If you love the Spider-Man movies, past and present, you'll lose your mind watching Spider-Man: No Way Home. Don't fret, I'm not going big on spoilers. But if it's in the trailer, it might get a mention here. So if you don't even want that info, then…why are you looking at reviews?
Director Jon Watts brings his (first?) Spider-Man trilogy to a close with Spider-Man: No Way Home, which picks up directly from the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home. After swinging MJ (Zendaya) through the skyline of New York City, Spider-Man's secret identity is revealed by J. Jonah Jameson of TheDailyBugle.net. Just like that, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is "the most famous person in the world" and immediately polarizing. The controversy over Mysterio's death is causing problems for everyone he loves, including hurting Ned (Jacob Batalon) and MJ's college prospects. So, Peter seeks help from his friend from work, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). One wonky spell later and Peter has a whole new world of troubles.
Boom: The Multi-verse has cracked open, unleashing villains from the previous two Spider-Man film series: Willem Dafoe as The Green Goblin, Alfred Molina as Doc Ock, Jamie Foxx as Electro! You get the idea, but you can't imagine how thrilling it is to watch this play out.
Hilariously, "too many villains" is a common complaint about Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3. But here, it's not a problem, because the previous films have already laid the groundwork in getting to know these characters. If you're wondering if you should (re)watch the others first, yes. To their credit, screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers lace the dialogue with catch-up context. But the emotional beats hit harder if you revisit the first five movies in this repeatedly rebooted franchise. Even if you don't though, the gravitas that Dafoe and Molina (in particular) bring to their reprised roles allows an audience easy insight into the personal agonies that are their tragic backstories.
But that's not all. Watching these villains play against the MCU Peter Parker is an exhilarating rush because of how different the tones of those movies were. Raimi's were broadly comic. The Amazing Spider-Man was almost suffocating in its angsty intrigue (and sex appeal thanks to the crackling chemistry of then real-life couple Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone). There are parallels in the MCU's version, including Marvel's MJ (Zendaya) being in a real-life romance with her Spider-Man (Holland). So, there's a meta charm to when he literally sweeps her off her feet and out of danger. That's the thing though about Spider-Man: No Way Home — it's not just a movie. It's something more. It functions not only on the canon of all the MCU films that have come before but also all the Sony Spider-Men movies that have preceded it, and also the relationships of the celebrities at its center, but also the wishes of fans who have maybe manifested this messy but marvelous mutant thing into existence.
Sure, there's a plotline and a big bad, thrilling twists, cameos, and plenty of nods to comics and other MCU productions. But amid all this, Spider-Man: No Way Home also boasts beats that feel like the fevered dream of a die-hard fan. Like What If…? got to go full feature, and money, and licensing, and scheduling, and egos, and creative differences were no object. The character combinations here are absolutely wild. Their sequences range from nail-biting suspense to tear-jerking drama (seriously, bring tissues), quirky in-jokes, and deeply nerdy conversations that are awkward yet adorable. Watts handles these shifts in tone with wit and agility as sharp as Spider-Man's. It doesn't feel jarring for a comedy bit to lead to tears or an action scene to be preceded by a hangout beat. Part of the pleasure of this film is the time it allows its characters to experience moments high and low.
For instance, in one pivotal scene, Peter creates a goober that could be a gamechanger, there's a long beat between when he flips the switch and when we learn if it works. Within that, Watts cuts to a string of character reactions, allowing the tension to build alongside our giddiness and hope! Because he doesn't rush from one action setup to the next, the audience is welcomed into a Spidey-centric group hang. And after all these movies, that is a real treat for fans of any or all of them.
That is to say, Spider-Man: No Way Home won't be for everyone. Some might see its cross-movie webbing as too chaotic, too fan-servicey, or just generally too much. Personally, having rewatched all of the previous movies recently, I was in awe of how Watts and his team weaved such different styles and textures together to express common themes and a familiar yet fresh tale of what it means to be a hero who is hurting. These elements play together in a dizzying ballet of action and emotion, bolstered by impeccable visual effects and an all-star cast eager to sink their teeth into these juicy collisions. And it all hits hard, perhaps all the more because this reboot has been the most joyful of the three. So be warned: Spider-Man: No Way Home will mess you up. It's not only an enthralling thrill ride, not only a celebration of Spidey fandom, not only a rousing adventure but also an emotionally riveting drama that doesn't pull its punches.
Spider-Man: No Way Home opens in theaters Dec. 17.
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