Released: 14th December 2021 (UK)
Length: 148 Minutes
Certificate: 12A
Director: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei and Benedict Cumberbatch
Few comic book characters are as popular as Spider-Man. Since his big screen debut nearly twenty years ago, he’s been an able money-maker. With Sony and Marvel teaming up, the character made his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with no drop in fanfare. Pitched as both an emotive conclusion and love letter to the superhero, Spider-Man: No Way Home is successful on both counts.
Immediately after the ending of Far From Home, the third chapter sees Peter Parker (Tom Holland) on the run from everyone in New York. His secret identity has been revealed to the entire world, causing all sorts of trouble to those close to him. In a bid to reverse the damage, Spider-Man turns to Doctor Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) magic which inadvertently triggers an onslaught from alternative universes. It’s up to our hero, his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) to return these old foes back to their worlds and fix the mess. No Way Home does a lot of things at once; it’s the closing chapter of a trilogy, a collection of everything audiences love about the webslinger and a setup for the MCU’s multidimensional push. For the most part, it executes all three elements well while delivering a metric-ton of fan service. Talking about the story too much will risk spoiling it for you but know that you’re going to be treated to countless twists on classic moments, most of which coming from past iterations of Spider-Man. I saw the Sam Raimi trilogy years ago as a child and a smile was on my face through much of the film. That was my experience; a casual viewer walking in for the first time won’t see it that way; in fact they’ll likely be scratching their heads when fan favourites show up on screen.
The characters we’ve followed throughout this series remain on top form. Tom Holland delivers easily his best performance to date in the long-running series. His version of Spider-Man is put under a lot of stress and challenges right from the get-go and he’s taken to some dark moments further down the line. MJ and Ned do have less to do this time around but given how much emphasis they had in the last two films, it’s not a huge loss. Benedict Cumberbatch is once again great as Doctor Strange who takes on a more frustrated persona this time around. What many audiences will be looking out for are those from past productions. There are many returning actors here and some admittedly fare better than others. At their best, the old faces succeed brilliantly at putting a new spin on their well-known characters, but others are fairly standard by comparison. Like the story, a lot of their major moments rely heavily on you knowing and understanding them from years past. The best sequences come when the film remixes older set pieces with a strong dramatic flourish. On its own terms, the emotional scenes do land, with a bittersweet conclusion we haven’t seen before from the character.
No Way Home does stay the course when the protagonist leaps into action with less populated environments for him to battle in. Surprisingly, the special effects left my eyebrows raised at several points. With a franchise as big and full of money as Marvel, there are some moments in this flick that look rather wonky. The use of Dr Strange's mirror dimension works but with some returning characters, you can tell they couldn’t get every last actor to return as No Way Home ends up super-imposing images from past films; this does dampen the immersion at specific moments. The music is much better with Michael Giachino drawing on themes past and present and mashing them together just like the narrative. The combinations of heroes and villains create some fun action sequences which are all shot well; they continue to focus on the swinging acrobatics above all else and you’ll be thoroughly entertained.
As a celebration of the character, Spider-Man: No Way Home is accomplished and capable. It’s by far the most self-referential film in the MCU, making it a dream come true for fans. Yet that also becomes its biggest point of contention. If you haven’t been following this character for the last twenty years, you’ll miss a lot of the magic. Devout web-heads can add an extra star; otherwise the film makes for a rip-roaring good time.
Rating: 4/5 Stars (Great)
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