Spider-man: No Way Home (2021)

MCU SPOILER ALERT

I’m going to be 100% honest here: I can’t figure out if I like this movie or not. It’s shot really well; the comedy is on point; the acting is sublime; and there is a ton of good fan-service. I have no idea why, but this movie just feels like… a let down? Not like a terrible letdown, like Phantom Menace was to audiences of 1999, just a minor one. I’ve seen the movie three times in theaters, and every time I went, I never saw a BIG reaction in the audience, so I kinda feel like I’m not alone on this front. Even reading the “supposed” screenplay has done little to deter me from this feeling.

And I think there are two big problems with this: 1) this is not a movie that I necessarily wanted. It’s fun to see Alfred Molina back and see all the live-action Spider-men (sans the Japanese version) on the screen together, but it wasn’t something I yearned for, and I’ll get into more detail later on WHY their reveal left me wanting more. 2) As fascinating as the concept of the multi-verse is, I’m starting to feel like it’s “the new time travel,” where everyone is trying to do it, because it’s a popular idea ("Rick and Morty," "Star vs. the Forces of Evil," Space Jam, etc.). I’ve seen Spidey do it at least twice (and a few other episodes of the 1990s and early-2000s cartoons) with “Ultimate Spider-man” and Into the Spider-verse. As such, there is an inherent level of comparison that I’ve probably been making in relation to this film.

And don’t get me wrong, visually this is an amazing movie. I didn’t catch onto anything deep on a symbolic level for colour, but the palette isn’t just gray. I suppose the only thing that I did notice is how the movie ended with Spidey swinging through New York at night. The wonderful nature of Happy’s nearly blank apartment contrasts nicely with the colourful heroes and villains, allowing for my distinction between foreground and background elements.

Much of the film is standard Spider-man from a cinematic standpoint. When he swings, you can feel like you’re there. When he’s fighting, the camera movements are smooth and arcing, which I prefer over hand-held shaky cam. The best part about the camera work, though, is the update of “The Peter Tingle,” a.k.a. “Spidey-sense.” This is probably my favourite version of this spider-power, as it’s not cool bullet-time like the Raimi-Verse or crackhead twitching like the Webb verse. I swear the camera pulls a dolly-zoom to separate Tom from the rest of the characters, which is also done by muffling their voices. It feels like a tense horror-movie moment.

This movie is long. I think it’s the longest Spider-man movie that there’s been where he was the start (so Endgame doesn’t count). As such, every moment needs to be exactly where it’s needed so the story can flow to its best potential. The editing is great for the film. I noticed lots of match cuts and repeated camera movements to illustrate change throughout the movie. Jon Watts had clearly upped his game as a director since even 2019, and I’m liking it. Except for one scene. During the trailer, Strange says that Peter doesn’t have to call him “sir,” which prompts Peter to call him “Stephen.” There is a small pause and then Strange replies: “That feels weird, but I’ll allow it.” In the movie, there’s no pause. How did a three-minute trailer pace this scene better than a two-and-a-half-hour movie?

The effects, par for the course with Marvel, are still stellar, for the returning characters. But for the newcomers (from the previous universes), they are all improved upon. Green goblin’s flying is done much smoother and less cartoony and stiff than Spider-man (2002). While I never had anything against the Dr. Manhattan version of Electro, his flying and electrical teleporting is done a little better. I also like that his actual costumer flickers in and out like a circuit malfunctioning during the climax. Sandman being made to be entirely sand is just funny to me. The Lizard’s face still looks like Voldemort, and we don’t get to see as much of him as I would’ve liked. And Doc Ock? When they made Spider-man 2 (2004), the tentacles were a mix of CGI, Green Screen compositing, puppets and animatronics. Here, it’s all CGI and it looks just as good as it did back then, which I realize might not seem like a compliment, but for CGI that can look TRULY real, then it’s got my seal of approval.

