'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Review: A Spectacular, Action-Packed, Emotional Triumph
Photo credit: Sony Pictures
“With great power comes great responsibility.” It’s one of the most famous lines in comic book history, and maybe just one of the most famous lines ever. It’s the line that Uncle Ben (or in some cases, Aunt May) says to Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man. It defines him, it empowers him, it impedes him. He’s still just a regular kid, after all: he’s in high school, he’s experiencing young love, he’s going on class trips. He just also happens to be a superhero who has helped save the world a time or two.
In the third instalment of director Jon Watts’ Spider-Man trilogy, the film picks up just one week after the events of 2019’s Far From Home. Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) has just outed Peter Parker as the man behind the mask and revealed his identity to the world, therefore changing every aspect of his life. News helicopters and reporters surround his apartment building. His face is plastered on every single TV channel and newspaper front page. He’s the most famous person in the world and it’s all but a privilege. Parker tries his best to navigate his sudden catapult to fame and attempts to keep his head down while still applying for colleges or hanging out with his best friend, Ned, and his girlfriend, MJ. When the trio make a plan to attend MIT together and find out they were denied due to their indirect association with the web-slinger, Parker becomes determined to repair the consequences of Mysterio’s actions.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures
He heads to a familiar home on Bleeker Street and cashes in a favor with fellow super-something, Doctor Strange. Parker convinces him to cast a spell which will make the world forget that he’s Spider-Man and allow his and his friends’ lives to go back to normal. As Strange begins to cast the spell, it dawns on Parker that this means the few people he does want to know—such as Strange, Happy, Ned, MJ, and Aunt May—will now be out of the loop. Strange begins to make these conditional adjustments but warns Parker that altering the spell too much can have severe consequences. It’s all but too late by the time Strange is able to get control of the spell, and the breaking of the multiverse begins. Before long, familiar faces from multiple Spider-Man’s past begin appearing one by one, and the course of the film turns to Parker and his friends fighting to repair the multiverse and send everyone back to their respective timelines.
The months leading up to the release of this film were chock-full with speculation. The internet was flooded with fan theories on potential storylines that could be pulled from the various comics, potential villains, and hopeful appearances from other fan-favorite actors who have donned the famous suit. Without giving anything away, it is safe to say that the film delivers on a lot of these fronts. While some may view it as fan service; a potentially lazy, money-grabbing effort from the teams at Marvel and Sony to cash in on an easy opportunity, others view it as the film of their dreams. Regardless of which side of the coin one may fall, it’s hard to deny that this film is a damn fun time and is wildly impressive. As seen from the trailers, quite a few villains were brought back into play and it feels palpable that every actor seemed to genuinely enjoy being back in that world. Watts and the team of writers also really seem to have locked in on Parker as a fully three-dimensional character and Holland seems like he’s never been more comfortable in the role. The stakes for Parker are incredibly high, and it’s more about his morals and what he genuinely has to lose rather than just having fun running on the playground with the Avengers. Though the film comes in at around 2.5 hours, it breezes by quickly and manages to pack a ton of action, heart, and story into it without feeling overwhelming or dragging.
It’s also an introduction to the beginning of the multiverse and the potential effects it will have, as has been hinted in Marvel’s TV shows Wandavision and Loki, as well as it being the main plot point behind the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel, Into the Multiverse of Madness. The possibilities of where future Spider-Man films (and frankly anything in the MCU, at this point) seem almost impossible to comprehend. There has already been confirmation from Kevin Feige that more Spider-Man movies are in the works, and Holland and co. are contracted for at least a few more. Perhaps the next film will follow the group as they head off to college and continue to further develop the characters as their daily problems become bigger than just high school.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures
In a world where Film Twitter frequently debates what makes for a good film, whether it be the aforementioned “theme park” movies or the guaranteed Oscar-bait flicks, it can be easy to forget the most foundational and critical element of any film: how does it make the audience feel? How does it move them, impact them, inspire them? It’s part of what makes these mega blockbuster films so popular—they’re not just accessible to the masses; they make people feel like they can do things far beyond their imagination. The charm of a character like Peter Parker is that he’s a regular teenager who comes into extraordinary abilities. He becomes something bigger than himself and finds a greater purpose. A film like No Way Home leaves viewers feeling inspired and hopeful. When Parker is first faced with the villains and has to try to make sense of the multiverse, his instinct is to send them home. “It’s not my problem,” he tells Aunt May. But she probes him to think of a reason why he shouldn’t try to help them. He is Spider-Man, afterall, and every single one of those villains was once just a regular person who fell on hard times or was burdened with something they didn’t ask for. She reminds him that he can relate to that on some level, and that he should use his abilities for good instead of just turning a blind eye to it. There’s a case to be argued for the social commentary the film is making here, but its message is as simple as this: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Whether it’s the reliably stunning visuals, the stimulating action, the gorgeous set pieces against the backdrop of New York City, the funny and charming performances, or the incredible amount of heart interwoven into the story, it’s impossible to watch this film and walk out of it without feeling ready to take on the world. Any single person can go out and make a difference. They can change someone else’s life and they can change their own life, too. And if a film like this is what inspires that feeling? Then we can only hope they keep making movies like this forever.