Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) Review

 "Hello, Peter."
-Dr. Otto Octavius



After the entire world discovers that Spider-Man's secret identity is Peter Parker (Tom Holland), life becomes very difficult for Peter's friends and family.  Desperate to help them, Peter goes to see Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for a magical solution.  When Strange's spell goes wrong, villains from throughout the multiverse descend into Peter's world with a serious bone to pick with Spider-Man.


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What Works:

I just want to say how much I love the use of the multiverse in media.  It makes everything so much simpler and can explain away a lot of continuity errors.  I love it and every series and franchise should bring in the multiverse.

Tom Holland continues to be my favorite Spider-Man.  He pulls off the character so well.  He manages to be extremely emotional and very funny as well.  It's a tough balancing act, but Holland, and the movie as a  whole, does it.

Previous Spider-Man movies have had too many villains involved in the plot and made certain films feel bloated.  No Way Home has more villains than ever before, so I was definitely worried that would be the case here, but never fear!  Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Electro definitely get more focus than Sandman and Lizard, but each character gets time to shine.  But none of the villains are the star of the show.  They make sure to make that Spider-Man. 

Another thing I love about this movie is that it's so character driven.  This isn't a generic, doomsday villain movie.  This film throws a bunch of characters together, some more sane than others, each with their own motivation, and lets things happen.  The heroes are trying to cure the villains.  At its core, that's a character driven conflict, and that's what makes the movie so engaging and emotional.  It's about the characters.

I knew that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield were going to return as their versions of Peter Parker going into this film, but that doesn't make it any less impactful.  It's great seeing both of them back in significant roles.  These aren't just cameos.  They have character arcs as well and are extremely significant to the plot.  It's beyond awesome and improves all of their films as well.  Seeing Andrew Garfield's Peter get some redemption for the events of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was...well...amazing.

Finally, this movie is emotional.  I was tearing up at least three times.  I was not expecting Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) to die and it hurt to watch.  As I mentioned, Garfield's Peter rescuing MJ (Zendaya) was another big one, but the biggest tearjerker of them all comes when the three Spider-Men meet for the first time and the two older ones comfort Holland.  Cue the waterworks.  This is a really fun movie, but that doesn't stop it from having real and emotional stakes, which is how most movies should be.


What Sucks:

My only problem with the movie comes from the scene where Peter messes up Dr. Strange's spell.  It's pretty hokey and felt forced.  It's a silly scene that churns out some pretty dire consequences.  I think it could have been executed better.


Verdict:

I may change my mind on this, but, at present, No Way Home is my favorite live-action Spider-Man movie.  It's emotional, but fun and pulls off a potentially bloated premise with ease.  The characters are wonderful and the movie is filled with a lot of joy.  It's the type of movie we've always wanted and now it exists.  It's definitely got it going on.

 9/10: Great 



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