INTRO: On December 17th of 2021, the most anticipated film of the entire year was released, and that film was none other than “Spider-Man: No Way Home”. Before I ramble about this film, I feel like I need to say this in order for you to understand that this is a genuine review, and not a biased take; I have never been a huge fan of Marvel and the MCU. It’s not because I find the franchise insufferable, but I never had the childhood nostalgia of going to the theater to see my favorite superheroes, and their epic journey that has spanned within the last 10 years. The first time I’ve seen these popular films was only in March of this year. I don’t hate them, but they aren’t my favorite films either. However, things can change…
PLOT: “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is a continuation of it’s first two films, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017), and “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (2019). Specifically, it takes place directly after the events of the sequel “Far From Home” when *spoiler but not really*, Spider-Man’s “secret identity” has been revealed as Peter Parker! OH MY GOD! WHAT SHOULD HE DO?? The public eye then becomes very distasteful towards Peter Parker, his best friend Ned, and his girlfriend MJ. All the gang wants to do is to go to college together, and when all three get rejected by their dream school, Peter is at his breaking point. He tries to set things right, and goes to Dr Strange, another notable MCU character, for some help. With some swift-yet-annoying convincing from Peter, Dr. Strange grants him to do a spell in order for people to forget who Spiderman truly is. During the spell, Peter starts to ramble, and interrupts the spell (multiple times!), which sends for all chaos to break loose. This chaos all comes from the multiverse, releasing some familiar faces to charge after Spiderman. Alfred Molina returns as Doc Ock from the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, along with Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin, and even Jamie Foxx’s Electro from “The Amazing Spider Man” universe. With all of these villains, Spiderman is going to need all the help he can get from his friends, family, and self encouragement to save his home, and the universe.
REVIEW: Let’s start off by saying this was one impactful movie, that not only changes the way comic book movies can be made, but also how the character of Spider-Man can be made. My main critique of the past two Spider-Man films was that Spider-Man never felt like Spider-Man, and was mainly seen as an “Iron Man Jr.”. I understand that Iron Man/Tony Stark was supposed to be a different take on “Uncle Ben”, and tried to do something new with a father figure for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, but it seems as if he got in the way of making Spider-Man his own character. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is the true origin story for the MCU’s take on Spider-Man, and doesn’t feel like a carbon copy either. We’ve had many different “Spider-Men” throughout our lives, including Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Reeve Carney (if you know about Carney, I applaud you), and now, Tom Holland. Holland is the perfect pick for this generation, and I’m incredibly excited for his future films as our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! Overall, this film is packed with nostalgia, sacrifice, comedy, and depression that will cling to you once you exit the theater! So, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GO WATCH IT! AND SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL THEATER!
By EMMA BECKER