With Spider-Man's identity now revealed, our friendly neighbourhood 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.
Something I consistently find compelling about marvel films is their ability to create so much hype for hardcore fans and general movie-goers alike! This was completely the case here, for months we have seen teasers, posters, fan predictions and theories galore - now even though this isn’t uncommon for a Marvel film to have this level of hype (in fact most of them do), there always seems to be more hype for Spider-Man and this film was easily one of the most anticipated films of the year. I would even go as far as saying that this film was essentially tee’d up for success due to the amazing prequel in ‘Far from home’ - with tonnes of hype, and seemingly put on a plate for success, many may think that this film should be a masterpiece. Here are my thoughts. Please note that this review contains major spoilers for the film - if you haven’t seen this film already I would recommend waiting until you have seen it before you read my review.
Any great Marvel film has a sharp focus on the story, telling a story that regularly includes twists, excitement, sadness - all whilst creating an extremely immersive ecosystem of films. This film is no different, and in many respects exceeds any expectations that I could have had, it isn’t able to do this though by just having Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland in though - the film has an amazing sense of stability that allows it to stand on its own two feet as a stand-alone film, all whilst fitting in perfectly into the Marvel catalogue of films.
Right from the very beginning, the film sets the stage as to what we can expect from the film by continuing exactly from where 'Far from home' left off, with Spider-Man and MJ seemingly involved in an angry mob of people cheering 'Mysterio'. I loved the introduction to the film for many reasons, not only did it provide an exciting and fast-paced introduction to the film but it also encompasses one of my favourite elements of the film - the attention to detail and realism. After the announcements, similarly to real life, there isn't a mass hysteria everywhere, some people in the streets haven't seen the news yet and therefore contrast in their reaction to seeing Spider-Man, it's small in the grand scheme of the film, but I loved it as it showed a real focus on realism and immersiveness within New York and was certainly a nice touch. The film continues with a focus on immersing us into the story though, early scenes where we follow Peter, MJ and Ned's college applications turned down one by one also follow this, the film is able to really immerse us within the ecosystem of the characters and their relationship to the story amazingly well, resulting in these events feeling really impactful and genuinely devastating. I loved how meaningful the story feels though, seeing the impacts that the events at the start of the film have on Peter, MJ and Ned is a fantastic, yet difficult watch because of how well integrated the events of the film and the resulting emotions are relayed to us, and seeing the impacts of events on the characters genuinely cuts deep emotionally, making them fantastic and exciting characters to watch.
On the whole, not only did I love the actual story of the film, but equally I loved how well it was told to us. The story is by no means a simple A-B, but this is by no means an issue because the film is able to tell the story and keep us updated really well through both visual and audio cues, arguably one of the most effective ways that this is done is, through J Jonah Jameson's cameos on his TV show, we see his video clips frequently throughout the film and whilst they may appear to be constant jabs at Spider-Man, they are excited perfectly because they provide a loose connection to what is happening within the film, alongside the public's thoughts about Spider-Man and what is going on at that time, such as complaining about the 'Path of destruction' following Peter just after a block of flats is destroyed. The cameos don't add a massive amount to the film, but they are fun, humorous and help to provide an insight into the emotions that everyday people feel towards Spider-Man (although I was a little disappointed that Tobey Maguire didn't have a chance to interact directly with Jameson, but maybe I'm asking for too much?!)
The story also felt incredibly fluid and smooth though, and was able to transition between different scene types incredibly well, for example, transitions between Peter Parker fighting Dr Strange to being back in New York are done fantastically and help to keep a smooth feeling between action-packed scenes, to more gentle scenes. Sometimes films aren't able to get this transition quite right, resulting in a heavy change that is confusing, but this film perfectly manages these transitions and has a really positive impact on the overall storytelling value of the film. I also love how dynamic the story felt, sure when Peter initially meets 'Doc Ock' on the bridge, there is a fast-paced feeling to the film that Tom Holland executes perfectly, balancing the innocent persona of Peter Parker with the need to be the hero. But after this, we slowly see villains introduced as seemingly confused, I loved this because I expected the relationship between Peter and the villains to be constant fighting, however, the film offers a great sense of surprise when they converse with each other. Once again, the film is able to manage these transitions perfectly, and when Green Goblin turns, the film is dynamic enough to go from peace between the characters to destruction in a matter of minutes. It is also worth pointing out that despite having seen some of the villains introductions to the film in trailers - seeing these (essentially shot for shot the same) again was fantastic because of how well shot they were.
Speaking of the fights though, they were amazing and executed really well here - what made them stand out though is the variation between each fight and how well they were rooted into the film's storyline - when I say this, I mean that they weren't just added in for no good reason, but they had a real purpose and flow to them, they kept them feeling exciting and fresh. There aren't a massive number of fights during the film, but when there are, they are built up well in a typical Spider-Man fashion that we have come to expect. The action scenes also actively add to the story, and give the feeling that the story doesn't take a back seat whilst the characters fight, but the story progresses as the action sequences continue which is done fantastically.
I don't usually comment on cinematic during my reviews, as we come to expect great cinematic in an action movie, however I will touch upon them here to mention how fantastic they were in making the film visually appealing. Amazing camera work such as slowly turning a street corner to see Green Goblin's mask staring back at us was fantastic, alongside amazing scenes of New York, and even first-person shots through Spider-Man's perspective. The camerawork and cinematic were key in keeping each shot and part of the film feeling exciting, almost as though we were there with the characters - I speak about immersive ecosystems a lot, but the film took this to another level!
