Dec 17, 20214 min read

Spider-Man: No Way Home review

★★★★★

Starring: #TomHolland #Zendaya #JacobBatalon #BenedictCumberbatch #AlfredMolina #WillemDafoe #JamieFoxx #MarisaTomei

The perfect cap to Jon Watts' "Home" trilogy, Spider-Man: No Way Home is a love letter to Spider-fans everywhere. Swinging into cinemas only, this surprisingly earnest film is a testament to everything fans love about the wall-crawler. For those who aren't obsessively dedicated to comic books and their filmic adaptations, the movie may be a tad overwhelming; you certainly won't spot every hidden reference and understand every in-joke. However, even for someone who hasn't seen the seven proceeding Spider-flicks (plus two Venom films), it remains an enjoyable action-romp with a tone that is refreshingly darker than its predecessors.

Following the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter Parker has been framed for the death of Mysterio. Worst of all, the whole world has learned his secret identity, ruining the lives of him and his loved ones. Fortunately, he saved the universe with a certain (ex) Sorcerer Supreme, whom he asks to wipe the world's memory of his dual life as Spider-Man. When Doctor Strange's spell goes awry, Peter must contend with five sinister villains from the multiverse, all with a personal history with alternate versions of the web-slinger.

No Way Home sees Peter Parker challenged in a way that he never could be while bumping shoulders with Iron Man and The Guardians of the Galaxy. Indeed, the MCU can be said to invite wise-cracking heroes that solve their problems with relative ease and reset the status quo by their film's end. Not so in No Way Home. The film delivers what Watts' Spider-Man films have been sorely missing: consequences. And with great consequences comes a great tone; one that is light-hearted at times, yet gripping and, dare I say, gritty when it needs to be. The MCU's infamous penchant for goofy quips is obviously still present (and will likely never die), but never do the jokes undercut the dramatic and sometimes devastating emotional beats.

Devastating moments call for compelling performances, and No Way Home boasts a veritable web of them. Holland gives his finest work yet, playing an exhausted Peter who is finally coming to terms with his responsibility as an independent hero, without the need of a Starkian mentor. In this film, he can only turn to himself. The charming young actor is beautifully supported by the power-combo of Zendaya and Marisa Tomei who also give their best turns yet as MJ and Aunt May, respectively. Their individual chemistry with the hero is palpable, and the audience investment they manage to craft is at the heart of some of the film's grimmest, most upsetting moments.

Of course, Spidey fans will delight in the return of Defoe, Molina, and Foxx from the Sam Raimi trilogy and Marc Webb duology. The former two gracefully slide back into their iconic roles like it was the mid-2000s again, (the digital de-ageing certainly helps!). Molina delivers a Shakespearean turn that delightfully complements his character's arc in Spider-Man 2, while Defoe is once again having a blast hamming it up as the Green Goblin. Yet, it's Jamie Foxx's Electro who is redeemed with an altogether fresher performance and revamped character design. Gone is the bizarre comb-over, gapped teeth, and Doctor Manhattan-inspired get up, and with it, Foxx's nervous, pantomimic performance. This Electro is cool, calculated, and scarier than ever.

Though Spidey fans will undoubtedly breeze through it on the edge of their seat, your average cinema-goer may find the film's two-and-a-half-hour runtime to be a bit steep. However, that's not to discredit the film's pacing, which remains tighter than Peter's Spider-spandex. Rarely do scenes overstay their welcome, and the narrative drip-feeds new information, plot points, and characters at just the right speed. No character arcs feel rushed and, amazingly, all five villains are given time to breathe; even the "B-listers", Sandman and the Lizard. If the film invites one criticism, it's in its overreliance on CGI: a constant issue marring the enjoyability of the MCU. Though many will neither notice nor care, the lack of practical effects to once again bring Doc Ock's arms to life, for example, is a tad disappointing.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is notoriously poor when it comes to musical continuity. The lack of individual character themes in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame remains the sole egregious niggle in otherwise excellent superhero films. As such, it's a tremendously exciting surprise that No Way Home makes use of existing character cues. Legendary Michael Giacchino leverages not just his existing Spider-Man and Doctor Strange themes, but samples from Danny Elfman, James Horner, and Hans Zimmer from the Raimi/Webb films. The momentous application of the leitmotifs for Doc Ock, Green Goblin, and Electro across the film's soundscape is enough to bring a tear to any Marvel fan's eye.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is a dream come true and a loving tribute to the wall-crawler, and his cinematic legacy. It finally gives Holland the Spider-Man film he deserves and proves that his Peter Parker is far more than just "Iron Man Jr". It's at times dark, brutal, and adult, and never pulls its punches in delivering a true Spider-Man story; one that pushes Parker to his limits. No longer is he a "Spider-Boy". No Way Home formally introduces us to this generation's Spider-Man and delivers one of the most polished, satisfying superhero experiences to date.