So I have finally seen Spider-Man No Way Home here in the UK, as it released 2 days early,
and it was better than I expected.
It's not a perfect movie and has some of the problems that I previously noted as concerns
but it also delivered when it comes to the things that I wanted more of in regards to
Tom Holland's Spider-Man.
I'm going to be stressing more on the primary reason why this
movie was better than the previous two in a spoiler-filled video essay later in the
week, but for this spoiler-free review, I'm going to be focussing on the specifics and
my general reaction to the movie.
Before I get into the reasons why this was my favourite MCU Spider-Man film, but one
that still has noticeable issues, if you want to see much
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But without further ado, let's dive into my spoiler-free review for Spider-Man No Way
Home.
So Spider-Man: No Way Home goes full blast when it comes to including familiar characters,
references, and essentially all the greatest hits, giving us a reminiscing essence
that diverts but also entertains.
This is also not very necessary, becoming predictably nostalgic and delivering on as
much fan service as they could possibly give.
This is the part of No Way Home that honestly as a lover
of film and storytelling, doesn't interest me as much as focusing on good character development.
But then on the flip side of things, I didn't expect that they would really
shine a light on the struggles of Tom Holland's iteration of Spider-Man and challenge him
into being a stronger person going forward.
I really wanted to see the issues he deals with as Peter Parker and not be bogged down
by all the references, characters and shiny tech that someone else provides for
his character or in assistance with.
But No Way Home delivers weirdly on both of these contrasting aspects, making me a lot
more satisfied with how they approached Holland's more emotional take on the character, but
at the same time, the nostalgic elements were there as product to entertain.
Yes, they are interwoven in a decent way, but when merging
this with the more emotive things seen in the film, it makes me wish we got a greater
focus on the latter.
Still, it was better than I expected, just very predictable at the
same time.
But coming to a quick run-through of No Way Home's plot without spoilers, the film picks
up immediately after Far From Home.
After the events with Mysterio in that film, and
J.Jonah Jameson and the Daily Bugle revealing Spider-Man’s identity, he’s just a 17-year-old
Peter Parker now to the rest of the world.
We get the hectic aftermath, and his life is ultimately thrown into chaos.
But what's worse and the trailer and film focus on this is that all the people close
to him including Aunt May, MJ, and Ned, have their
lives resultingly ruined.
This is one of the things that builds decently in this instalment and it's clear that the
filmmakers wanted to focus more on the Guilt that Peter
faces because it's something he has caused.
So as we know, he finds Doctor Strange to cast a spell that compels the world to forget
who Spider-Man is.
Said spell does the reverse of the intentions, bringing back Spider-Man:
villains from the character's past, but from alternate universes such as Dr Otto Octavius,
Electro, Green Goblin and so on, who all become confused because of the unfamiliar
Peter Parker that stands before them.
So with the multiverse fractured, it's time to repair Strange's error before time runs
out.
But alongside this opening dilemma, we soon learn that with the fate of all of these villains
who die through the differing iterations of Spider-Man, that the current
version of the character is trying to save them instead of sending them back to their
respective universes.
Like we see in the trailers and footage, this puts Holland's
Spider-Man up against Doctor Strange and leads us into a whole new set of issues, challenges
and disputes, that forms the latter parts of the film.
And these are too spoiler-filled to break down in this particular video.
The new film of course gets bigger and grander with all of this taking place, but also suffers
the stumble of most superhero blockbusters like this in that... with becoming busier,
it becomes slightly lazier, rough around the edges and more convoluted as it leads towards
a bigger climactic ending with multiple emotional outcomes.
Some of course work much better than offers when it comes to the end result of Spider-Man
No Way Home.
These moments act as entertaining thrills and get some laughs out of the audience.
But apart from having issues with them bogging down the emotional pull, it also suffers
from having very few surprises, alongside its thematic familiarity to recent films like
Into The Spider-Verse.
It doesn't have quite the inventive nature and some of the
writing of characters is a little weak too.
For instance, there are decisions made by that of Doctor Strange and even Peter Parker
that are quite reckless, or not in cue with the core notions of who these characters are
in this current iteration.
But what soon becomes obvious if you aren't only watching this for the fanservice is that
the movie quite predictably provides things through
the writing that are simply plot devices, rather than making more of a focal point by
going into characters who are believable through the decisions they make.
The Multiverse gimmick is the reason for this too.
But although these things bug me, there is a good degree of story development surrounding
the character of Peter Parker and this really makes the movie better than expected when
it comes to the expectations I had going in.
There's this journey presented in the film, where we see the character go from being self-standing
into having that responsibility that we know from Spider-Man.
And this is relatably in line with some of my
problems with the recent MCU films, in that it's splits attention between being an event
film with the multiverse and references to the past and the emotional advancement of
Peter Parker as a character.
