Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) Columbia/Action-Adventure RT: 148 minutes Rated PG-13 (sequences of action/violence, some language, brief suggestive comments) Director: Jon Watts Screenplay: Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers Music: Michael Giacchino Cinematography: Mauro Fiore Release date: December 17, 2021 (US) Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Rhys Ifans, Thomas Haden Church, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, Marisa Tomei, J.K. Simmons, Angourie Rice, Hannibal Buress, Martin Starr, J.B. Smoove, Paula Newsome, Arian Moayed. Box Office: $814.9M (US)/$1.9B (World)
Rating: ****
After the interminably dull Eternals, it’s nice to see Marvel regain its footing with Spider-Man: No Way Home, a thrilling superhero adventure that goes against all we’ve come to expect from three-quels. That is to say, it isn’t lame. Quite the opposite actually. It’s nothing short of amazing.
Once again, I find myself in a spoiler-related quandary regarding what I should and shouldn’t say in my review of Spider-Man: No Way Home. There’s been plenty of chatter on social media about certain plot developments. Also, if you look at Wikipedia (and I do NOT recommend it!), it gives too complete a cast listing. I don’t want to ruin it for anybody, so I purposely left a few names out of my cast listing. Some information is better left unsaid and/or unwritten as far as I’m concerned. Surprise appearances should actually be a surprise, don’t you think?
What I can and will tell you about Spider-Man: No Way Home is that it ties all of the Spider-Man movies together and I mean all of them, from 2002 on. Even better, returning director Jon Watts does it in a way that doesn’t feel contrived. In fact, it’s pretty brilliant.
The latest chapter in the MCU Spidey saga begins right where the previous one left off. The evil Mysterio has successfully turned public opinion against the web slinger by framing him for murder and exposing his true identity to the world. It doesn’t just affect Peter Parker (Holland); it also affects those closest to him- girlfriend MJ (Zendaya, Euphoria), best friend Ned (Batalon) and Aunt May (Tomei, My Cousin Vinny). Things reach a breaking point for Peter when his friends aren’t accepted into MIT because of their association with him. He decides to do something about it.
Peter goes to see fellow Avenger Dr. Strange (Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game) at the Sanctum Sanctorum to ask for his help. The sorcerer suggests a spell that will make everybody in the world forget Peter Parker is Spider-Man. It comes with risks, of course. Peter doesn’t make it easier in requesting that MJ, Ned and May be exempt from it. All this tinkering causes the spell to go berserk. Strange gets it under control by containing it in a magic box, but the damage has already been done.
While trying to talk an MIT administrator into reconsidering MJ and Ned’s applications, a couple of familiar faces show up. Well, familiar to fans anyway. First, Doctor Octopus (Molina, Boogie Nights) appears and attacks innocents. He’s followed moments later by the Green Goblin (Dafoe, The Lighthouse). It seems that the spell caused a rift in the multiverse and pulled in villains from other parts of it. In layman’s terms, this Spider-Man gets to fight villains from the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield movies. The full roster includes such nefarious luminaries as Electro (Foxx, Ray), Lizard (Ifans, Notting Hill) and Sandman (Church, Sideways). It’s on Peter/Spider-Man and his pals to clean up the mess.
I’m okay with revealing the villains in Spider-Man: No Way Home because they’re all seen in the trailers. As for whatever else happens, I’m going to plead the fifth. You’re going to have to see it for yourself. Rest assured that it’s totally worth it. This movie is AWESOME! You know I don’t like to throw that word around too freely. A movie really has to be something for me to use it. Well, it definitely applies in this case. It’s, at once, a large-scale superhero actioner and an emotional thrill ride with Peter being faced with major life decisions. Don’t forget, he’s still a high schooler. What he’ll go through over the course of Spider-Man: No Way Home is a lot for a teenager. For example, he’s asked by May to show empathy for the new villains in his midst. If he sends them back to their own universes, they will surely die. Why not try and help them instead?
The effects in Spider-Man: No Way Home are well done. It lends itself well to 3D, especially in the scenes of Spider-Man swinging and swooping his way through New York, action captured with incredible fluidity by cinematographer Mauro Fiore. As somebody with a fear of heights, I damn near tore the armrests of my seat off more than once. There’s a scene at the beginning of MJ balancing precariously atop the Brooklyn Bridge. Wow, talk about vertigo! The fight scenes are very well-orchestrated, especially the climactic one of which I’ll say little. It’s just cool.
Another rule defied by Spider-Man: No Way Home is the one about too many villains spoiling the ride. It might have true of Batman & Robin and Spider-Man 3 (the Tobey one), but it’s not true here. I think it makes it a lot more fun. Instead of confused parallel storylines, writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers have them working together (sort of). It’s fun seeing them back in action too. Dafoe hams it up as only he can as both halves of a split personality, Norman Osborn/Green Goblin.
The rest of the cast is great too. Holland and Zendaya have wonderful chemistry as a young couple with a super-complicated relationship. It’s hard enough for a grown woman to be in love with a superhero much less a teenage girl who’s never been in love with anybody. Batalon adds nice comic relief as the best friend. Tomei is terrific as young and hip Aunt May; she’s actually my favorite May. Jon Favreau reprises his Happy character to nice effect. J.K. Simmons gets laughs as gruff, sensationalistic news reporter J. Jonah Jameson.
I don’t what else to say. Spider-Man: No Way Home is fantastic fun on every level. It doesn’t get bogged down by heavy, serious matters. Instead, it soars! It’s as close to a live-action comic book as you can get without panels and thought bubbles. This is what a superhero movie should be.
P.S. Be sure to stick around for two bonus scenes, one mid-credits and one end credits.
