Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) was the most anticipated Marvel film since Endgame. It was an ambitious fan service project attempting to connect three separate universes. Now that the novelty has worn off, how did they do?
This article will contain multiple SPOILERS. Be warned! This article was contributed by all three Drake Brothers.
STORY: After Peter Parker is revealed to be Spider-Man, this starts to affect family and friends negatively. He gets help from Doctor Strange, but the spell is botched allowing dangerous foes from other worlds into theirs.
As mentioned, this really is a fan service movie. It comprises multiple villains from the past including Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Doc Oc (Alfred Molina), The Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), The Lizard (Rhys Ifans), and Electro (Jamie Foxx).
I was always a huge fan of Doc Oc and Green Goblin. They were exceptional in their respective movies, but I was a little worried about how they would fit in with the Marvel Cinematic Universe style.
The MCU is full of quips and awkward moments for comedic effect. It works most of the time, but each movie has several jokes that do not land for me. It is the same in this movie.
Not only was it too quippy, but there were also jokes that were borderline disrespectful to the villain. It was out of character for them and took away from the movie for me.
Who else is in the movie? Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock/Daredevil shows up early, and I could not be happier. The Daredevil show is the best superhero program to date (read about it here). It is a short scene but means a lot. It shows he will continue in the MCU.
I did not know for sure who would be in this movie going to the theaters, and that was the best way. It made seeing Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire that much better. Since we saw it on the second night, our theater room was full and ready for action. They cheered for the old Spider-Mans and laughed at the appropriate times too.
It was something to see them again, especially Tobey Maguire. At four years old, I saw his first movie in theaters, and I still remember it fondly.
The three Peters worked well together most of the time. None overshadowed the others. Each had their moments but especially Garfield. Gwen Stacey famously died in his last movie. However, he redeems himself by saving a falling MJ (Zendeya). My theater room erupted in applause with myself included.
Of the three, I think Andrew Garfield is the most talented actor over his with films like Hacksaw Ridge and The Social Network. He really has not been in a lot of high profile movies, and that should change.
THEME: The theme is as Spider-Man as it gets. "With great power comes great responsibility." While Peter's intentions were noble about curing the villains, he decided to change history. He did help those villains become whole again, but it came at a cost.
Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) dies ultimately from this decision. While Peter did not know what would happen, he takes responsibility. In a tearful scene with him and the other Peters, he admits his culpability in her death. He took responsibility for the ensuing chain of events caused by his actions. He makes the tough choice and chooses to be forgotten in order to save the others. He could not let others die again.
That being said, they did not even try to character build Aunt May until this movie. Beforehand, she was just the hot Aunt. They waited too long, and it takes away a bit from the seriousness of the death.
This is the most Spider-Man-like a Tom Holland Spider-Man film has felt. My biggest gripe with the MCU webcrawler is that they ignore what makes him Marvel's most popular superhero. DC has Batman and Superman whereas Marvel has Spider-Man.
He was born into the lower class and struggles to pay rent. He is constantly busy trying to keep his commitments as Peter Parker while being a vigilante. His Uncle Ben died fueling the fire to do right, and he is backed by a fantastic supporting ensemble. The MCU does none of this. They do none of what makes him one of the best.
This film attempts to correct the course. After Peter makes the tough choice, he resets to being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man with the cheap apartment and all. It is still not a full correction, but they are at least trying.
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