Eternals had this issue in that when trying to merge big themes and important character
moments with the standard tone and approach of an MCU film,
you get a very muddled, unfocused outcome.
I think part of the reason too, and it's evident in No Way Home, is that the filmmaking is
quite similar across the board, and nothing speaks too strongly in reference with
the personality of the filmmaker.
Sam Raimi's films brought all the fantasy, action, emotion, drama and even his signature
touches on horror, that you knew it was a Raimi film
with every inch of passion.
I don't see that as much in Marc Webb's films and the inbalance of tone, focus and structure
just doesn't help the matter.
Add on that they try and use camera movements and pans like the previous films and it leaves
me wanting to see the true identity of a new Spider-Man.
One that has potential in moments of this film, when we go deeper into his character.
But after the newer Spider-Man films in the MCU have gone in the opposite direction from
the legacy-based origin stories and away from the weight that Peter Parker could face,
I must say, No Way Home does a much better job at finally realising this.
There was no pinnacle moment, like with Uncle Ben and the character hadn't really felt or
tapped into the great responsibility ideal.
Or even the idea of true guilt, the consequences or actions wouldn't be tackled in the newer
films.
It's important to fully see and realise the painful outcomes and life lessons that Peter
Parker should have as it's so in sync with the idea of his character.
But I am pleased to say, that No Way Home, finally brings this
into the spotlight.
It's something I've talked about in multiple videos with especially the Sam Raimi video
essay the other week, where I wanted a focus on this and was worried
it wouldn't be that much present.
But here it is present, the film clearly understands the emotional pull of the character and it's
all better for it, using its nostalgia in certain moments to its advantage, even if
it doesn't always work.
But where this could have been stronger, lies in the fact that Spider-Man has to find the
introspective space between the plethora of family members
and friends, five villains, other revealed characters that make way and one other Marvel
hero in Doctor Strange.
Although he isn't in it too much, Strange himself is reduced
to basically a means of kickstarting the plot and at times is quite off character.
Essentially, some of the products on display from this
I.P. and the more reflective elements disturb the better aspects, which aim at driving the
character of Peter Parker into a more darker and mature set of circumstances.
Yes, the film has the traditional MCU and comedic
tone, but it also hits you in the gut at a certain moment and gives you a greater push
into the emotional context so perfectly.
It's a shame to not have more focus on this and instead, feel a need to give fans what
the filmmakers think they want.
If you listen to some of the greatest filmmakers who ever
produced, they all say that you have to make a movie to satisfy the inner drives of making
the story you want to tell.
Half of this movie felt like it wanted to do just that,
but the other half comes across as quite predictable in giving the audience exactly what they want
from their comic book dream.
These dreams don't always last because there's always more product to fill the current void
and the filmmaking and emotive storytelling that tends to last throughout film history,
just becomes a side act.
Still, No Way Home's moments of crucial pain make it feel
like a completely different type of superhero film, becoming the kind of cinema that you
want to see for such a popular figure, that explores his lore but also his main drives.
But that was my spoiler-free review for Spider-Man No Way Home.
The film wasn't bad by any means, it actually was better than I expected and it sure is
entertaining at times especially with some of the big reveals and
characters in here.
But judging these things within the context of this film and the particular story, it
can at moments feel awkwardly delivered or in a way that seems
too on the nose with referencing things in the past.
It essentially has an equal focus at playing with reprocessed ideas and
elements from the character's history.
I understand that they want to impact the box office and give fans a good dose of dopamine
when bringing this stuff up, but it ultimately drags and hurts what is actually great about
this film.
It comes across like the story writers have run out of good ideas and just want to please
a die-hard fanbase.
The Raimi films and even the first Webb film were able
to inject life into a character on the big screen, challenge them, bring new ideas and
themes, that all at the same time pleased these die-hard fans and become memorable.
This new Spider-Man film injects some great depth and challenges Peter Parker, but then
the dopamine-filled nostalgia is added as an
extra layer of what they feel like is fan security.
It felt like No Way Home ends at a point where the original Sam Raimi films began, and while
I'm worried that could become quite conventional, I'm hoping it sets up
a new set of stories for them to tell in a new way.
But as I said, it is really great that this new Spider-Man film spent time making
us emotionally connect to the MCU's Spider-Man.
It is something it desperately needed.
I just hope that going forward that we explore a new path for Tom Holland's Spider-Man,
one that is as creative and inspiring in its storytelling as it could be with its filmmaking.
I'm giving Spider-Man No Way Home a rating of 7.75 out of 10.
But to those who have already seen the film what do you think
of Tom Holland's third entry as Spider-Man, and do you agree that it has some unexpected
better elements alongside things that predictably pull it down.
Again, it's all subjective and I understand that there will be many differing reactions
and reviews, but let me know down below in the comments section
what you personally thought towards the film alongside things that stood out with your
first impressions.
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