in his two solo films and three other MCU appearances, but it is in No Way Home that he gives his all as the web-slinger. In the past there has been criticism the MCU Spider-Man films never focused enough on Peter, instead shoehorning in big characters like Iron Man and Nick Fury rather than discuss Uncle Ben or examine Spidey’s relationships. While some of those criticisms are fair, that is not the case here as it is Holland’s show from start to finish. Holland captures Peter’s struggle very well as he no longer has a private life to be comfortable in and tries to balance his life as a very public and controversial figure with being a teenager, even as the consequences branch out to his family and friends. The stakes are very personal in this story as Peter discovers who he truly is and what being Spider-Man means.
Holland is not alone in giving his best performance in the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy. Zendaya has a ton of material to work with as MJ and her chemistry with Holland is the best it has been. She is one of the film’s strongest aspects, nailing the emotional moments between her and Holland as Peter and MJ contemplate their future together. The relationship between Peter and MJ also feels much more real and relatable than it felt in Far From Home with the their characteristics complimenting each other quite well, whether they’re joking about what the tabloids say or having an earnest moment between them. Jacob Batalon takes a bit of a back seat as Ned compared to the previous two films, but still plays a significant part as Spidey’s ‘man in the chair’ and isn’t as much of a third wheel in Peter and MJ’s relationship.
When it comes to the villains, it’s become something a joke among Spider-Man fans that the more villains there are in a film the more it suffers as a result. Those problems are nowhere to be found here as Watts and the team strike the perfect balance between all the villains as Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx, Rhys Ifans and Thomas Hayden Church reprise their roles as Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Electro, Lizard and Sandman respectively. Each villain gets a decent amount of time to shine on their own, though Dafoe, Molina and Foxx get the most time and some very entertaining sequences all to themselves. Foxx is much more threatening as Electro than he was in Amazing Spider-Man 2 while Molina once again gives a layered and nuanced performance as Doc Ock. Dafoe, meanwhile, is delightfully hammy and menacing, reminding audiences why Green Goblin is often named Spider-Man’s ultimate foe. The shifts in Dafoe’s face and posture as he slips between the Osborn and Goblin personas show how much he puts into the performance, maybe even more so than the original Spider-Man since his face is shown much more this time.
Again though, the real draw of No Way Home is how personal the story feels. Even with Benedict Cumberbatch’s supporting role as Doctor Strange and references to previous MCU films, the story’s focus remains on Peter Parker as his life unfolds around him and he is confronted by completely new villains. The story examines the burden of responsibility that lies on Peter’s shoulders in this time of upheaval, especially since the villains are technically not his villains. But, as with any good Spider-Man story, there is a strong focus on what to do in the face of overwhelming adversity as Peter strives to do the right thing as Peter Parker and Spider-Man. It’s a Spider-Man story through and through with something for all fans of Spidey to enjoy and love.
The film’s well paced for the most part. The first hour does well to slowly show all the ways the lives of Peter, MJ, Ned, Aunt May and Happy Hogan have become complicated, but it is not until the second hour when it becomes clearer what the film is about thematically along with the emotional stakes. There is plenty of nostalgia to the previous entries in the series, but No Way Home is one of the rare films that straddles the line between nostalgic and story perfectly with the callbacks and easter eggs being tasteful and not thrown in your face. Something is never brought up unless it is worth being examined, whether for a story purpose or a quick joke. In the case of the jokes, there is a level of meta-commentary to them (such as the Spider-Man trope of the villains being good men until whatever accident turned them into supervillains), but it is never too much or feels like its poking fun at the film series or the comics themselves.
When it comes to the action spectacle there is a whole lot that will please Spidey fans. This has some of the best web-slinging moments with very nice choreography presented clearly even with how many characters a sequence follows. After so many films in the MCU the third acts, with a few exceptions, tend to be very action heavy with more attention paid to the fighting than the emotional focus placed on the heroes. Spider-Man: No Way Home is among those exceptions as Peter’s personal struggle is at the forefront of the climax in what is his best development across the trilogy.
With a strong cast and focus on the story and characters, Spider-Man: No Way Home immediately places itself as one of the best Spidey films to date. Holland and Zendaya give incredibly emotional performances as the stakes remain deeply personal in the action set pieces and there is something for Spider-Man fans of every age and preference to enjoy as the legacy of Marvel’s web-head is honoured by Watts, Holland and the rest of the team respectfully and epically.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
