Spider-Man: No Way Home

Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Jacob Batalon, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire, J.K. Simmons, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, Angourie Rice, Arian Moayed, Paula Newsome, Rhys Ifans, Charlie Cox, Thomas Haden Church, Martin Starr, J.B. Smoove
Directed by: Jon Watts
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 3

Summary: Peter Parker (Tom Holland) pleads with Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to cast a spell making the world forget he's Spider-Man. The spell goes awry and threatens to destroy the boundaries of the multiverse.

Review:

Tim: I've long been a vocal supporter of Marvel's MCU. It's redefined the entire world of cinema. I do believe that in the post-Infinity Saga world, there's more questions than answers. The biggest one is, "Can Marvel recapture the magic they built over the first decade of MCU films? The only "great" movie after Endgame thus far has been Black Widow, and I know many would contest my opinion.

As they have so many times before, Marvel completely silences those critics and naysayers with their Sony production, Spider-Man: No Way Home. This is absolutely one of the best movies in the entire MCU (unhesitatingly in the top 6 of the 27 films so far). It's also the 3rd highest grossing movie of all time domestically, clocking in at a ridiculous $814 million. The only MCU film to make more was Endgame. As you might expect, I absolutely loved No Way Home. It's not without some faults, but it's a blockbuster filmmaking at its best.

I have to admit I'm a bit surprised- I liked Jon Watts' previous two Spider-Man movies, but Homecoming and Far From Home weren't great. They had multiple flaws. So, to see Watts deliver the best movie of 2021, a stunningly entertaining, unforgettable film that tied together 20 years of Spider-Man movies, fit perfectly into larger MCU, and delivered thrilling and heartbreaking moments in turn, well, I just never expected this movie to exceed expectations as much as it did. It felt like it delivered everything, including redemption (which is fairly hard to do). This is one of the best stories of 2021 and the feel-good movie we needed. Quick note- I'm not sure how to properly review this movie without spoiling the major points, so more than most reviews, a MAJOR SPOILER WARNING needs to apply before reading on.

Now, before I get deeply into the praise (oh, it hasn't started in earnest yet), I do want to highlight some of the flaws here. The biggest one involves the actions and motivations of Doctor Strange. I must admit I'm perplexed why Marvel would go in this direction. It makes one of their remaining major heroes look reckless and illogical. He basically breaks the universe for bad reasons. The whole multiverse thing is problematic as well, in regards to the larger MCU. It might make sense within the context of this film, but there's big questions about how Strange and Loki both seemingly break the multiverse randomly at the same time? Maybe Marvel will answer these questions and tie it all together, but this is the downside of the "everything is connected" philosophy. This movie is hurt a bit because it doesn't feel like it connects well enough to the larger path the MCU is treading. There's also some minor illogical inconsistencies with how the multiverse works and how people who know Peter Parker are pulled into this universe. Not major, but it doesn't make a lot of sense.

Okay, SPOILER REMINDER. What this film accomplishes is nothing short of miraculous. It builds off the previous two movies in the franchise (plus Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame) while also tying together Sony's original Spider-Man trilogy, plus their less successful two Amazing movies. I know people will complain about fan service, but I don't see it like that. This movie allows Sony to weave together all three of their Spider-Man universes in one move. It brings back Tobey Maguire to a role that he hasn't played in almost 15 years, and it offers Andrew Garfield a chance of redemption when his movies failed to meet expectations. Fan service? Maybe. But it's brilliant.

Speaking of that, I'll never forget sitting in a theater (SPOILERS AGAIN and throughout this review) and hearing the audience actually gasp and scream when Garfield pulls off his mask and shows up. He did a terrific job of lying to reporters enough where you had a little doubt about whether he was in the film or not. I get shivers just thinking about that scene. And then, a short time later, the original Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire joins, too. What makes all the difference here is that both actors give absolutely perfect performances. Maguire embraces his "elder" Spider-Man role, but carries forward the awkwardness of his character, updated for a much later time of his life. Garfield seems so genuinely happy to be here, to get a chance to play a character and redeem himself (I never blamed Garfield for the Amazing Spider-Man shortcomings, that was all Sony). They're just incredible together, playing two versions of this iconic character. What makes a difference also is that they're integral to the story. I was worried they'd show up and be pointless (see Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness for how not to do this), but they treated the characters with respect and gave them a great deal to do. I don't think it's pure fan service, because they showed up at our Peter Parker's lowest point. They offer guidance, love, and acceptance. They change his life. That was beautiful and not what I expected at all.

Speaking of unexpected things, I didn't expect this movie to tug at the heartstrings as much as it did. Marisa Tomei leads the way here, delivering a warm and beautiful performance whose emotional resonance will last long into the future. Her storyline was genius and I loved how it answered some of the big questions and complaints about Tom Holland's first two movies. Holland himself gives his best performance to date, a brutal, heartwrenching performance at times. He does so much and shows so much range, I couldn't believe it. It was also a dream come true to see Maguire, Garfield, and Holland have so many scenes together. Holland and Zendaya were incredible together, and Jacob Batalon proves an unsung hero of this trilogy.

The villains were amazing as well. Willem Dafoe rightly deserves much of the praise for resurrecting a character I didn't expect we'd see again. His performance is all over the place in the best way and he makes a formidable, unforgettable Green Goblin. I loved seeing Alfred Molina as Dr. Octopus again. Marvel showed the world how to do Electro right by completely changing all the problems Jamie Foxx dealt with under Sony. I hated his Electro, but here, he's a terrific, incredible villain. Marvel knows how to do it. I didn't expect to see Thomas Haden Church deliver such a good performance as Flint Marko, and I loved seeing Rhys Ifans, although his role is pretty small. When you add in a larger role for J.K. Simmons, you have Benedict Wong, and even (SPOILER AGAIN) Charlie Cox reprising his role and connecting Daredevil, the cast here is excellent. Benedict Cumberbatch did some good things as Strange, but his character still feels too forced and awkward for my taste. The "Scooby-Doo" line was garbage, and he says it twice. Still, the cast here is almost beyond belief.

The movie also delivers top-notch action and visuals. The scene on the bridge is great, but none of it compares to the climax, which is one of the greatest endings in a movie I've seen in a long while. The epic battle with three Spider-Man(s) against a slew of villains is not something I ever expected to see. The visuals here were remarkable. I also love that it wasn't all action- they took the time out of the final battle for a great deal of character development, humor, and dialogue between Maguire, Garfield, and Holland that I'll always love. "You are amazing." These scenes remind us why Marvel has conquered the world. You can watch it and feel delight, but it takes on new meaning if you watched Maguire's original trilogy from 2002-2007, you wished Sony made better movies with Garfield's 2012-2014, and you've loved Holland in this role from 2016's Civil War on (this is his sixth appearance).

Spider-Man: No Way Home is one of my favorite movies. It's an iconic, delightful film that I think will hold up over many years. It's Marvel at its best and the fact that it's a Sony movie only shows how brilliant Marvel is (contrast this with the garbage Venom movies, for example). If the movie itself wasn't great enough, it ends with De La Soul's "The Magic Number", the PERFECT song to close the movie. This is deservedly one of the biggest movies of all time. I don't know how long Marvel can make this run, especially with the increased Disney+ production, but this, the 27th film in the MCU, is one of the best.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Captain America: Civil War. Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: Far From Home