Film Review by RL: Spider-Man: No Way Home

The latest live-action Spider-Man swung into our homes via Blu-Ray, DVD, and streaming last year. The question was not whether would we watch it, but how would we watch it.
Since Captain America: Civil War the world has celebrated the MCU and Sony collaborated version of Peter Parker. AKA Spider-Man. AKA Tom Holland.
Before we can dive into the review we need to look at some important aspects of the character portrayed in triplicate over two decades.

In 2002 Tobey Maguire swung across the big screen becoming the quintessential Spider-Man in our minds and hearts. Soft-spoken and mild-mannered, Tobey’s Peter Parker spent a very small amount of time in high school before evolving into the college years. These years are when the majority of the Sam Raimi helmed films exist.
At the time this Spider-Man was perfect. We forgave the organic web shooters. We overlooked the fact that Tobey didn’t really have the correct build. We languished through not one or two, but three movies in which Tobey’s Spider-Man suffered a crisis of identity. And Tobey was 27 in his first outing as Spidey.

In 2012 Andrew Garfield took the mantle of the Spider in a reboot that kept Peter Parker in high school. Tall and lanky, Andrew’s portrayal was colored with anger, angst, and attitude. The snarkiness came across as mean rather than lighthearted quips. But despite the teenage-filled hormonal portrayal, Andrew made his Peter Parker relatable. Andrew was 29 in his first outing as Spidey.

Both of these versions of Spider-Man suffered similar tropes. First, the damsel in distress is spotlighted in almost all 5 movies. Secondly, the final film in each series fails with a cast of characters so large that the films become bogged down and crowded. Time management never allows for a satisfying end for the overpopulated movies. 3 villains in each of the bookend films watered down the story and oversaturated the plots to make the films difficult to defend against the naysayers.

And let us never forget Tobey’s emo Spider-Man. Literally. Not even brain bleach or a figurative lobotomy can cure the mental anguish from involuntarily revisiting that scene in my mind.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Rating: 4.5/5
Director: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Marisa Tomei, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire

Tom Holland has become the preeminent Spider-Man and Peter Parker. Unlike both Tobey and Andrew who shouldered the mantle of responsibility in their own pocket universes, Tom was given the opportunity to be introduced during an Avenger-level film. The immediacy of rubbing elbows with established Avengers and not being the tentpole actor/character relieved a certain amount of pressure on Tom.

His first two films allowed Tom to explore a teenage Spider-Man from a young actor who was only 20 years old in his first appearance. In Spider-Man: Homecoming the veteran cast helped to alleviate much of the gravitas. Robert Downey Jr and Michael Keaton shine (as always) and were utilized splendidly in grooming the character of Peter and the actor Tom.
Two more appearances in Avenger movies raised Tom’s status as Spider-Man to a new level of recognition. And pressure.
Samuel L Jackson and Jake Gyllenhaal continued the trend with their performances elevating Tom’s in the second installment of the trilogy.

But now we come to the end of the trilogy. So the question becomes … Will this final Spider-Man film make the same mistake as its predecessors? Will the film become bogged down with too many characters and convoluted plots that satisfy no one? Will the curse of the final installment carry on to Tom Holland’s trilogy book end?

(MILD SPOILERS AHEAD)

Just a warning. This movie is packed. I wonder if the writers sat down with a checklist as they came up with the script.

Deal with secret identity leak? Check.
Toss in some Dr. Strange action as a partial mentor while also continuing to set up the next several films and the multiverse? Check.
Increase the number of bad guys? Check.
Wait, double the number of villains? Check.
Show how messed up life can get for Peter and his friends? Check.
Get some Happy (the character) time in? Check.
Have the hero act under the umbrella of noble cause only to screw up everything by his moralistic stance? Check.
Borrow from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse? Check.
Have a crisis of identity? Check.

I think part of the reason this film works is that the creators chose to follow the path created during Spider-Man: Homecoming. We don’t need to see Uncle Ben shot again. Leave the man alone, he’s died too many times on screen. We don’t need to see the spider bite. We do not need another Spider-Man origin.

Come on, if you are watching this film you know exactly who Peter Parker is.
And I would say a large majority of viewers have seen the original trilogy, the following duology, and each of the Marvel/Sony collaborations.
And just as the origin of Spider-Man was skipped, so too did the majority of the villains’ origins get skimmed over.

We know Willem Dafoe is the mad Goblin. Alfred Molina was Doc Ock in what many have considered the best superhero movie. Thomas Hayden Church as the Sandman. Rhys Ifans is poor Doctor Conners, aka the Lizard. And Jamie Foxx is Electro.

The villains, save for the Lizard (IMO), receive a certain amount of love and attention. Their humanity is teased, the tangible redemption so very near. The fans (myself included in that group) were given a swan song for these villains. A satisfying closure.

As to the long-rumored additional Spider-Men whispered and teased before the film was released, yes, Tobey and Andrew come in for a crouched landing.
All I can say is the chemistry was amazing. No single Spider-Man overshadowed the others. Amusingly the similarities and differences are spoken of between the three Spider-Men and it was nearly impossible not to fangirl at times. (I failed … I totally fangirled)

While the villains and heroes brought into the ensemble cast could easily overshadow the movie, at the heart of the film it is still about a young man who faces incredible challenges, heartbreaking loss, the uncertainty of the future, and the ending of childhood.

Tom’s Peter Parker has grown and matured. While the fun quips and lightheartedness still remain, in the background of the film is this unseen ticking clock that brings this trilogy of youthfulness to a conclusion.

With the credits rolling I found myself content with how most of the storylines ended. And after 20 years of 8 Spider-Man films, 3 ensemble movie appearances in Avenger films, and countless cartoons I still found myself looking ahead for more Spider-Man.

“Review originally published for Vraeyda Media: MacrocMicroCosm Online”
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