This discusses the plot of ‘No Way Home’, so please avoid if you don’t want ANY KIND OF SPOILERS. If you’ve seen it, hit reply to talk to me, or tweet me :).
Tom Holland’s third main outing as Peter Parker is both hilarious and harrowing, the most intense and action packed live-action Spidey film yet. It’s a nod to Sam Raimi and Marc Webb’s Spidey films, with a lot of emotional depth and heart.
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Marissa Tomei, Jacob Batalon, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Benedict Cumberbatch
I loved ‘Homecoming’ and ‘Far From Home’ because it didn’t have the dark, moody edge that was present in Sam Raimi and Marc Webb’s Spidey films. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man looks like a teenager (for a change), has believable awkward friends, and has a quirky wholesomeness to him that’s played out well to teenage comedic effect! While ‘No Way Home’ has glimpses of this, it’s definitely a film where Spidey does some Stupid Things and ultimately has to deal with some really shitty consequences that are essentially ~heartbreaking~.
🍿 The film starts in straight after J. Jonah Jameson reveals Spider-Man’s identity as Peter Parker at the end of ‘Far From Home’. He and MJ (Zendaya) flee. After questioning from police and other really awkward, frightening situations, including one where Ned (Jacob Batalon), MJ, and Peter all get rejected by MIT, Parker then decides to go see Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to make the world forget he’s Spidey.
THE BAD THING IS Peter tries to change the conditions of Dr. Strange’s spell six times midcast, despite being told this makes it super unstable. I guess this is where you could say “shit hits the fan”.
Shit Hits The Fan
🍿 Villains from the previous movies - Doc Ock, Green Goblin, the Lizard, Sandman and Electro are sucked into Peter’s universe and he’s tasked to round them up for Strange who can send them back. It’s interesting here because it’s a straightforward enough plot but it’s complicated by Aunt May (Marissa Tomei) appealing to Peter to help the villains rather than sending them back to die. I didn’t always agree with Peter’s choices, but I can understand what he’s trying to do. He’s like a wholesome teenager trying to do his best! Which is all we can do really.
🍿 The villains are great, and this all works because we’re familiar with their backstories from previous films. I found Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin is just as terrifying as he was in 2002, Electro has a cooler yellow makeover, and Doc Ock is still as polite as ever. 🙏🏼
*MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW*
I do love how Jamie Foxx kinda spoiled it years ago tbh (love how the photo is basically the same final scene lol):
🍿 Our cinema cheered when Ned summons a portal to Spider-Man and the Andrew Garfield version came out! And then Tobey also appears! This is where the fun, banter and nostalgia enmesh together in the second half that’s quite frankly one of the most enjoyable hours I’ve had at a movie cinema this year.
🍿 Garfield Spidey cracks Maguire Spidey’s back, all the Spideys call each other amazing, Electro expresses disappointment Garfield’s Spidey is white and not a Black man, and all three team up for a really epic battle atop the Statue of Liberty.
The finale is absolutely bonkers and worth the build-up. The part where Garfield’s Spidey catches MJ and saves her life was such great fan service, but also great writing, echoing how he failed to save Gwen in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (I’m not crying! 😭😭😭)
The three have really great banter and dynamic. Here’s Holland talking about their friendship (and lying through his teeth):
🍿 The last scene was so poignant, and reminds me of the story line in the comic books when Peter makes a deal with the demon Mephisto to save May and make everyone forget his identity as Spider-Man, but at the expense of his relationship with MJ. While Peter tells Dr Strange in the film to make everyone forget who he is to save the world, I think it’s still pretty open ended.
Peter goes back to the coffeeshop where MJ works after she forgets who he is, but there’s lingering LOOKS and the romantic in me believes that no one can feel love that deep and ~just forget~. CRYING AGAIN. 😭🥲
Four and a half spiders out of five.
🕸🕸🕸🕸🕷
P.S. there’s two post credits scenes, one which involves Tom Hardy’s Venom, and the second, which sees Dr. Strange visiting Wanda in the aftermath of the movie.
Thank you so much for reading!
Warmest Spidey hugs.
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