And on that subject, “Holy quality costuming, Batman.” Not only do you have the usual characters, but a couple the Multiversers get some swanky upgrades too. I loved Tom’s inside out suit. Electro spending most of the time in an electrician’s uniform is a hilarious visual. And the Green Goblin finally getting to put on a purple hood? Priceless. Yeah, I felt like the hobo-version of Goblin was a bit of a letdown, but at least he doesn’t look like a Power Ranger. But I like that they didn’t fix what wasn’t broken. Alfred’s Doc Ock is iconic and keeping him dressed like that was a smart move, though I guess I lament the fact that he never got the green and gold outfit from the 1990s cartoon. And yes, I do love that the final Tom suit is red and blue, mirroring Tobey and Andrew’s, signifying that he has finally become Spider-man.

Also, I love that, in the background, there’s a little subplot about the Statue of Liberty getting renovated with a Captain America shield and people protesting it. But the scaffolding does make for a nice set piece and allows for some of the most poignant moments in the movie to work.

Aside from Strange’s theme, there’s nothing iconic about the score this film. And the biggest problem with the music I’m going to cover in a bit, mainly because it contributes to my biggest problem with the film. But I’ll get to that. There are only two times in the film where the music really worked for me: after May’s death, when it’s nearly silent in the score, allowing us to feel the sorrow of the moment and the catharsis of the sympathy. The other time is during the final battle between Tom and Goblin when he’s just beating on the doctor. The score isn’t triumphant, it isn’t heroic, it’s dark and somber. This is the true turning point for Tom’s Peter and the music tells us that he’s about to make the wrong decision, which is great because, to him, May only died a few hours ago, so he’s not yet ready to forgive, despite Tobey’s warnings.

I cannot believe how good of an actor Tom Holland actually is. In the rest of the MCU, he’s just supposed to be the whiny sidekick type character, and in the other two Spider-man solo films, he’s just a teenager dealing with typical teenager problems. As such, I never really got into Tom in the role. Do not misunderstand, he was always a great actor, but this was the first time that he was allowed to have MORE of a personality. He’s awkward and quippy, like the first two, and we got hints of his more dramatic side in the second one when he admits he misses Tony. But in this one, Tom gets to flex so many of his acting muscles, especially towards the end of the film. I’ve never seen him so broken as when he lost May or as vengeful as when he wants to kill Goblin. Even the final scene where he decides to keep MJ safe by not revealing his identity, Tom wears the thought process on his face expertly.

And Zendaya continues to be a solid actor. I am amazed at how she can appear young enough to be seventeen in this film but look more mature in something like The Greatest Showman. Compare this to Tom Holland, who does not look old enough to portray Nathan Drake. In any case, I like how Zendaya wears more of her emotions on her sleeve than her character is willing to admit. I like her being able to portray her vulnerability around Peter and Ned, especially after the heartbreak of being rejected by MIT.

Good on this movie for giving MORE for Jacob Batalon to do. He’s wonderfully funny and a perfect sidekick character. I’m looking forward to when he strikes out on his own lead role, but he does goofy really well. I always genuinely love how much Ned genuinely loves everything that’s happening around him, being Spider-man’s BFF, and Batalon displays this wonderfully. But then… surprise, he can do drama, too.

Marisa Tomei as Aunt May is still fine, and I’m glad that the movies have toned down their obsession with her attractiveness. She gets a little more to do in this movie and even gets to opportunity to deliver the theme to Peter and remind him of his responsibility. I love that she’s serious, intimidating, and funny throughout the film. All of this comes to a head when she’s killed by Goblin. At first, she’s joking about “getting the wind knocked out of her,” making you think she’s survived. And then, in a moment of expert writing and storytelling, combined with Tomei’s amazing acting, she realizes she may have celebrating too early and dies with more believability than I’ve seen in recent years.

