Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) may be one of the best Spider-Man movies in years. It may also be one of the most Spider-Man-packed movies in years (second only to 2018's animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). That was your spoiler warning, for there is no possible way that I can get through this film without mentioning some significant ones.
Spider-Man: No Way Home follows Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man (played by Tom Holland) after Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)'s bombshell post-credit scene where Peter's secret identity was revealed to the world by that film's villain Mysterio (played in that film by Jake Gyllenhaal), and the subsequent fallout from that moment. Feeling guilty about how much hurt he has unintentionally caused to his loved ones, Peter seeks the help of Stephen Strange, a.k.a. Doctor Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch), to cast a spell undoing the damage. When that spell goes awry, villains from multiple cinematic universes find their way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, like Norman Osborn, a.k.a. Green Goblin from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002) (played by Willem Dafoe), Dr. Otto Ocktavius, a.k.a. Doctor Octopus or "Doc Ock" from Raimi's Spider-Man 2 (2004) (played by Alfred Molina), Flint Marko, a.k.a. Sandman from Raimi's Spider-Man 3 (2007) (played by Thomas Haden Church), Dr. Curt Connors, a.k.a. Lizard from Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) (played by Rhys Ifans), and Max Dillon, a.k.a. Electro from Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) (played by Jamie Foxx). With the ensuing chaos and emotional entanglement with those he wants to save comes Peter's journey to understanding that "With great power, comes great responsibility."
The cast and their performances in this movie are incredible. Holland delivers his best performance as Peter and Spider-Man yet, not only is he effortlessly likable, but he undergoes his most mature character arc yet that challenges his very identity as Spider-Man. In this film, he sees the humanity in the legacy villains and does everything he can to save them, but also learns to accept and take responsibility for the consequences of his actions. This movie arc is thematically compelling and emotionally profound given the weight of Spider-Man's history and lore from his comic book, television, and previous film appearances, which makes No Way Home the Avengers: Endgame (2019) of Spider-Man pictures. The returning actors for the legacy characters are excellent. Not only are their performances consistent with their last appearances, but it appears that they are all having fun doing so (especially Dafoe, Molina, and Foxx).
Returning cast members like Zendaya as M.J., Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, and Marissa Tomei as Aunt May Parker deliver solid work as always, for not only do are their comedic banter with Peter entertaining, but they also serve as Peter's emotional anchors, especially during the more dramatic scenes. Cumberbatch's return as Doctor Strange as a minor antagonist to Peter is a great change-up of Peter's mentor-figure relationship with Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man. While at odds with Peter throughout the film, Strange never crosses over into villainous territory. On a quick side-note, the second of two post-credit scenes (the first features Eddie Brock, a.k.a. Venom (played by Tom Hardy) from Sony's Spider-Man Universe) is a teaser trailer for the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). That is all I will reveal for now.
On the technical side, the visual effects and cinematography for this movie left me saying, "Whoa", which is hard to do lately given the high standards that Marvel consistently sets for themselves. It feels like the filmmakers were finally allowed to go all out with the creativity of Doctor Strange's spells, the action set pieces, and this story's overall epic scale. I think numerous shots in this film will inevitably be screen-captured and propped up on movie buffs' walls and imprinted on their phones' backgrounds. Michael Giacchino's fantastic musical score is thematically deeper than his prior MCU outings and provides an enjoyable take that will endure long after. Giacchino also borrows musical cues from previous Spider-Man film composers like Danny Elfman, the late James Horner, and Hans Zimmer, which I embrace with open arms.
One of modern Hollywood's worst-kept secrets is whether Tobey Maguire from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002-2007) and Andrew Garfield from Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man films (2012-2014) would return as their respective Peter Parkers/Spider-Men in No Way Home. The answer is a definitive yes, for they both return, much to the delight of the fans in my audience. Not only do they share quips, shoot webs, and swing from said webs, but they spend a decent amount of time comforting Holland's Peter after the death of Aunt May at the hands of Green Goblin. Another hero in red who makes a surprise cameo in No Way Home is Matt Murdock, a.ka. Daredevil (played by Charlie Cox), a.k.a. the titular character from the popular Marvel/Netflix series from 2015 to 2018. His brief appearance as Peter's lawyer is humorous but satisfying, given his expert law skills and quick physical reflexes (those who have seen the film will get the reference).
My main point of contention with this movie is that this is another Marvel team-up movie, where various characters meet, join forces, fight bad guys in a flurry of CGI-heavy noise, and wait to set up the next film. However, what makes this movie stand out from the rest is the conclusion, which has considerable emotional and narrative stakes and an excellent pay-off, which is incredibly satisfying from a cinematic standpoint. Rather than having everyone reunite and everything is alright by the end, Peter takes responsibility for his actions by letting Doctor Strange wipe Peter from everyone's minds to protect those he loves from multiversal threats from coming after them again. This bold choice illustrates Peter's growth throughout the movies and allows new characters to be introduced into the fold and change his life for the better and for worse. While bittersweet on an emotional level, I found this to be entirely appropriate for not just Peter but the franchise in the future.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is a darker and more mature film than previous entries in the MCU so far. Still, the young cinema-goer in me is all up for this, as this allows the seemingly audience-friendly franchise to branch out and experiment with various genres and directions. If I had to rank all the Spider-Man films, I would place No Way Home in the top two next to Spider-Man 2. It's that excellent. While a nostalgia-heavy movie, it succeeds in satisfying the fanboy in me, even though I had only watched Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and the first Amazing Spider-Man film in preparation for No Way Home. I am genuinely excited by the possibilities this film opened the door to having legacy characters from other cinematic universes like those from 20th Century Fox's X-Men appearing in or being incorporated into the MCU. Simultaneously, I am cautiously optimistic about how fan service-heavy this franchise will get going forward. The last thing I would want to see is to have legacy characters show up and never be seen or mentioned again. All in all, this is a must-watch for Spider-Man fans and one that will easily be a top-tier entry in the long-running and ever-expanding franchise.
Final Score: 9 out of 10
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