Wow. I just watched the much-anticipated Spiderman: No Way Home, and—just wow.
I would say I’m at a loss for words, that would be untrue. There is PLENTY to say. So much that I decided to turn what was going to be a piece of my end of year wrap-up into its own post, because Tom Holland’s third (and likely final) Spiderman solo film deserves it.
While I try to think of another figure of speech with which to convey my awe, let the praise begin. I cannot express to you how many ridiculous, earthshattering spoilers appear below, so PLEASE proceed at your own risk.
What I Liked:
Uh, everything?
Okay, okay, I didn’t like everything. No Way Home wasn’t the impossible, vaunted “perfect film,” , and I wasn’t expecting it to be. Seriously, in my Venom post, I even went so far as to portend fire and brimstone for the MCU as the franchise stood poised to bring the multiverse to life. But somehow, through some sorcery all their own, Marvel did the improbable again: they gave us everything we wanted.
Spiderman: No Way Home had the magical visual effects of Dr. Strange. It had the emotional depth of Endgame, the moral quandaries of Captain America: Civil War, and the hilarity of Thor Ragnarok. It made me laugh, and cry, and laugh again. I have never left a movie theater feeling so satisfied and devastated at the same time. What Marvel unleashed on the world is nothing short of—well, amazing.
(Cue the Andrew Garfield reference…)
The triple threat crossover done right
Guys, they did it! They gave us all three Spidermen in one movie.
I could write a whole dissertation picking apart all the Easter eggs and minute details that Marvel included just to make us fans happy. Instead, I’m going to sketch over what I see as the main points.
- The pointing Spiderman meme was recreated.
- A reference was made to the thousands of blog posts, articles, and forum debates out there ranking Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Toby Maguire’s performances. (At least I’m pretty sure that was the underlying joke behind that scene where they numbered off and argued about it.) In the end, Andrew Garfield’s Peter ended up as number three, Toby’s came second, and Tom was number one. I may or may not agree with that ranking, but it was a funny and noteworthy inclusion anyway.
- The long Statue of Liberty conversation was entirely unnecessary but also exactly what we signed up for. I mean, the back cracking? Priceless. Discussion of web shooting anatomy? Things we’ve all thought about. Enemy comparisons? Andrew Garfield’s reactions had me dying.
- The writers played to the strengths of each Peter Parker reincarnation. Tom Holland’s endearing mess of a teenager struggled to do the right thing above all else, Andrew Garfield’s character showed off his daring wit, and Tobey Maguire’s Spiderman exhibited his trademark quiet, head-in-the-clouds positivity. Their differences in age, knowledge, and experience allowed them to balance each other out as they shared advice, encouragement, and battle strategy.
- Each Spiderman was also presented in a deliberately meaningful way. Discourse out there on the internet has labeled Maguire as the best Peter Parker, Garfield as the best Spiderman, and Holland as the best combination of the two. Interestingly, these labels align with the choices each character make in their own films and how they were introduced in No Way Home. Maguire’s Spiderman ultimately prioritizes a life with MJ over his superhero exploits. His character appears in No Way Home dressed in the street clothes of “a cool youth pastor.” In contrast, Garfield’s character chooses the vigilante life and ultimately loses Gwen, his love interest. He portals into the MCU already wearing his Spidey suit. And poor Holland’s Peter, caught somewhere in the middle, doesn’t end up getting a choice at all.
- Andrew Garfield’s Spiderman achieved redemption by catching a falling MJ when Holland’s Peter couldn’t. I’ve never even actually seen the Andrew Garfield movies, but his performance in No Way Home was so fantastic that I just might have to change that.
All the cameos
With all the hype surrounding Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire’s roles, it’s easy to forget all the other appearances that contributed to the film’s success too, both big and small.
For example, I loved that the writers threw Matt Murdock in there. Seriously, why not add to the chaos while you have it working in your favor? I know very little about Daredevil, but that snippet where he reflexively catches a brick flying at Peter’s face and passes it off as “being a good lawyer”? Perfection.
Beyond that, the villain cameos were also near-flawless. Jamie Fox’s Electro was plain hilarious, Dr. Octavius artfully straddled the line between good and evil, and Wilhem Dafoe reprised the stark duality of Norman Osborne and the Green Goblin. Dafoe’s ability to ascribe slightly different mannerisms to his two personalities added tension to the film’s rising action. Like waiting on a bomb without a timer, I could tell Peter’s attempts to save the villainous crew were about to turn ugly, just by the way Dafoe answered a question.
And finally, Dr. Strange’s role of disgruntled-magician-and-reluctant-mentor-turned-antagonist threw the movie’s moral axis on its head. He clearly exhibits respect and a deep-buried affection for Peter. Yet at the same time, he resents his demotion from Sorcerer Supreme during the Blip, flaunts the rules, and pushes Peter to take the fall for his corrupted spell. It will be interesting to see how Marvel continues to use Dr. Strange in this moral grey area going forward.
