It’s hard to believe that Spider-Man: No Way Home is actually in theaters. For the past year or two, this movie has been the most dominated and overly discussed movie in recent years and the movie was only in its production phase. Obviously, there were set photo leaks and rumors that ended up being leaked, but there was never an official frame of this movie that was intentionally released to the public until a few months ago when we got our first teaser (which shattered records) and a poster and other forms of promotion. The biggest hurdle Spider-Man: No Way Home way potentially had leading up to its release were the rumors and speculation that the fans created, not the studio. Let’s face it, almost no movie in history can deliver on even the highest of expectations. Very rarely will something exceed expectations, but it doesn’t happen as often as one might think. Spider-Man: No Way Home was certainly in position to disappoint fans simply for the reason that fans kept letting speculation become expectation, which is dangerous territory that one puts themself in. Look at Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It’s a Star Wars movie so theres already excitement laid out, but many fans had deep speculation that really never came true in the final product, which is a factor on why that movie is so divisive in the Star Wars fan community. Not to say No Way Home would be that scenario but leading up to it there was some hesitation on if it could deliver on all the speculation fans had and not have them satisfied.
Be that as it may, there hasn’t been a movie this eagerly anticipated than Avengers: Endgame, which had a monstrous opening weekend that will never be replicated again. But with the excitement for Spider-Man: No Way Home, it was refreshing to have something like this occur, even in the current circumstances of out country. With it being the 27th film in the MCU, Spider-Man: No Way Home is the best Spider-Man movie since Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 and easily the best of Tom Holland’s. Of all the Tom Holland web slinging adventures, this one leaves you absolutely speechless and it’s beautifully earned at this point. This by far the most emotional and heavy a Spider-Man movie has felt in ages and thanks to the growing evolution of Tom Holland’s performance and Jon Watts exquisite direction, No Way Home feels more mature, deeper and more methodical on challenging the character even more.
Following directly after the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter Parker’s identity has been revealed to the entire world and he’s no longer able his normal life as a normal high school student then the youngest recruit of the Avengers. To solve his problems, he goes to Doctor Strange, in hopes that he can create a spell that has everyone forget that he’s Spider-Man. This then creates a bigger problem when the doors to the multiverse open, causing villains from other realties to enter own this universe.
The returning of the familiar characters from Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock, Jamie Foxx’s Electro and especially Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin is, by all accounts, fan service, but the level of heart, passion and attention applied to their characters and performances was wonderfully placed that it still never took away from the main focus of the movie, which is of course Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Molina does great work with Doc Ock, giving him interesting things to do by having a completely different dynamic with Holland’s Spider-Man. Jamie Foxx, in particular, is a vast improvement from his take on Electro from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and it seemed that he’s role in this movie felt more playful and no where near is silly like before. What’s sort of refreshing about Foxx’s electro, and in other cases, is how No Way Home pokes fun on the criticisms for the other Spider-Man flicks. They’re brief, but for any fan of the Spider-Man movies, they deliver.
The real deal is Willem Dafoe coming back ad Green Goblin. If you think he’s lost his touch for a character he’s only played once then think again. He has never been this menacing and violent as Goblin. He steals every scene and channels in a ruthless and powerful performance that should instantly put his take on Goblin as a top tier comic-book movie villainThe biggest weaknesses it has, while not terrible, were the characters of Sandman and Lizard. It was certainly great to see them and they looked visually remarkable, there was hardly any focus on them that they’re placement felt like an “oh yeah” and not an “OH YEAH.”
The action, while super game changing, is on some other form of greatness that’s also never been this epic in any of the Tom Holland’s Spider-Man flicks. It feels more violent, consequential and even gut wrenching at certain sequences. It features a style of action that’s not been this prevalent in this incarnation of the character, yet it felt familiar but somehow refreshing. Whether it’s the fights with Doc Ock or Goblin, they’re all superbly exciting and beautifully orchestrated. The movie is also a visual marvel (no pun) and maybe the best looking of the Tom Holland movies. The battle sequences look crisp, the visuals of the multiverse are filled with a variety of colors and diversity with the structure of its visuals but it’s a simple and clean looking movie.
Whether or Jon Watts comes back for more Spider-Man movies is a question mark since we know that’s attached to direct a rebooted adaptation of Fantastic Four in the MCU which is still to be dated. Nevertheless, his work with Homecoming, Far From Home and now No Way Home needs to be commemorated for many years and especially now. What’s more special is that this is the first Spider-Man movie that wraps up a trilogy with a banger. Whether you’re a fan of Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 or The Amazing Spider-Man 2, both ended the character poorly and they never gave the character a proper goodbye. We know there’s going to be more Tom Holland Spider-Man movies in the years to come, but this installment felt like the culmination that we deserved.
It’s gonna be hard for this movie to not seal the deal on Tom Holland being the best fit for Spider-Man on every single proportion. But not only that, this is maybe the most staggering and gripping performance of his entire career. Tobey and Andrew did an amazing job at playing their versions of Spider-Man, but this Tom Holland was tailor made for Spider-Man that magnificently feels organically his own, while catering to a more modern approach that still stays true to form of the character. He dominates this movie and just like how a movie, say Captain America: Civil War, which has tons of characters, yet still feels and acts like a Captain America movie. No Way Home is exactly that. It features tons of recurring characters, characters from two different established universes with completely different personalities and still gives them proper development, but this is still Tom Holland’s movie from beginning to end.
Another plus to add to this movie is the epic and emotional score from the talented Michael Giacchino. From a guy who started out with animated scores, Giacchino is continuing to impress us with each score he creates. His theme for this incarnation of Spider-Man feels that it’s grown since Tom Holland was first cast in the role. It has more weight and it’s another masterpiece he can add to his work.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is a love letter for every generation of Spider-Man fans. It gives characters second chances, it gives our characters deeper and much bigger struggles that make them more nuanced It’s an arousing and visceral experience that feels more edgier than what the MCU is typically known for. This is by far the most emotionally deep Spider-Man movie we’ve had on years. Where this franchise goes after this is beyond my level of comprehension, but what Kevin Feige and Sony have done with the character of Spider-Man is truly one of a kind.
My grade for Spider-Man: No Way Home: A
Zane's take at the Cinema's 