Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) -| No Spoilers | Marvel | MCU | Tom Holland
Tags: Cinema, Movies, Marvel, Spider Man Far From Home

Hi,

HOME will result in a lot of happy faces in a few days.

Jon Watts’ third installment of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is very heavy on fan-service but it’s fan-service done mostly right and it also hits some very emotional beats.

Now this review will be of course spoiler-free, as in as spoiler-free as the trailers have been.

So things that were already officially revealed are fair-game. You know that it’s about the multiverse.

You know that we will get a return of most of Spidey’s previous villains.It doesn’t take that long until we get there.

The movie kicks in right where we left off at the end of FAR FROM HOME.

With this universe’s J. Jonah Jameson, again played by the wonderful J.K. Simmons, announcing that Spider-Man’s real name is Peter Parker.

Which results in a really funny and fast-paced opening and a great long-continuous shot inside their apartment, with helicopters surrounding the complex.

Spider-Man’s secret identity has always been a crucial element in many of his stories and it of course has very serious ramifications that it’s now out in the open, not just for him, but especially for the people he loves.

And in best and typical Spider-Man manner, comedy and tragedy are always very close and while there are some duds for sure, most of the humor lands.

The real story then kicks in when he asks Doctor Strange to help him out with a spell that should make everyone forget about him being Spider-Man.

Honestly, I don’t quite get why Doctor Strange is so easily convinced that this might be a good idea but I’m okay turning a blind eye on that one.

Photo by Nikhil Mitra on Unsplash

Still, I find it also a bit weird that he then, when pretty formidable foes from other universes appear, just suggesting to Peter and his friends that they quote “Scooby Doo this crap!”

But okay.

And the way this whole multiverse mess and that particular magic spell work should probably not be questioned too much.

You just have to accept the logic of the genre and also the obviously quite striking meta nature of it all.

I mean of course we get the villains just from two specific universes, even though there are countless, because that’s the universes that we are already familiar with through the previous SPIDER-MAN movies.

But hats off to Sony and more-so Marvel for pulling this off, because this could’ve easily been a huge trainwreck.

But it isn’t and they were able to create their live-action version of SPIDER-MAN INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE.

It’s certainly not as tight as the animated movie, which is a beautiful masterpiece, but I honestly think doing this in live-action is a messier thing by design.

Because you have to deal with very different circumstances.

Which makes this movie such an interesting and fascinating artifact.

In hindsight, I think that I rated the latest film FAR FROM HOME too high, but something

what really struck me about it was that it had this meta level because of the villain Mysterio.

By creating these illusions and fake worlds and effects, Mysterio acted somewhat like a filmmaker himself which I think was a very interesting layer.

And now with NO WAY HOME, I think it’s just a fascinating movie to see where we are with technology, what we or rather the filmmakers, are doing with that and what kind of stories they spun.

I grew up with the first SPIDER-MAN trilogy but not in a million years would I have thought that Willem Dafoe and Alfred Molina would one day return, be de-aged and again bring their a-game in making these super-villains so iconic.

Both are really fantastic here and the effects look pretty impressive for the most part.

Jamie Foxx also has some really fun moments as Electro but I was a bit disappointed how The Lizard and the Sandman turned out.

They are both very one-note and the first time the Lizard opens his mouth… it looks…

well it looks pretty mediocre.

But coming back to my point.

When you try to bring back characters and actors from movies that are twenty years old at this point, it’s not that easy to make it feel earned in this story and not just like cheap fan-service.

And again, there are technical and other real-life obstacles to overcome as well.

And I think for the most part, they did a pretty good job here.

But even when something like this is harder and messier to pull off in a live-action version,

I think it also just by design has a more powerful or maybe just different emotional appeal.

There’s just something about seeing Willem Dafoe again in the role and seeing him make Spider-Man’s life is a living hell as well.

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

The movie needs a while to get going.

I mean there are great scenes throughout but it’s certainly a little bit muddled and not as smooth as it could’ve been.

But once it finds its footing, it’s really giving you the emotions and themes you are looking for in a SPIDER-MAN movie.

I have said this in the past and I’m saying it again.

The best superhero movies for me are the ones that specifically deal with what it means to be a superhero.

What it means to make sacrifices.

What it means to suffer and still keep on going.

That’s why Sam Raimi’s SPIDER-MAN 2 is probably still my favorite live-action superhero movie of all time.

There’s no other movie that shows how much it sucks to be Spider-Man.

And that’s something that this one gets right as well.

This one really puts Peter through the wringer and Tom Holland has never been better in the role because he has never been given more material to work with.

The immense responsibilities that lie on his shoulders finally show.

That’s something that has been missing a little bit from the first two Tom Holland movies.

But this movie is all about him making tough decisions and living with the consequences.

And one of its main themes is second chances.

Which is also so perfectly fitting on the meta level, as many characters from movies that were before regarded as “over”, are getting a second chance to shine.

And I totally understand when some people miss the simplicity and more focused approach of superhero movies from the past and I myself do feel so from time to time as well.

But on the other hand I find it very intriguing how the MCU is constantly moving forwards while simultaneously being able to connect things to the past.

And this is also yet another testament to the fact that Kevin Feige and his teams of course haven’t planned out everything way ahead but that things develop organically and if they are able to connect things that seem to be kind of unconnectable and do it with this much emotional weight to it, well then I’m definitely here for it.

So as you hear, I think NO WAY HOME is definitely a winner and just a damn good time.

Do I think it’s a great film?

Photo by Merch HÜSEY on Unsplash

I don’t think so.

Maybe I have to watch it again but there are certainly some flaws and unfortunately once Again, I wasn’t always the biggest fan of the movie’s look and feel.

Unfortunately the press screening was also in 3D, so I partly blame some of the murky aesthetic on that, but I still think it’s not the most dazzling and exciting looking superhero movie.

Some scenes, some locations, some effects had a rather fake appeal and most of the action is of course very CGI-heavy and it shows.

But because the movie hits those emotional and thematic beats, I could forgive its shortcomings in other departments and just enjoy this crazy, nostalgic multiverse affair.

Trailer : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYzbalQ6Lg8&t=120s