And the way the trio react to that? I will admit that I did not cry during May’s death. I wasn’t even halfway there. “With great power comes great responsibility” is a death-sentence in a Spider-man story, unless said by Spidey himself. BUT… when Ned and MJ go up to that rooftop to console Peter? I almost broke. That was such a wonderful bit of acting in something so simple. Two friends trying to console their third friend because he’s experienced a loss. There’s not a lot of dialogue, just sniffles and crying and hugging. This was probably my favourite moment in the film, which was also punctuated by the wonderful performances of…

Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. These two have been Spider-man before and they bring EXACTLY what they had in their respective films to this new universe. Tobey is still soft spoken and reserved, while Andrew is wiry and excitable. In the rooftop scene, we also get to see the differences between how they handled their grief, both of them doing so magnificently. And then, they’re both absolutely hilarious in the rest of the film. It’s a strange passing of the torch kind of thing. And their faces at seeing their own personal stories come to a satisfying conclusion (Tobey seeing Doc Ock and Andrew rescuing MJ) are wonderful.

And Benedict Cumberbatch continues to grow as one of my favourite actors. His genuine sympathy for Peter and his annoyance shortly thereafter are perfectly performed. And call me crazy, maybe I’m just getting used to it, but his American accent is getting better. Or maybe he’s just using his own voice and I simply didn’t notice.

I cannot say how happy I am that Alfred Molina is back as Doc Ock. I haven’t seen much of Molina’s work to count him among my favourite actors, but he was my favourite of the Raimi trilogy and I am so glad to see him return. That said, part of his performance did bother me at first. He really sells that rabid dog trying to bite you villain and when he was relieved of his pain, I saw too much of a disconnect. I’ve since come around to realizing that it was a similar performance in Spider-man 2 and it is very realistic to be so elated after having something that broke you for so long finally be fixed. Molina must be a great actor if this performance is anything to go off of.

The real MVP of the acting in this film seems to be Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. The obvious fact that he does the tortured soul and psychotic killer well on their own would’ve been enough, but he masterfully blends the two of them together in this film. He brought a REAL sense of sympathy to Norman’s character that it was legitimately heartbreaking when he turned, even though it was entertainingly terrifying when he did.

Jamie Foxx returns and kills it again as Electro. Though, I did find that his persona had shifted a bit and that was distracting. In his own film, Max was meek and nerdy but a little unhinged and became a fully unhinged comic book villain. The way that Foxx plays this Max is great because he’s a more focused, determined, and diabolical villain, but just feels a little off from the comic-book-feeling that the previous Max gave. That said, it is an upgrade and he even kills it with a few funny lines.

While I can understand that bringing Thomas Hayden Church in and doing de-aging on his face might be more expensive than the final result of a CG sand-man, his vocal work is still impeccable.

Rhys Ifans falls into a similar category for me, but worse because he has significantly fewer lines and less screen-time than Church.

I like Jon Favreau, but I DO NOT like how we keep picking on him in the MCU. This is the man who helped bring us “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” kickstarted the MCU with Iron Man and provided Peter the push he needed in the third act of Far From Home. It seems like it’s a disservice to such a kind guy to constantly have Happy be the butt of misfortune: losing Tony, coming under fire for Stark Industries, getting dumped, his apartment is destroyed, May dies, and even Peter is erased from his mind. He does get one of the smartest laughs in the film though: “You like each other, we get it. There’s not new ground being broken here.” I interpret that as destroying the fourth wall and telling the audience to accept that the couple love each other and to just enjoy the rest of the movie and if ever there was a guy to deliver that line in a tongue-in-cheek way, it’s Favreau.

Now, we’ve come to the hardest part about this movie to pin down: the plot. There is A LOT going on. Peter’s identity is revealed, and there’s a controversy surrounding it because Mysterio framed him, him and his friends are going through college admissions, Stark Industries is under investigation (curious, seeing as Tony STARK was considered a hero after Endgame, not that corporations can’t go evil after the founder died). And when the Multiverse breaks, everything goes crazy. Suddenly, we get the stories of all the villains, May’s moral war, Norman trying to get help and Goblin trying to take over this universe, as well as Tom’s relationships with MJ and Ned, Ned being magic (if Multiverse of Madness’ end or post-credits scene is not Ned learning some of the basics of wizardry, then I may riot), and then adding in Tobey and Maguire’s stories. It’s a lot to process.

