MarvelBlog Review — Spider-Man: No Way Home

by David Mumpower · Published December 21, 2021 · Updated December 21, 2021

Sony has named its latest Marvel movie Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Don’t let the name fool you, though. This is Spider-Man’s Greatest Hits.

I don’t mean just the Tom Holland Spider-Man, either.

Source: @Marvel

Sony, Disney, and Marvel have worked together to bring back villains from every Spider-Man movie to date.

The result feels very much like the Avengers: Endgame of Spidey stories. And I’ll try to review it without spoiling anything. That’s…gonna be a challenge.

The Basics

The last time we saw Peter Parker, he had just taken the worst European vacation since EuroTrip…if not European Vacation.

Grieving the loss of his mentor, Tony Stark, Parker gravitated toward another superhero, Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio.

Mysterio death scene? Photo: Reddit u/The_Art_Jedi

The catch was that Beck proved a fraud. Then, with his dying breath, he somehow outed Parker as Spider-Man and framed him for murder.

Spider-Man: No Way Home starts very soon after the last film’s events.

Parker isn’t on the run, per se, but he’s public enemy number one. Even worse, J. Jonah Jameson’s shocking revelation has imperiled Parker’s friends and family.

Photo: Sony Pictures

Federal government officials would like a word with the teenager, who, by the way, hasn’t graduated high school yet.

Yes, the film leans into the conceit that Parker remains a student even though he’s also under investigation for mass homicide. It’s VERY comic book-y in its absurdity.

Photo: Marvel Comics

Meanwhile, Aunt May and Happy Hogan’s romance has hit a rough patch, and MJ and Ned no longer feel safe.

Director Jon Watts has deftly set the table for a fascinating story about the challenges of celebrity, only he then decides to go an entirely different way.

Jon Watts by Alberto E. Rodriguez Getty Header

Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez Getty

Parker realizes that potential salvation exists in the form of the Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange.

After all, they’ve fought together, they’ve turned to dust together, and they somehow brought down Thanos.

At a minimum, they’re work colleagues by now, right? And like many co-workers, Parker isn’t afraid to make a ridiculously unreasonable request.

Photo: Marvel Studios

Spider-Man asks Dr. Strange to make the world forget his secret identity. Because it’s a comic book movie, the usually intelligent doctor tries.

I’ll give you one guess how well the spell works. If you answered anything other than “poorly,” you’ve never read a comic book.

The Characters of Spider-Man: No Way Home

So, the first spoiler we should discuss is…

Kidding. I kid.

NO SPOILERS! Photo: Infinity Comics

That’s the novel challenge with No Way Home. I generally break down comic book movies with this evaluation, but it’s brutally difficult here.

Sony has kept secrets about which characters appear in the film. As such, I’ll focus on the core and villains indicated in the trailers.

The trifecta of Peter Parker, MJ, and Ned provides the backdrop for much of the early action.

Photo: Sony Pictures

We know them all well by now, but the new addition is that they all dream of college.

Alas, they’re either Spider-Man or accomplices to Spider-Man. That…doesn’t look great on a college application.

Photo: MIT

Dr. Strange appears in the movie more than I’d expected. We know the character well at this point. Actor Benedict Cumberbatch gets to do more here, though.

At times, Strange admonishes Peter and his friends. Then, he’ll switch to sympathetic. Plus, he’s always arrogant and dismissive.

More than at any other point, even the early hospital scenes in Dr. Strange, the character is in “my way or the highway” mode here.

Photo: Sony Pictures

Then, there are the villains. When Sony plotted this film, it toyed with using characters from the Sinister Six. They correctly deduced that wouldn’t have been enough, though.

Instead, Marvel opens up its multiverse to import villains from Sam Raimi’s and Marc Webb’s stories.

Photo: Sony Pictures

Yes, No Way Home utilizes superpowered beings from the five pre-MCU Spider-Man films. And yes, that gets confusing if you haven’t watched them in a while.

I mean, let’s be honest. You probably don’t remember much about The Amazing Spider-Man 2 anyway.

These no-longer dead characters add substantial intrigue as they don’t recognize the Peter Parker they encounter. It’s a brilliant storytelling mechanic.

The Performances of Spider-Man: No Way Home

Let’s start with the obvious. Tom Holland remains the ideal representation of Peter Parker and Spider-Man.

However, Zendaya continues to one-up him at every turn. Her take on MJ as a caustic pessimistic leads to frequent hysterical quips.

Photo: Marvel Twitter

The nuanced performance hints at what bubbles beneath the surface, though. She’s lived a hard life that has made her expect the worst.

Her callous behavior is a projection she uses to protect her true self…and she’s terrified that she’s let Peter Parker into her heart.

I also admire that Ned Leeds has never been diminished due to his appearance.

Photo: Sony Pictures

Timewise, I have no idea whether he appears in the third film more or not. His performance feels more significant, though. And he has earned that newfound credibility.

As far as returning villains, Jamie Foxx is electric – I swear I typed that before I realized it’s a terrible pun – in this film.

Photo: Marvel

Unlike his last portrayal, he has unlocked the mysteries of his character, which somehow feels more like his role in Baby Driver.

Meanwhile, Alfred Molina has dialed the hammy up to 11 here. He’s overacted as much as possible, and I love him for it.

Photo: Marvel

At least one of the names I want to mention hasn’t appeared in the advertising and would be a massive spoiler.

All I can say is that one of the least likely people steals the movie and earns a bit of redemption along the way.

Then, there’s Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange. He careens between idiot frat boy prankster and disrespectful antagonist at times.

Photo: Marvel

When the character appears, you’re never sure of his motives, and Cumberbatch has a ton of fun with that.

This is Cumberbatch’s fifth turn as Dr. Strange, yet he’s still finding new wrinkles to keep the character fresh. It’s remarkable.

My Review of Spider-Man: No Way Home

Look, I loved this movie. I could tap-dance around the spoilers, but I’d hate to risk ruining anything for you.

At some point, after a respectful waiting period, I’ll offer a more detailed analysis.

Photo: Marvel

For now, what’s important is that Sony chose to make its version of Avengers: Endgame here.

No Way Home attempts to tie together 20 years of Spider-man stories in one tidy bow.

Does everything work? You’re expecting me to say “of course not,” but…it does.

Photo: Sony Pictures

Sure, I don’t get much joy from that weird Dr. Strange magic CGI in the action scenes.

I also have some quibbles about the treatment of at least two characters.

For a film with a run time of 148 minutes, these are fractional concerns, though.

Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Photo: Marvel Studios/Sony Pictures

Virtually everything that happens in this film is both wildly entertaining and defensible from a storytelling perspective.

This film starts with a simple premise reflected in its title. Then, it spends more than two hours examining the difficulties of being Peter Parker.

More than 10 characters interact with Spider-Man, and each of them shares a unique perspective and belief about who he is as a hero and a person.

Photo: Sony Pictures

Structurally, this film delivers one of the best comic book movie explorations of duality ever and somehow does so with none of the exasperating pretension of a Christopher Nolan movie.

I cared about every character in Spider-Man: No Way Home, including the villains.