Spider-Man: No Way Home
December 15, 2021 / K-12 / 2 h 29 Min
Never been a Spidey fan, I know the films mainly via TV – one exception was this great 3D animated film – and consequently I haven’t seen the predecessor Spider-Man: Far From Home yet. I can therefore answer the question of whether you can still understand the plot: YES.
About the content: No more normal life for Peter Parker alias Spider-Man (Tom Holland), since his identity was revealed in the last adventure. Peter and his friends MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) are harassed everywhere by fans, critics and the press, plus the FBI, as there’s fake-news that Spider-Man is a murderer. So Peter turns to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to make sure the world forgets who is under the Spider-Man mask. But the magic has unwanted side effects…
While I can’t judge how well this film fares in the context of the entire trilogy, Spider-Man: No Way Home sets a milestone, in my opinion. For a number of reasons. And naming these also means spoilers. So just skip the marked paragraphs if you prefer to be surprised….
SPOILER WARNING
Even before the premiere I noticed some criticism concerning “too many opponents”, as a multiverse mishap confronts Tom-Spidey with almost all the baddies of the earlier Spider-Man movie adventures: “Electro” Jamie Foxx, “Green Goblin” Willem Dafoe, “Doctor Octopus” Alfred Molina, “Sandman” Thomas Haden Church and “The Lizard” Rhys Ifans. This recap also gives the actors the opportunity to explore nuances – in other words, by no means a lame “rehash”.
And instead of letting the confrontation end fatally, there is rather the attempt to heal these wounded bodies and souls – similar to Star Wars and Force Healing, finally a philosophical approach that I consider long overdue. I also love how the story revolves around the message “retaliation killing is not the answer”. Kudos to screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.
Also wonderful to see how the previous Spidey actors become an integral part – thanks to the Multiverse, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield are also officially among the Marvel superheroes. A way to reconcile, to team up – as a counter-concept to the outdated yet sadly ubiquitous competitive mindset.
In order to fully enjoy these team scenes, I strongly recommend gathering info on these old Spidey films (in case you haven’t watched them) beforehand. Otherwise, several references and key scenes remain unnoticed – which would be a shame. For example, there’s one such scene that moved me to tears, which would be lost without the background info …
SPOILER WARNING END
Gotta praise Tom Holland and his impeccable portrayal of Spidey – convincingly awkward-chaotic as a teenager (although already 25), adorable – and heartbreaking, e.g. when the tragedy of a masked superhero and the double life is concerned. His acting doesn’t slip into typical Hollywood heartbreak cliché at any point, he remains authentic. So, once again, I must strongly recommend to have some tissues nearby.
Don’t worry, there’s a good portion of humor, e.g. the sarcastic presence of Dr. Strange Benedict Cumberbatch. He’s one of those actors that make you watch films just because he’s in them….
There is no need to say much about the entire cast, director (Jon Watts), camera work, action etc. as Marvel stands for quality. This time over-the-top CGI orgies are kept within limits, even though it’s about the already absurd concept of a multiverse. They could even have included more psychedelic visuals 🙂
By the way, the “uninitiated” can skip the post-credit scenes, which are amusing for Marvel-movie-plus-TV-series fans only ….
Summing up – go and watch it!
