In a world where Peter Parker is outed as Spider-Man by the villain, posing as a hero, Mysterio, it makes Peter public enemy number. Now the lives of everyone Peters loves is in jeopardy because they have ties to Spider-Man. Peter has to help MJ, Ned, Aunt May and Happy get their lives back and to do so he enlists the aid of Dr. Strange to create a spell that would make the world forget Peter is Spider-Man. When the spell goes a-rye, Spider-Man villains from all over the multiverse enter into Peter’s world. Can he stop them all from wreaking havoc and send all the villains back on his own? While I will not spoil Spider-Man: No Way Home, I will give you a quick and honest review of the latest installment into the Spider-Verse.
Fun facts- “No Way Home” picks up right where “Far From Home” left off and that is the perfect way to start because the audience gets to jump right into fray. The madness caused by Mysterio puts Peter in some “hot water” but we get a much-anticipated cameo out of the ordeal! As we know, “No Way Home” features cameos from the past villains of the other live-action Spider-Man movies such as: Green Goblin, Sandman and Doctor Octopus from Tobey Maguire’s version while the Lizard and Electro from Andrew Garfield’s version also show up! It is great fun to see Tom Holland’s Spider-Man battle the old villains, it is worth noting the Toby Maguire Spider-Man villains’ standout in the best way. Goblin and Dr Octopus show that they have some real layers to them and the more the movie peels back those layers it proves the best villains came from Toby Maguire’s Spider-Man. Another great part of this movie is there are some very brutal battles that take place making you feel everything Peter is going through as Spider-Man. It has been noted that Willem Dafoe stated he would reprise the role of Green Goblin if he could do the stunts. Defoe’s willingness to take part in the physicality of the battles allows the audience to have a connection to the destruction and damage brought on by the Goblin.
Hard truth- The movie managed screen time and story well with all the characters they had in play. There are some villains that get a little more shine and that proves to be deservedly so but there are some plot holes that involve a couple of the villains. Along with the plot holes there are a few times that narratively, things happen that are supposed to have some emotional weight but end up not being as heavy as intended due to the lack of character building. It is worth noting here that there were parts of this movie that did not test well and there were late rewrites that took place that might explain some of the weaker parts of the narrative.
Truth Bomb- if I’m being honest, Spider-Man:, No Way Home gets a Molotov. This movie gives us everything we wanted to see, except a live action Miles Morales. I thought this would have been a great way to introduce him to the live action Spider-Verse but the fact that he’s not in this movie does not detract from the overall film. Though this is not a perfect movie narratively and most of what was going to happen was either leaked online purposely or accidentally, this movie executes things that fans have been wanting to see for a very long time. “No Way Home” also builds on the core of the three Tom Holland films which is the theme of strength in numbers by valuing the bond he has with his love interest MJ and best friend Ned. “No Way Home” finds a way to expand on those bonds in a meaningful and satisfying way. The great action sequences and a good story complemented by the humor and weight of being Spider-Man makes Spider-Man: No way home a good end to this part of Tom Holland’s trilogy.
