Spider-Man: No Way Home

It’s difficult to talk about this film without spoilers. Even if I wanted to write about them, the achievements and emotional peaks the story reaches can only be experienced in person, in a packed theater, with as many friends as possible. What I do have to say is that if you were on the fence with MCU Spider-Man, get ready to hop on the bandwagon at the perfect moment, because I can confidently say Tom Holland is finally THE Spider-Man.

Looking at the trilogy, this third installment finally commits to what makes Spider-Man Spider-Man. The combination of Peter Parker down on his luck, losing everything he thought he could control, and scrapping together whatever he has left with the third act showdown in his home-made suit evolves perfectly in this film. Homecoming understood this to a certain extent, but got bogged down in the MCU tie-in with the “stark internship” and RDJ cameos. Far From Home straight up pitted Spider-Man against an Iron Man villain, which I still can’t get over — even though I love Jake Gyllenhaal. But in No Way Home, all of Spider-Man is present, from Peter’s outloud-thinking and quick wit, to cool camera tricks with the spidey senses. It does struggle to balance both sides of Spider-Man’s identity with the tone — just as much as Peter does actually, which gives the narrative faults a personal charm — but I believe the third act outshines all other (live-action) Spider-Man films. The concluding scene, especially, creates the purest version of Spider-Man ever put to screen after 20 years of friendly, neighborhood action.

Ignoring the ‘event’ that the film attempts (and succeeds) to accomplish, the actual structure of the story and character development are pretty impressive. Every character gets their own chunk of screentime, with conflicting needs that spur the action in every scene. The number of characters — because of the film dedicating so much time for each subplot — drags the runtime during the middle of the film. The energy doesn’t disappear, but it does stall for a few moments, leaving the audience to shift in their chairs, waiting for what they really paid for. I, personally, only felt the pacing issues in one scene because I was enjoying the one thing that wasn’t spoiled for me: depth beyond the nostalgia. I was surprised with how much care the writers put into continuing so many stories from so many films, even if it pauses the plot, because it actually utilizes the flashy, marketable characters in new ways I didn’t expect.

Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, and even Jamie Fox give stand out performances. Dafoe effortlessly steps up to serve as the main antagonist, bringing the darkness of Green Goblin that this trilogy has yet to experience. Pitting this version of Spider-Man against actual Spider-Man villains was fantastic. The chaos they brought pushes Peter to the limit, both physically and emotionally, turning the series in a fresh, but also familiar, direction that I am so excited to see in the coming years.

I have two problems with this film, but unfortunately, they are outside its control.

The first problem is that I felt nothing in the emotional twists and reveals when I was in the theater because most of them were spoiled by the online MCU fandom. I cannot escape movie news on my social media and browsers, so when impatient fans think it is fun to hack into studio websites and steal trailers/ concept art, it is both criminal and destructive to the actual experience the crew spends so much of their time crafting for us. Hundreds of people work on these films, but because they don’t post a trailer six months before the premiere, someone ruins all the fun and business just for clicks. It’s infuriating. All conversations about film orbit around the growing mass of MCU fan-culture, and none of it adds to the experience, it only sucks it dry before I have time to buy tickets. If you were able to watch Spider-Man: No Way Home blind, you have no idea how jealous I am. This could have been the event of the decade. But no. Someone just had to find out early and spoil it for countless others.

The other problem I have is the box office. Congrats to Marvel for having the top three opening weekends of all time. Again, the skill it takes organizing these stories and hiring armies of people to get it done is a feat in itself; Kevin Feige is responsible for cinema’s recent success, he deserves the credit. What bothers me are these films acting as the sole oasis in an endless desert. For the past few months, it has been nothing but films flopping, charts lined with miserable box office results in the double digits, weekend after weekend, then suddenly, one film not only breaks expectations, but earns a profit in just four days? I don’t want to sound like a doomsday reporter, but how can cinema survive if only one company is in the green? It’s not even the MCU’s fault. It’s us. We just proved that going to the movies isn’t a problem; we don’t care about getting sick, we don’t care about having to drive to the theater and buy a ticket, we don’t even care about popcorn prices… but only for Spider-Man. Nothing else. I personally enjoy watching films in empty theaters, with rows and rows of comfy chairs silently watching along with me, but that shouldn’t happen every time I go. It can’t happen every time, or else it won’t happen at all. This is my future, I don’t want it to starve in the desert before I even get a chance to be a part of it. Please, you can watch the MCU as often as you like, but watch the other films too, before it's too late.

Overall, I think the future of Spider-Man is brighter than it has ever been. Tom Holland cements himself as the true version of the web-slinging hero, and I cannot wait for this new trilogy that was announced for him. The emotional satisfaction in this film extends far beyond the runtime as it reaches into our own childhood memories. The well-written structure earns the nostalgia and brings out the best of every character, not only with fantastic action set-pieces, but also by spending time with the quieter moments to really emphasize what is at stake. Yeah, the pacing is rough in a few spots, which might affect re-watches, but boy does that third act pack a punch! Will this film’s success destroy the future of cinema? It might, but here’s to hoping it will keep theaters alive long enough for Hollywood to recover… whenever this pandemic ends.

Story Rating: 8/10

Character Rating: 8/10

Entertainment Rating: 7/10