Except, the story never feels bloated. For all the individual strands that make up the web of this film, they do all seem to come together in satisfying ways and unite to the larger theme of responsibility. There is a good amount of causality: Peter’s life is thrown into shambles, so he seeks out help from a superpowered entity, only to botch the spell and release the villains. Since the villains disturb the natural order of this universe, Strange would react and send Peter to deal with them because he’s arrogant enough to think “not my problem.” Peter wants to help, rather than hurt, as is his usual M.O., so of course he fights Doctor Strange to help them. But villains being villains, eventually they turn on him, causing disastrous results, causing Peter to feel guilty. His friends help him out emotionally, allowing the climax to happen, where Peter makes the right decision because of his new friend’s experience and wisdom. He makes a final sacrifice because he doesn’t want to cause any more trouble, and the movie ends, with him having changed during the movie.

BUT…

If you think about the ending of the film for more than a few seconds, the whole “know one knows who Peter Parker is” can’t possibly last. Even if no one remembers him, the spell “won’t turn back time.” MJ’s injury, post-climax, is evident of that, meaning that Peter Parker still exists, it’s just that no one remembers him. The problem? Birth certificates, permanent records, passports. Even if we assume that he could’ve gotten new ones, there’s still countless videos and pictures and blog posts and magazines that show who Peter Parker is AND that he’s Spider-man. Additionally, are you going to tell me that MJ and Ned, his girlfriend his LIFE-LONG BEST FRIEND don’t have ANY pictures of him? Him seeing them at the end will just tip them off, whether he makes contact or not. At the very least, there’s a nagging sensation of “have we met before?” As such, while it is very self-sacrificial, it is no way permanent. HOWEVER… I remember a couple of years ago, when Sony and Disney were fighting after Far From Home, there was this post that posited removing the Avengers from Tom Holland could be waved away by saying it was a fantasy or dream, but MARVEL would have to act like a whole person didn’t exist. When I saw this ending, all I could think is “They did it. That crazy S.O.B. did it.” Plus, while the spell doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, Peter’s true defining moment comes when he decides not to inform MJ and Ned of his identity, in order to protect them.

I don’t really like how little the whole “Peter is revealed” plotline plays into the rest of the film. Yeah, I understand that he’s got bigger problems to deal with and looking at the big picture is part of his arc, but the fact that he’s “Public Enemy #1” and facing “the court of public opinion” plays only one small beat just before the climax, after disappearing from Act One. Granted, it’s the whole impetus for the story, but I just feel like it could’ve played a bigger part.

These Spider-man films continue to play fast and loose with time. Strange mentions that he’s only been dangling over the Grand Canyon for twelve hours. Am I the only one who thought that A LOT happened in that twelve hours? After some consideration, I guess the amount of things that happened isn’t really cause for concern, but WHAT happened is. Tom goes on to fix Doc Ock, with Norman’s help, but then proceeds to almost cure Electro and Goblin and start the cures for Sandman and Lizard, both of which have a nearly functional device by the time May dies, but a fully functional one by the time they go to the Statue. It’s a nitpick, I grant you, but it’s a little unbelievable.

There are a couple of other nitpicks, mostly ones that anyone with half a brain will notice (why didn’t Strange cancel casting the spell when Peter revealed he didn’t understand what he was asking?; why didn’t Strange just portal a known trouble-maker away before doing what was necessary?; why didn’t Peter explain the specifics of what he wanted before Strange started the spell, or why didn’t Strange ask for specifics, knowing what the spell does?) Most of these points can be undone by Strange trusting Peter or Peter being an awkward book smart kid who lacks any real street smarts. While this lack may seem uncharacteristic for a hero whose best quality is that he’ll always find a solution, I do remember that this is the finale.

