Spider-Man: No Way Home Movie Review

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

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Written by: Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (based on the Marvel comic book by)
Directed by: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, Paula Newsome, Martin Starr, Hannibal Buress, J.B. Smoove, J.K. Simmons, Rhys Ifans, Charlie Cox, Thomas Haden Church
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
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.

Verdict
Marvel often goes big and this movie is no exception. The multi-verse has been a topic of the recent Marvel television shows, and this uses the multiverse to introduce numerous villains for Spider-man. All of that leads to the big final battle, and it's how Spider-man succeeds that really sets this apart. This manages a victory that no other Marvel movie could even attempt, and all the while this movie manages to have fun with the premise.
Watch It.

Review
The Spider-Man franchise found a way to one-up itself, and it feels at least in part inspired by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

In the last Spider-Man movie, Far From Home, a mid-credits scene had Mysterio reveal Spider-man's identity as Peter Parker (Tom Holland). Peter's life is turned completely upside down, and this affects his friends. Their plans of going to the same college are dashed. Everyone is wary of anyone connected to Spider-man. With his life in upheaval, Peter turns to Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to magic a solution. The spell goes sideways, merging alternate realities which Marvel calls the multiverse.

Tom Holland and Benedict Cumberbatch play Peter Parker and Dr. Strange

Spider-man has to defeat various enemies that have now appeared. Strange wants to right the wrong and send them back, but Peter wants to help them first. That of course doesn't quite work out which leads to the final battle. Spider-man gets a lot of help in his quest with some great cameos. One of the memorable scenes is Spider-man and friends discussing old war stories.

Spider-man wins because with Marvel movies the super hero always wins, but the only way to stop total world destruction and separate the alternate realities is for Peter to confront a life where everyone knows him and his alter ego.

Zendaya and Tom Holland play MJ and Peter Parker

I always wonder how Marvel will top themselves. The animated Into the Spider-verse was easily the best Spider-man up to that point, and I'd argue it still is but this at least is a competitor. Marvel has gone headlong into the multiverse with television shows WandaVision, Loki, this movie, and the future Dr. Strange movie. That provides other-worldly adventures, but this movie certainly goes deep into nostalgia which has been a recent trend. Ghostbusters: Afterlife did it, so did The Matrix Resurrections.

This went big in a way that no other Marvel super hero could. While Marvel seems to have a formula to make a movie's appeal quite broad, this movie seems to be the expansion of those rules. This is a movie that you can't even discuss the best parts without huge spoilers.

SPOILERS

The big secret of this movie is that it merges the Tom Holland movies with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. First we see some of the villains from those movies, and then the other Spider-man appear as aid in the final battle. It's a fun concept that makes this movie a lot of fun. No other Marvel hero could do this as there aren't multiple versions and actors. I also like that this doesn't try to de-age Maguire. In this world he's just a much older Spider-man.

There's been a recent trend of nostalgia trafficking. We've seen reunion shows from '90s television shows and recent movies are digging up older movies to use as  reboot (Ghostbusters) or near remake (The Matrix). The great thing about this movie is that you don't need to have seen the other Spider-men movies for this to still be a lot of fun, though of course it does help.

Tom Holland plays Spider-Man

This also has some references to the video game, Spider-Man. Aunt May works at Feast now, and Peter's apartment at the end seems a lot like the one in the game.

The end of this movie is a big emotional blow. Peter Parker chooses to have the entire world forget he exists, the only way to close the tears in the multiverse. That means he's on his own again, and this effectively gives the franchise a fresh start as Peter is moving into a new apartment at the end.