Out now in cinemas is the climax of the formative years of Spider-Man in the MCU. Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon along with a slew of other actors (quite a spoilerific group). With Spider-Man: No Way Home Jon Watts aims to bring Peter’s first chapter of heroism to an emotional close. Does he succeed? Let’s find out, shall we?
The secret’s out ladies and gentlemen. Everyone knows Peter Parker (Holland) is Spider-Man and there is no way to put that genie back in its bottle. That is unless you have an ex-sorcerer supreme in your back pocket. That is where Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) comes in to save the day until Peter mucks it up with his usual shenanigans.
And when Peter mucks this particular event up the outcome is phenomenally disastrous with the arrival of several supervillains, all with a severe grudge against Spider-Man.
Spider-Man: No Way Home – Spectacular, amazing, sensational?
Spider-Man: No Way Home is a decent film. If you’re a fan of the famed web-head then there will be something in this film for you. I found myself gravitating to the emotional fallout of Peter’s actions. Holland is pulling out all the stops to try and keep everything together. Between his love, life and his superhero antics he is trying to have it all and failing miserably at it. The film is heartbreaking when it wants to be. There is a particular scene in the third act that hit me quite hard, but at the same time, I have a complicated relationship with it. It is fascinating.
Another fascinating element is the circus of misfits that Jon Watts has assembled to face off against Peter. This group of villains, assembled across the Multiverse all have their quirks and Peter wants to save them from themselves because he doesn’t want them to face their fates in their respective universes. It’s a nice nod to the comics, where Peter in the modern era is trying to save his villains instead of beat them. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work in my opinion because of several continuity issues as well as the fact that we know all of these villains fates. Not only that the villains are barely given any kind of character arc in the film save for Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Molina’s Doc Ock.
Does whatever a spider can
This for me is maybe the best Spider-Man film in terms of conveying the power of Spider-Man and his rogues. There is a fight scene between Peter and the furious five (thought that one up myself) and there is a brawl between him and Green Goblin that is genuinely brutal. It showcases the power of both Spider-Man and Green Goblin as they fight with minimal CGI but an impressive amount of stunt work.
I’ve always had an issue with the overuse of CGI in the MCU especially when it becomes somewhat confusing and the final fight at the climax of the film is at times overwhelming and confusing. Thankfully there are some wild card elements that genuinely put a smile on my face and brought on more than a few tears.
As I said earlier in the review, Spider-Man: No Way Home is a film that will have something for everyone so it casts a broad net to catch every demographic. It can be clumsy at times but with strong performances dotted across the film and an ending that addressed an issue I’ve had with MCU Spider-Man from the very beginning I can say that it is a film a lot of people will enjoy.
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