Also, there are some things about the film that don’t land for me. The Admissions Officer at MIT not knowing how to get out a car? I don’t really understand why anyone would really know or care that Peter Parker is Spider-man, especially since most people probably didn’t know Peter before hand. The Lizard makes a joke about there being “no way [MJ] is [Peter’s] girlfriend,” when Tom-Peter is attractive, kind, selfless, athletic, and perfect. This joke also doesn’t land since being popular and being a nerd are no longer separate dualities. Any joke that dumps on Andrew Garfield’s portrayal of Spider-man just annoys me. The final battle is just the Sinister Three and a Boss Battle against the Green Goblin instead of a full out Sinister Six versus the Spiders of the Multiverse. Why not bring in Vulture and Scorpion, too? The landlord is not Mr. Dikovitch. Tom Hardy’s Venom is only in the mid-credits scene, but them being in the MCU is probably not a good sign.

But my biggest problem is that I felt disappointed by the reveal of Tobey and Andrew. I will admit, seeing Andrew come in dressed as Spider-man and Tobey coming in wearing civilian clothes is a nice nod to how their portrayals are regarded (Andrew is a good Spider-man, Tobey is a good Peter Parker). I saw this movie in theaters three times, and only the first time did Andrew get a small gasp and clap (honestly, I was happier that Matt Murdock was in the film rather than either of the Spider-men), while Tobey got nothing. Maybe I saw it with a crowd that didn’t understand the significance, or I’m not the only one who thought this.

Here’s the thing: from the first moment we saw Alfred Molina as Doc Ock in the trailer for this film, it was already revealed. Marvel has been doing a great job lately of holding their secrets close to the chest and letting the fans build up hype for the movie. And they also do a great job of giving the fans what they want. As such, because Alfred was confirmed to be Doc Ock, and was confirmed to be from the Raimi-Verse, everyone would’ve hated this film if they didn’t include at least Tobey, which meant they also had to include Andrew, and that’s not good for business.

Furthermore, and the larger problem in general, is that this moment was not built up to or paid off. While I get that it comes at the All-is-Lost-Moment and their purpose is more for emotional stakes than physical, the moment isn’t triumphant. I promised myself that I wouldn’t draw too many comparisons to Into the Spider-verse because I realized that it’s not fair to compare this movie to something so perfect. I will, however, compare it to Endgame. The portal scene is one of… no, THE biggest comic book moment in cinematic history. A literal army of Marvel heroes walking through portals to fight for their home and the universe, complimented by the swelling and triumphant score from the first Avengers, but that moment was punctuated by it being what the film built up to: did they/are they going to save the universe from Thanos and the Snap? Not only did it take two movies to build up to, bringing their friends back was the central emotional undercurrent of the film.

This… isn’t. There’s nothing IN MOVIE to indicate that this is an important moment. The music is muted, and it happens after a huge failure. Meaning that we’re not rejoicing for the heroes returning to help at the eleventh hour, we’re mourning with Peter so we’re feeling sad, which distracts from Tobey and Andrew’s reveal.

I do also think that, since this wasn’t something I yearned for from the start, I just don’t think it was blown away by it. Personally, I think I’m just spoiled by good comic book movies and how they now give fans exactly what they’re looking for.

With that said, I’ve come around to my first viewing and do truly love this movie. I think It’s probably my fourth favourite Spider-man film (behind Into the Spider-verse, Spider-man 2, and… maybe The Amazing Spider-man). Overall, I love the visuals, the return of the iconic characters, the effects, the action, and acting that goes into it. It’s only with some minor details in the plot that I lose some attachment to it, and this is usually because I’m more attached to the other three films.

But this movie is really good, so here’s so things that I really liked about it that I didn’t talk about:

1) During the climax, the villains arrive in the reverse order of their respective films release dates. Electro shows up first (2014), then the Lizard (2012), then Sandman (2007), Doc Ock returns to save the day (2004), and Goblin finishes to destroy everything (2002). Also, that includes Mysterio (2019), if you count him as a villain in this film.

