Film Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
by Emily Nagle
[usr 4.5]
WARNING: This review contains spoilers for “Spider-Man: No Way Home”.
The long-awaited “Spider-Man: No Way Home” swung into theaters last month and quickly became the biggest movie of 2021, grossing over $600 million worldwide before New Year’s. Recently it hit the milestone of grossing $1 billion worldwide.
Unlike most of the other films that came out in the past year, this Marvel/Sony co-production received an exclusive theatrical release. Finding out about this weeks before its release, the decision made sense; I learned from streaming “Godzilla vs. Kong” last year that it can be a different viewing experience watching action sequences on a small screen at home compared to a gigantic screen with surround sound. A more immersive experience can make a world of difference for a movie that’s more focused on visual aspects.
As the movie’s premiere date loomed closer, Omicron entered the picture. This made me wonder if they would delay it, or maybe even move it to streaming. Surprisingly, not even the outbreak seems to be slowing down the movie’s box office performance. For 4 consistent weekends, “No Way Home” has been significantly ahead of other releases, even the new ones.
The whole world seemed to be talking about Spider-Man, but unfortunately I got sick with COVID right before the movie rolled out to theaters. This meant I had to wait a while to see it while hiding in my bedroom from the rest of the world, as well as from spoilers online. Once I was cleared to leave isolation, I headed out to see it, and the wait was definitely worth it.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” flings viewers into the multiverse after Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is tired of all the attention once the whole world learns of his secret identity as Spider-Man. The fame has negative consequences on not just Peter, but also his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon). And it couldn’t be happening at a worse time: the trio has applied to MIT in hopes of attending together, and all three of them get denied.
Just wanting to be a normal teenager again, Peter turns to Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who ends up casting a spell that will cause everyone to forget that he is Spider-Man. But Peter tampers with the spell by adding in that he wants all of his loved ones to retain their memories of him being Spider-Man. Luckily, Stephen contains the spell before it gets out of control, and Peter leaves the New York Sanctum thinking everything is fine…until he gets attacked by Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) on the highway. That’s when he discovers that the botched spell opened up the multiverse, unleashing villains from all the Spider-Man iterations, as well as all the past versions of Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield). Peter must join forces with “Peter-Two” and “Peter-Three”, as he dubs them, to save the world (and the multiverse!).
The dynamic between the three Peters was one of my favorite things in this movie – it was super sweet, but also really funny. You watch them comfort him over losing a loved one after Aunt May is killed by Green Goblin, followed by spending a lot of time comparing their different web-shooting situations, and then team up to figure out how to send all the villains back to their home universes. And the final battle between them and all of the villains is absolutely insane.
I was a little surprised at the ending, when Peter got Stephen to cast a spell causing the world to not only forget his identity was revealed, but also forget Parker existed at all. It was sad to see Peter walk out of that coffee shop after giving up on reintroducing himself to his former girlfriend and best friend. But at the same time, him making that decision made sense to me. This was the last film in the “Homecoming” trilogy, and everything that happened at the end felt like the right way to end it. Peter is growing up, so it’s only fitting that he faces the consequences of his actions.
Story details aside, one of my favorite things about “No Way Home” was probably the soundtrack. I loved that the movie started off with the Talking Heads, and the music during the action scenes fit really well. One particular moment where the original score really fit was toward the end; at this point, Stephen has casted the spell making everyone forget about Peter’s existence. The music at that moment paired with the view of the New York skyline just seemed to go really well together. It gave you the idea that this was an irreversible decision with big consequences, but it was the only way out of such a big mess.
So what are my final thoughts on this movie? I really liked it. Yes, it did feel a little fan service-y with every Spider-Man villain ever showing up, but I can tell that Marvel and Sony didn’t just do that for the fans. They did it in a way that made sense for Peter Parker’s character. Remember that first trailer that came out back in August, and how it featured a voiceover of Doctor Strange saying, “Be careful what you wish for, Parker”? That quote sums up “No Way Home” really well. Peter is on the brink of adulthood, applying to college and starting his senior year of high school; therefore, he’s going to have to learn sooner or later that his actions have consequences. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” felt like an incredible end to the “Homecoming” trilogy, and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for Spider-Man (a sequel is already confirmed to be in development!).