Spider-Man: No Way Home is an emotional roller coaster that helps bring Tom Holland’s Peter Parker to who he always will be. SPOILERS.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is one of the few movies that absolutely warrants a spoiler review once it is out in theaters. There is so much to dive into when it comes to this brilliant film that needs to be discussed. So here it is, my spoiler filled review — you have been warned.
If you have not yet seen Spider-Man: No Way Home, come back after you have. Trust me when I tell you that so much of this movie should be a surprise, and will not have the same effect if it has been ruined for you.
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME SPOILERS AHEAD!
Last warning… there’s no turning back now!
Spider-Man: No Way Home is easily one of the best comic book movies of all time, if not the best. It sits at the very top on my Marvel Cinematic Universe ranking, and is the best live action Spider-Man movie to date. But why?
The answer is simple. It takes so much of what fans love about this character from the comic books, previous movies, and television shows, and brings it to the big screen. It has been argued that Tom Holland is the best Peter Parker/Spider-Man combination and I was always behind that. But even more so now. What this movie does for him is bring out that version of who Peter Parker is and always will be. Someone who is completely selfless.
Over the course of two and a half hours, fans of the wall crawler are given every single thing that they wanted, and then some. Nearly every character is given some sort of redemption or closure, and it comes together to be perfectly glorious.
The stakes feel higher in No Way Home. The battles stop being fun and witty and become straight up brutal and bloody. The hand to hand combat, with a little bit of theatrics still thrown in, make for some of the best battles and action scenes in the MCU.
Related: Comic Books To Read Before Spider-Man: No Way Home
The first 10 to 15 minutes feels a little bit choppy, with the pacing being off. However, there is a simple explanation for that. This is because so much of what is shown on the screen is from the clips and trailers that were released and fans have seen time and time again. These sequences were studied, shot by shot, for hints of big reveals.
Once Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin shows up, the film kicks into high gear and it never, ever stops. Spider-Man: No Way Home is an emotional roller coaster that tests Tom Holland’s Peter and nearly pushes him to his limit. Of course, he needs some friends to help him with this multiverse problem, and I am not talking about Ned and MJ.
It has been widely speculated that the previous web slinger actors, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire would show up, and they do. But they aren’t just used for a bit of fan service and then go on their way, they are a massive part of the plot and story line. And it is fantastic.
This allows closure for the other franchises. Fans hear what they have been up to since their previous movies as they have a conversation with Tom’s Peter about loss and life, after he loses Aunt May to Green Goblin. This is a heartbreaking part of the film but one that is completely necessary. Peter has always had an event like this in his life, Uncle Ben usually, and it is the only thing that can force him to truly understand the phrase “with great power comes great responsibility.”
Garfield’s Spider-Man truly has his time here, and it is wonderful to see. He was only given two of his planned three movies, and so to hear a little bit of the aftermath of Gwen Stacy’s death was important to include. But the very best part was the redemption he gets when he saves MJ. She looks at him, asking him if he is OK, because this moment clearly means a lot to him, and there was not a dry eye in the theater.
Getting to see all three actors interact as Peter in the lab, as they work to create cures for all the villains allowing them all a second chance, and also as Spider-Man in the heat of a battle, is something I never thought I would live to see. My heart swells with excitement just thinking about those moments. This is truly a wonderful world that we live in.
Some of the conversations feel very meta, as well. Especially in the moment before the final fight where Tobey is telling Andrew how amazing he is. A lovely nod to the fact that he is the Amazing Spider-Man, but also to the fact that his movies were not received well. Andrew is being very down on himself, talking about how much he sucks, and Tobey keeps building him back up.
Moments like this, and the back cracking scene, just feel so very real. They just feel natural, and real, and exactly like what would happen if Peter Parker met a few other Peter Parkers after accidentally cracking open the multiverse.
This is still Tom Holland’s movie, and the appearance of the Tobey and Andrew don’t take that away, they add to it. That is the beauty of this film.
Tom Holland’s Peter goes through so much growth in this movie, and it is both heartwarming and heartbreaking to see. He wants to fix the villains before sending them back to their time in order to hopefully give them a second chance and save their lives. He works extremely hard at this, and eventually teams up with the other Peters to get it done. A selfless act when he could have easily just sent them on their way, and secured his position, along with MJ and Ned’s, at MIT in the process.
But the most Peter Parker decision comes at the end of the movie. He realizes that there is absolutely nothing he can do in order to have everything that he wants. Instead he must make the biggest sacrifice, and allow Doctor Strange to cast a spell that makes everyone forget him. It will be like he never existed. He will lose every single person he loves in his life and he is okay with that.
Related: 75+ Heartbreaking & Hilarious Spider-Man: No Way Home Quotes
When the time comes for him to find MJ and Ned, and convince them that they used to be best friends, he makes another selfless choice. He sees that they are happy, and that they both got into MIT and will be going to Boston. When MJ brushes her hair aside and he sees the Band-Aid on her head, reminding him that she was put in danger, he leaves the coffee shop, allowing them to live their lives blissfully unaware of the past.
Peter stays in New York, makes his own Spider-Man suit, and listens to the police blotter so he can help save people. This is Peter Parker. It is who he is, and who he always will be. Spider-Man: No Way Home perfectly closes out Tom Holland’s trilogy, while still leaving the door open for more.
The fan service is there, but it is certainly not too much. Everything is put into this movie for a reason. Many of the returning actors give better performances than they gave their first times around, specifically Willem Dafoe and Andrew Garfield. Mix that with a score that gives the viewers goosebumps and some incredible cinematography, and you have the best live action Spider-Man movie. It is hard to see how they will ever top this one.
Rating: 5 out of 5
About Spider-Man: No Way Home
With Spider-Man’s identity now revealed, our friendly neighborhood web-slinger is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life as Peter Parker from the high stakes of being a superhero. When Peter asks for help from Doctor Strange, the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is in theaters now.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.