Barrett Brief Movie Review: Spider-Man No Way Home – Pinnacle Peter Parker

Barrett Brief Movie Review – Spider-Man No Way Home – Pinnacle Peter Parker

*This Review IS filled with spoilers, you have been warned*

Summary: With Spider-Man’s identity now revealed, Peter asks Doctor Strange for help. When a spell goes wrong, dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear, forcing Peter to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi s

The Spider-Man franchise. Since 2001, there have been 9 different movies with 3 different leads. Each generation has their “favorite”. This author loves the Sam Rami trilogy headed by Toby Maguire. There are some that prefer Andrew Garfield’s take on the character. Then there is the current iteration, who is generally liked. When Sony introduced the concept of the multi-verse in Into The Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and saw how well that was received, in addition to Sony looking for their own Avengers: Endgame type film, most of us could see the writing on the wall when rumors started to swirl around Spider-Man: No Way Home. Once the biggest secret surrounding the film had been leaked (more on that later), the anticipation only continued to rise. With a story filled to the brim with characters past and present, Spider-Man: No Way Home manages to be a both a homage and a set up for the character of Peter Parker. 

So Many Characters And So Little Time

So. Many. Characters. This film manages to get 5 villains from 3 different franchises into a cohesive story. Throw on top of that the continuing arc of the current Peter Parker and his friends, and the two previous standard bearers of the franchise in as well. Sony has screwed up a lot worse with a lot less, so it was a surprise to see that the smorgasbord of characters actually worked out. I was not confident in that at all. I figured this film would ride on nostalgia and not much else. And while it rode the nostalgia train hard, and could be accused of overdoing the “fan service”, it never took me out of the story. Each character had moments, and they all were in service to the larger plot. 

 The Cast

Tom Holland (Peter Parker / Spider-Man) has been in this role 6 times. While some may not like his take on Peter Parker/Spider-Man, it is his own. His Spider-Man has been criticized for always having to rely on others (Tony Stark, Dr. Strange) but this is the first of his films where he is driving the plot. He balances wit and youth with the weight of his decisions. Sony recently announced that he is getting 3 more films, which means like him or not, he will be the definitive Spider-Man. I will admit, I did not like Zendaya for the role of MJ. Not because of the race swap, but because in the first 2 films did not embody what MJ from the comics was. She was too emo/woke for my liking. She is a bright spot in  Spider-Man: No Way Home. She is Parkers girlfriend, but she contributes just as much. I still think that Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man) is the best of the bunch, but Zendaya is improving with each turn at the role. Jacob Batalon (Ned) is fading further into the background, as he should, with each progressive film. He isn’t bad, he is just becoming more irrelevant and Peter Parker matures. Marisa Tomei (Aunt May) gives one last go before she dies (and says THE line) & if I never see Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan) in another MCU film it will be too soon. J.K. Simmons (J. Jonah Jameson) is amazing. Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange) brings the character back again. 

The villains are the draw here. Willem Dafoe (Norman Osborn / Green Goblin) is in top notch form, and really is the lead baddy of the film. Jamie Foxx (Max Dillon / Electro) gets a proper turn as Electro, and he makes the most of it. He chews up the scenery and makes up for the missed opportunity in TASM2. Alfred Molina (Dr. Otto Octavius /Doc Ock) stepped right back in and continued his pitch perfect portrayal as Doc Ock. Rhys Ifans (Dr. Curt Connors / The Lizard) gets more to do here than he did in The Amazing Spider-Man, and although he didn’t get a ton of screen time, he had his moments. Thomas Haden Church (Flint Marko / Sandman) will always be underutilized, wish he had a film of his own to get the opportunity to stretch out the character. Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock / Daredevil) makes and appearance and it was awesome. 

Now on to the worst kept secret in cinema. Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield return to the roles. Both got applauses from the audience when they appeared. Garfield keeps the witty one liners and playful attitude that many enjoyed. Toby Maguire brings a sense of gravity when he appears. He is the oldest of the bunch, but acts as the mentor to the other two. It was really nice to see them, as neither got a proper sendoff from their own franchises. The scenes with all three of them display excellent chemistry and some of the dialogue between them had the entire theater engaged. It shouldn’t have worked, but it did and it was memorable. 

Plot & Pacing

This film doesn’t waste anytime. It reminds us of the events of the last film, where Peter’s identity is reveled to the world. At the same time, his relationship with MJ is finally going in the direction he was wanted. With the consequences of being Spider-Man impacting both Ned & MJ, Peter seeks out Dr. Strange. After a mishap with the spell, other villains from other universes start to show up. Peter is faced with the choice of either helping these villains or sending them back to their own universe to face death. In the end, with the multiverse imploding all around them, Peter convinces Strange to cast a spell that would have everyone forget who he is to set things right. The film ends with Spider-Man on his own. No Stark tech, no help from Strange, no MJ or Aunt May. 

Technical notes

Some of the CGI looked a bit wonky at times. During the team up in the third act, I had trouble keeping track of which Spider-Man was which.

Overall

With a story filled to the brim with characters past and present, Spider-Man: No Way Home manages to be a both a homage and a set up for the character of Peter Parker. 

Score:

3 1/2 out of 4