Peter continues to be plagued by tragedy
Poor Peter deserves so much better. Not to count bodies or anything, but at this point, the kid has lost his parents; his Uncle Ben; Tony Stark, his mentor-turned-father-figure; and his Aunt May, the only real family he had left. He has also effectively lost any relationship he had with the Avengers, Happy, his best friend, and his girlfriend. He ends the movie utterly alone, life in ruins, with only GED studying and the satisfaction of fighting local crime to keep him going. But the real tragedy?
Peter Parker did nothing wrong.
The viral video that paints Spiderman as a murderous vigilante at the end of Far From Home came as an act of posthumous revenge by Mysterio, who Peter ultimately prevented from destroying half of Europe on his way to securing world domination. And even his spider bite origin story paints him as nothing more than a hapless victim of circumstance.
That’s not to suggest that Peter is perfect. His naivety and propensity for seeing the best in people have landed him in trouble before. But when he does make mistakes, Peter moves heaven and earth to fix them.
So, when Dr. Strange’s spell goes awry and, instead of making the world forget Peter Parker is Spiderman, summons everyone from other timelines who already knows his secret, the easiest solution have been to simply send them back. But no. Instead, Peter tries to save every villain his multiverse counterparts have ever defeated. And what does he get for his trouble?
Aunt May dies.
That scene killed me. Because we watched May go down. We saw what happened, and as an audience, we mourned what seemed like an inevitable loss. But then the battle ends, Peter approaches, and—miraculously—May lives. She stands, comforts Peter, tells him he did the right thing, and walks toward the door with him. And just like Peter, we started to hope.
Then she falls. And she doesn’t get up again.
Throughout the movie, Dr. Strange echoes his refrain of “this is all your fault” until, slowly, we see Peter start to believe it. Death and destruction follow him, and Peter internalizes the idea that he damages everything he touches. The worst, most agonizing part is that he ends the movie deciding to live with this idea as his defining truth. Sure, “with great power comes great responsibility.” But it hurt to see Peter have to make such a monumental sacrifice, even if it was so beautifully played out.
You see, in most movies, things get worse before they can get better again. The hero plunges into the depths of despair, stares down seemingly impossible odds, and overcomes them. As Peter’s circumstances grew worse in No Way Home, I kept thinking that “happy ending” resolution was coming. I really did. Especially when the three Spidermen joined forces and things started going to plan. The story’s bittersweet conclusion came as a somewhat of a surprise. But it imparts a very real truth: in life, sometimes things go horribly, irrevocably wrong in ways beyond our control. And no magic spell or superhuman powers can send us back to the way it was before.
But let’s circle back to how funny this movie was…
Because the balance of hilarity and despair was what really made it special. What is darkness without light and all that jazz, right?
No Way Home was both sophisticated enough for self-aware humor (a la joke about Spiderman hating national monuments) and chock-full of stitch-inducing dialogue (i.e. May asking Doc Ock if he drinks fresh or salt water because he “looks like an octopus.”). Marvel at its best.
What I Disliked:
Ultimately, very little
Okay, fine.
The post-credit scene
That, my friends, was a trailer for the next Dr. Strange movie. Not a post-credit scene. Thank you for attending my TED talk.
However, I am relieved that Eddie and Venom seemingly got sent back to their own timeline in the mid-credit scene. I still think keeping Venom and Spiderman in their own separate universes is in everyone’s best interests.
Peter effectively martyring himself
Look, I’m not that mad about Peter’s decision not to explain himself to Ned and MJ. Really. The scene was shot and written beautifully, and it tugged at my heartstrings in all the right excruciating ways. I even understand why Peter might have felt that isolating himself was the right thing to do. But there’s still a part of me that wishes Peter could have found a greater source of happiness than a blank slate. It hurt to watch him settle for less than we know he is capable of and significantly less than he deserves. He also breaks his promise to help Ned and MJ remember him, deciding that they’re better off without him in their lives. I would argue that Ned and MJ deserved to make that choice for themselves.
The Final Verdict:
No Way Home provides an awesome conclusion to Tom Holland’s Homecoming trilogy. We’ve watched his version of Peter Parker grow up and come into his own. We’ve seen him struggle, and succeed, and survive incredible loss and hardship. And while this film didn’t leave us with the happy ending we might have wished for Peter, this hopefully won’t be the last we see of him.
I waxed eloquent about all the parts of this movie that I loved and the cool things I noticed for over 1500 words, and I still didn’t get to talk about how much I enjoyed Ned and MJ, or how fantastic the fight scenes were. This film was a full-on work of both art and fanservice: an exceedingly rare combination. Definitely one of my top 5 favorite MCU movies of all time and the best Spiderman movie ever made.
I mentioned my concern in a previous post that the MCU might overextend itself with this whole multiverse thing. But so far it seems to be working out pretty well. So, Marvel… For now, in the words of the guy behind me at the theater, “just keep taking my money.”
I would give Spiderman: No Way Home a 9/10.