2) With the world that we’re in constantly divided on every issue, even Spider-man becoming the center of controversy, despite overwhelming evidence, is a believable thing.

3) Peter’s school life and teenage problems are barely a plot point in this film.

4) Happy has DUM-E in his apartment. It’s cute

5) Doctor Strange being used as a Halloween decoration in this world? Who’s idea was that? Wong’s? I’ll bet it was Wong’s.

6) Having been lucky enough to get into both of the only two colleges that I applied to, I also thought that rejection from school was the final word on things like that.

7) Ned being magic has three solid beats in the film: 1) He asks Strange when he knew he was magic, like a typical fanboy, setting up the idea in our mind; 2) when Peter defeats Strange, Ned puts on the sling ring and creates sparks, creating hype for the potential plot line; and 3) Ned creating portals for the two Spider-men right when his friends need help.

8) Wong is the Sorceror Supreme. Kind of feel like he’s more qualified than Strange, even if Strange DID save the universe. Good for Wong.

9) Initially, I hated that Peter defeated Strange with Math and not just because I figured Strange would beat Spidey nine times out of ten, but because it was math, and I figured a doctor would be able to circumvent that easily (they’re supposedly pretty smart). However, after a little research, I realized that Peter’s use of Pure Math isn’t necessarily something doctors would know. They need to know chemistry and biology and enough math to be able to calculate doses and the like, but things like geometry or physics are probably not top of the list to learn. So that was interesting TO learn.

10) Flint Marko is not written as a bad person, rather just a good person who constantly makes bad decisions. So, I liked that his first scene in the movie is more about helping Peter out.

11) After the villains trade stories of who they were and what went wrong, I love that Ned asks “ask him if this is a scientist who turned into a tree.” Hilariously, science is a huge factor in why A LOT of Spidey’s Rogues Gallery are villains (Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Sandman, Electro, Scorpion, Rhino, etc.)

12) Tom’s Spider-sense is likely the reason why Strange isn’t able to grab the box from his while his astral form is out. Hence why the classic squiggly lines are around his head in astral form.

13) Aunt May’s “octopus” joke.

14) Norman being fascinated with the differences in this universe, as well as being impressed with Tom-Peter, just like he was with Tobey.

15) The position of the glider. When May stands between Peter and the Glider, it’s symbolizing what the Goblin said: she’s standing in between him with her morality. When it takes her out, Peter’s ready to throw out his morality. Later, when he picks up the glider to strike the Goblin down, it’s reminiscent of Norman and Harry’s deaths within the Raimi-verse as they both died by their gliders; Norman trying to kill Tobey and Harry trying to save him. Then, it’s Tobey standing between the glider and the Obsorn. Additionally, since May stood between Peter and the glider before, and Norman killed his symbol of morality, Tobey is the one who reaffirms that she may not have died for nothing and is the one who stands between Tom and the precipice of murder.

16) Tobey telling us how killing Ben's "killer" didn't make things better for him. Also, it's nice that Sandman (Ben's REAL killer) is in this film and Spidey is finally able to help him, thereby proving he has forgiven him for Ben's death. Of course Sandman is in the film to help illustrate this. Green Goblin kills Aunt May, and Peter has to forgive him long enough to save him. Sandman killed Tobey's Uncle Ben and the whole crux of Spider-man 3 was Tobey needing to finally let go of Ben's death. So to have Sandman be in the film acts as a parallel to Peter's story.

17) Anytime the Spiders of the Multiverse try to compare themselves to each other is filled with hilarity (web-shooters versus organic webbing, alien fighting).

18) Andrew getting to save MJ from falling as a catharsis for his failure and guilt to save Gwen in Amazing Spider-man 2. It’s one of, if not my absolute, favourite moment in the film.

19) Even Ock and Tobey get a moment to reconcile.

20) As do Andrew and Max

21) As much as Tom Hardy’s Venom being part of the MCU concerns me a little bit, and a sliver of the symbiote staying behind kind of ruins the spell, I do want to see the Black Suit Spider-man again.