‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ – Review
Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios have done it again with Spiderman: No Way Home, and this film is sure to get your spidey-sense tingling.
For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man (Tom Holland), our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a Super Hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.
Spiderman: No Way Home is the epic superhero movie 2021 needs. The wise words of Uncle Ben echo “with great power, comes great responsibility” and boy does it ever! This film packs a punch and is the ultimate nostalgic nod to the heritage of Spider-Man. This is sure to have audiences frothing at the mouth as we see the re-emergence of The Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church), Electro (Jamie Foxx) and The Lizard (Rhys Ifans). Could Spidey’s nightmare get any worse?! Worlds collide as the multiverse is cracked open. Prepare yourself for mind-bending special effects, a trip through the mirror dimension and back-breaking stunts. The classics are certainly brought back in this script with plenty of clever one-liners, humour for good measure, and a few epic twists that are sure to excite fans.
Director Jon Watts returns to complete the trilogy he started back with Spider-Man: Homecoming back in 2017 and this final film in his trilogy of works is an undeniable one of a kind movie experience. Since day one, Watts has been incredibly open for his love and admiration of the Spider-Man character and his work on Spider-Man: No Way Home is a perfect love letter to Marvel’s most famous superhero. Watts truly makes this a film for the fans and whether you’re young or old you’re sure to be in heaven with this new film as he takes audiences on a fantastically fun superhero ride that has that quintessential movie escapism about it and which delivers a good serving of heart to audiences everywhere. While not to tread into spoiler territory, Watts has crafted a film that will leave Spider-Man fans SMILING and there are plenty of moments that will send the whole audience into spontaneous applause.
Tom Holland once again returns as the endearing Peter Parker/Spider-Man and his life as a superhero has certainly been turned upside down. Looking for some way back to normal he un-intentionally opens up the multiverse and that’s where things get very interesting for Parker. While he’s still the happy-go-lucky, all-American character that we’ve come to expect, Holland takes a leap into the dramatic this time as Peter and the scope and complexity of director Jon Watts story certainly tests him as an actor. Holland wrestles with plenty of big emotions and there are some serious lessons for him to undergo this time around as this film once again confirms why he’s the perfect Spider-Man for this generation.
Joining Holland this time around is Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, the Master of the Mystic Arts and his presence certainly takes the action up a whole new level into the cosmic. Where Tony Stark was the father figure, Quentin Beck was the cool uncle and Nick Fury was the mean step-dad, Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange is the almost un-co-operative colleague, who doesn’t really jump at the chance to help out Spider-Man, but chips in cause he feels he owes him. It’s so much fun to see Cumberbatch back in action again as Strange and he certainly slings plenty of magic this time. Cumberbatch and Holland also have a great sense of back and forth banter between one another and his presence certainly raises the stakes of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Watts goes big this time with the action, stunt work and visual effects and the presence of five new adversaries for Spider-Man to battle this time around, with all of them not of his world, certainly pulls your attention in every direction as an audience member. And this is just straight-up popcorn fun. Watts clearly has a sense of fun in dreaming up all of these dynamic battles and it’s fun to see the spider-suit pushed to the limit as each new villain brings a new challenge for Peter to deal with. Costume designer Sanja Milkovic Hays has done a terrific job adapting several different Spider-suits for Spider-Man: No Way Home and she presents a unique eye for creativity and I’m certain that every kid this Christmas will want to be dressed like Spider-Man again.
When discussing Spider-Man: No Way Home I also want to address the presence of the Multiverse and make no mistake its inclusion in the film leads to ALL KINDS OF AWESOME. While I can’t go into too much detail without running the risk of spoilers I will say that the concept of the Multiverse is completely eye-opening here in Spider-Man: No Way Home and the audience was literally hollering in delight with what this narrative concept delivered up. Trust me when I say that the Multiverse is just straight-up cool, and it certainly tests Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man to the limit. Watts revels in the creativity, possibility and nostalgia that such a concept allows him to address and whether you’re new to Spider-Man or a long time veteran fan of the character you’ll be very pleased with what’s on offer in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is the film that 2021 needs and deserves. It’s fun, light-hearted, nostalgic, action-packed, dramatic, exciting and plays to the power of the movies and why audiences sit together as a group to watch them. This is a film delivered with so much love and it’s a true gift of passion delivered to the audience who loves this character. Young and old will love this film in equal measure and there’s never been a more important portrait of everyone’s favourite web-slinger. All we can say is WOW…JUST WOW!
Image: Sony Pictures