Characters are at the forefront of any good film, and arguably even more so here. I've already touched upon how great I feel that the film encompassed villains from previous movies into a modern Spider-Man, however, the characters helped to take this a step further - the characters felt amazingly integrated into the film (as they should considering it is still New York, however, they had a fantastically subtle feeling that they didn't belong in this universe, it was fantastically done through small visual cues such as how confused the characters seemed and how they used dialogue to voice their confusions and frustrations. I loved this, because obviously the villains didn't belong in the universe, and the film was able to relay this to us not only through dialogue but through real-world actions, emotions and dialogue between the characters.
On the whole though, the characters here are special and fantastic. Some people may be slightly conscious about watching this without having seen the previous films with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield (and respective villains), but once again the film shows a great level of attention to detail by using references to previous films that many Spider-Man films will catch and appreciate (such as the "I'm something of a scientist myself" dialogue said by Willem Dafoe) - what makes these so special though (bear in mind this is potentially one of 10s or even 100s of references) is that not only do they give the film a great sense of belonging alongside other Spider-Man films, and help to create links to other films, but these references aren't confusing for audiences that aren't familiar with the older films and they feel like normal sentences. Sometimes films struggle to get the balance between pleasing fans, and accommodating new fans - the great level of references and connections to old films is fantastic here and feels so well thought through that after a while you could forget they are even there because of how well they are baked into the film. Whilst not a 'hardcore fan' myself - when discussing with a friend of mine, he was able to roll off loads of references to older films, all whilst displaying his satisfaction at the film from a 'hardcore fan' and how well the references were implemented.
When I mention that the characters here are special, I mean it. Don't get me wrong, I loved the whole film, but some standout scenes were made incredibly special by the characters, seeing Peter (Tom Holland's one) walk into the cafe at the end, whilst Ned and MJ don't know him anymore and seeing how the characters spoke to one another was a special scene. For those that have seen this, you will know what I mean - but the great level of chemistry between characters in the film and previous film just shines through here because of the amazing connections that we have to them. They're dynamic, funny, emotional and heroic all at the same time as being teenagers, and I honestly wouldn't pick a greater set of actors if I had to cast Spider-Man, MJ and Ned right now.
To be honest, it is difficult to comment on the actor's performances in this film because they were all so great, Tom Holland gives an incredible lead performance once again but with a lot more emotional heft this time around and provides a fantastic insight into not only the life of Spider-man but also an incredible insight into life as an unmasked Spider-Man. Zendaya and Jacob Batalon both have perfect chemistry with Holland and are also incredible in their own ways. For me, Zendaya was one of the best here though, the emotional performance that she gave, including telling Peter that she loved him through tears at the end, subtle hints of sadness during the starting sequence and an uneasy feeling during parts of the film. Quite honestly during the serious, emotional sequences between MJ and Peter - it was difficult to remember that they are playing characters in a film because of how great their chemistry is.
Benedict Cumberbatch reaffirms why he's such a good Doctor Strange with his excellent dry wit and gravitas. All the returning villains give strong performances but Willem Dafoe is the standout performance with an unsettling and terrifying presence. I loved his energy and how easy it was to tell his love for playing Green Goblin, Alfred Molina was also fantastic and gave a great sense of energy, it was a pleasure seeing him develop from a hate-filled character to one of happiness when meeting Tobey Maguire towards the end of the film, and helping the 3 Spider-Men! It is even more impressive considering that both actors are around the late 60s age group. Marisa Tomei, Thomas Haden, Jamie Foxx, Rhys Ifans and Benedict Wong are also fantastic and deliver performances that are engaging, exciting and genuinely enjoyable with their varying personalities and various conflicts.
Jon Watts' direction is superb, the action sequences are thrillingly acrobatic, there are a few homages to the styles of the previous films and some gorgeous images. It's also perfectly paced with none of its roughly 2hr 30 minute runtime feeling dull or overly long. Additionally, the music by Michael Giacchino is fantastic, it varies depending on the scene type but it helps to build up scenes and support the characters actions and emotions perfectly, for example seeing Peter swinging around New York for the first time in his new suit at the end, it just felt so perfect the music/visual combination and I found myself with chills down my spine from how well they worked together.
As you might have guessed, I loved this film - it is a genuine work of art, the story is great, the characters are fantastic and how the film satisfies both fans and general movie fans alike is great - the balance here is fantastic. In terms of what I didn't like so much about the film though, there were a few pieces that I would like to raise that impacted my viewing experience slightly.
The primary issue that I have with the film (and this might even be borderline nit-picking) is that I feel the start of the film where Peter and his friends and family were under investigation from the police - I liked this because it was the typical 'good cop - bad cop' that we expect from Marvel films, but unfortunately it seemed to jump from the characters being interviewed to the charges suddenly being confirmed that 'they won't stick'. Personally, I felt this was a little rushed and led me to question why they wouldn't 'stick', and what could have been shown to flesh this out a little better between the scenes?
I genuinely don't think I could give this film though less than a 10, even if I wanted to! It was a masterpiece, it combined the sense of nostalgia with a modern feeling perfectly, the story was immersive, easy to follow and genuinely thrilling and the characters were just top-notch - delivering incredibly detailed and immersive performances that felt real. Now some of you might claim that this is based on hype, but you have to check this out and I'm sure you'll agree that irrespective of whether you are a Marvel, a superhero, a Spider-Man or even just a movie fan - you will love this film, irrespective of whether you have seen the previous films. The film manages to balance this perfectly, but if you'd like to immerse yourself, even more, I'd definitely recommend watching Maguire and Garfield's films and then Holland's for the uptime immersion and build up to this film! Spider-Man: No Way Home is my film of the year.
Thank you for reading my review, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did watching the film and writing this review, I hope you have a lovely day! If you would like to check out my Official Facebook page where you can see sneak previous and more film insights then please consider checking out the link below!
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