Movie Review: 'Spider-Man No Way Home' No Spoilers

Spider-Man No Way Home stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker and picks up where Spider-Man Far From Home left off. At the end of that film, J Jonah Jameson (J.K Simmons) has accused Spider-Man of killing the ‘heroic’ Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), in cold blood. And Jonah has revealed Spider-Man’s secret identity. Naturally, this has thrown Peter’s life into complete chaos that has also engulfed his girlfriend M.J (Zendaya), his best friend, Ned (Jacob Battalon), and his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei).

The chaos that ensues from Peter’s identity being exposed costs Peter, M.J, and Ned their shot at going to M.I.T and perhaps college entirely; no college seems eager to bring them to their campus. There are also legal complications which require a lawyer, though I refuse to spoil the special appearance of a cameoing lawyer. All of this sets up Peter’s desperation and the reason why he goes to see Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Peter asks the famed sorcerer if it were possible to make people forget that he is Spider-Man and it turns out that that is possible.

Doctor Strange can concoct a spell to make people forget Spider-Man but it will make everyone forget Spider-Man, including everyone close to Peter. As Doctor Strange is casting his spell, Peter keeps interrupting until finally his interruptions lead to a massive misfire. The spell goes awry and while Strange is able to contain the spell, it’s deeply unstable and Strange cannot allow it to get out. Peter will have to try and solve his own problems but before he can do that, he finds something strange has happened.

As Peter is trying to get his friends another chance at college, Peter comes under attack by a man with metal tentacles coming out of a contraption attached to his body. This is Dr. Otto Octavius or Doc Ock, for short. Doc Ock is coming right for Peter with every intention to kill him until he realizes that this Spider-Man, this Peter Parker, is not the superhero he knows. Doc Ock’s confusion gives Peter a chance to get the upper hand on him while Doctor Strange shows up to help with the capture.

Strange has picked up information that baddies who know that Peter Parker is Spider-Man are crossing from other dimensions to this one. Strange has already captured Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) in his lizard form and has fashioned a weapon that can capture these other-dimensional figures and eventually send them back to their own dimension. At Strange’s direction, Peter, MJ, and Ned scour the internet to find more other -dimensional beings so that Peter can capture them. In one instance, Peter manages to capture both Electro (Jamie Foxx) and Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), after Sandman decides to help Spidey until he realizes this is not the Spider-Man he knows.

The last of the unwelcome visitors, and the most dangerous, is The Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). Arriving in this dimension with his still fractured mind bouncing between good and evil, Goblin appears eager to help rather than continue his evil ways but you will need to see Spider-Man No Way Home to find out where that plot goes. The bottom line has Peter gathering all of these villains in one place and trying to figure out what to do with them all while he and Doctor Strange find themselves at odds over what to do with them.

Spider-Man No Way Home is a whole lot of fun. Director Jon Watts and co-screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers make a lot of smart choices. The action scenes are some of the best of this franchise and the plot builds with incredible speed without ever cheating or failing the logic of the moment. They are greatly aided by a studio bold enough and smart enough to take chances that I won’t spoil here. Sure, by now, if you’re reading this after release, you may know all that happens but I still want to hold off on spoiling the big reveal.

The only thing I will say is that the choices are smart, the big moments arrive at the right moment, and the performances are first rate. That’s especially true of Tom Holland who has rounded into a terrific Spider-Man. Holland has demonstrated both his growth as an actor and the growth of his Peter/Spider-Man character in equal fashion. His wonderfully youthful Spider-Man has wizened over several movies and Holland wears all of that growth in his performance while managing to keep the character fun and funny. Given all that has happened to Peter in this universe, it takes a talented actor to keep all of the competing instincts and emotions at play from robbing the character of his charm.

Spider-Man No Way Home opened in theaters nationwide on December 17th, 2021.