Spider-Man: No Way Home
Written by Cameron Geiser
Some light spoilers will be included! You have been warned.
The character of Peter Parker has always yielded the most rewarding stories when he's put under the most pressure. Especially any storylines when a number of villains from his infamous rogues’ gallery work in tandem with the shared goal of destroying Spider-Man! This latest Spider-Man film knows that, but more importantly, the filmmakers know that good, thorough, character work is the most important ingredient. This one picks up immediately where Tom Holland's last Spider-Man film, Far From Home ended: with Mysterio's dying reveal of the Web-head's secret identity to the world.
No Way Home hits the ground running with an increasing variety of anxieties plaguing Parker and company. With his identity known to the world, those closest to him start to feel the consequences of his superhero antics. Once the lives of series regulars Ned and M.J. get rough, with their academic futures at MIT in serious danger, Spidey seeks the help of Doctor Strange. The good Doctor offers a spell that will make everyone in the world forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Though because the young Spider can't quite come to terms with losing the few who knew his secret identity before the world did (fearing the thought of going through those reveals once again), he royally screws up the spell. Thus we have our multiversal incident and the main problem that Spider-Man must solve.
No Way Home does things I never thought I would see in a Spider-Man movie. Bringing back the actors that portrayed iconic villains from the last eras of previous Spider-Man films was a brilliant play, but bringing back the two other Spider-Men as well was truly a genius move in this day and age of cynical filmmaking. Speaking of cynical, I was happily surprised to see that Garfield and Maguire's roles were not just brief cameos in a third-act fight but integral supporting characters for a good chunk of the runtime. More than that, all returning actors didn’t just rehash their previous performances, but they seemed to be incredibly invested in turning in solid character-accurate turns. Even the motivations of the villains and heroes were intact and well considered within the plot of this film as well. Everything seems to work smoothly within this one, which is a feat in itself as this many spinning plates could have easily crashed horribly. What's even more impressive is that the film never loses sight of the true focus of the film: the character development of Tom Holland's Peter Parker.
No Way Home knows its Spidey assignment, and it nails it.
As I noted at the top of the review, things do get very rough for Tom Holland's Spider-Man. Luckily, this is exactly what makes any Spider-Man story great, seeing how the hero navigates the dangers of having the world against him. The near-constant barrage of J. Jonah Jameson’s propaganda war against Spider-Man from the new version of the Daily Bugle really layers on the weight of being Spider-Man. With the added joy of having J.K. Simmons back in the role as an internet conspiracy theorist version of the familiar character! Once all three Spider-Men are onscreen together, however, they have perfect chemistry that plays into each actor's version of the character. Garfield's angsty Parker with his self-deprecating humor is the perfect balance with Maguire's elder Spider-Man, one who's content with himself and knows a thing or two about this whole Spider-Man gig.
Without unduly giving away too much, I have to say that I couldn't have asked for more from this movie. The pacing was superb, the writing was clever, the superhero antics were entertaining, and the film didn't give way to easy solutions. It could have, in fact, this might have been a lesser film in other hands. This is the best film of the Tom Holland trilogy, and it places his Spider-Man, and more importantly, his Peter Parker, in exciting new territory and I can't wait to see what comes next.
Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.