Spider-Man: No Way Home
Synopsis
Having his superhero identity revealed to the world causes quite a few problems for Peter Parker at the start of Spider-Man: No Way Home. In the wake of the late(?) Mysterio’s bombshell revelation, Peter (Tom Holland) and everyone he’s close with – his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya), best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) – are arrested for their supposed involvement in the recent drone attack on London (from Spider-Man: Far From Home). Although Peter and company are eventually cleared of all charges, their lives are still thrown into a state of disarray given the public’s knowledge of Spider-Man’s true identity. With seemingly no one else to turn to, Peter elicits the help of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to erase everyone’s memory of Mysterio’s reveal. However, by trying to tweak the spell during its incantation, Peter unwittingly destabilizes it. This results in Spider-Man villains from other dimensions – Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), The Lizard (Rhys Ifans), and Electro (Jamie Foxx) – pouring in and wreaking havoc in Peter’s world. It’s now up to Peter and friends to round up these villains and figure out what’s going on before they cause even more problems for an already stressed-out group of high school seniors.
Analysis
[***SPOILER WARNING: I can’t see any way of talking about this movie without discussing major plot details. If you don’t want to be spoiled, make sure to skip ahead to my conclusion.***]
One department this film excels in is delivering on spectacle. A key reason for this is the movie’s incredible action sequences. You get a nice mix of bombastic and fast-paced sequences where the camera whips you from one area to the next, psychedelic magic-driven scenes that’ll keep your head on a swivel, and small-scale scenes that are more focused on hand-to-hand combat. The movie has so many excellent and fresh action sequences because of its diverse roster of villains, which means the action never gets stale. Spider-Man’s fight scenes with Green Goblin are probably my favorite given how physical they are. During such fights, Peter rains down crushing blows and Mortal Kombat-esque combos on Goblin, while the more brutish Goblin slams Peter against walls and tackles him through floors. So while the web-slinging is phenomenal as usual, these small-scale fights help remind us of just how lethal and durable Spider-Man is physically. I also felt that technical elements like pairing character introductions with their iconic theme songs, using Hitchcock shots during Peter’s “spider-sense” scenes, and even an immersive one-take through Peter’s apartment, gave the movie a more epic cinematic feel.
This movie does a great job handling its “surprise” characters too. For starters, it was awesome seeing Toby Maguire’s and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men again. I think their roles work so well because they’re not big enough to detract from the movie’s focus on the Tom Holland Spider-Man, but they’re also not small enough to come across as ineffectual cameos. Instead, their primary purpose is getting Holland’s Peter back on his feet and serving as great allies in the third act’s battle. We also get to learn a little bit about what’s happened in these Spider-Men’s lives since we last saw them and understand how these latter events have changed them – which ultimately informs the advice they give Peter. Garfield’s Peter even receives some character development by getting closure for Gwen’s death by saving MJ, and being reminded by Maguire’s Peter that he’s amazing (which made me remember that he really was a great Spider-Man stuck in two movies with forgettable villains). The two actors also slip so effortlessly back into their old roles that it feels like no time has passed, and their interactions with each other and Holland are absolutely delightful. And although it was very much a cameo instead of a meaningful role, I almost lost it when I saw Charlie Cox’s Daredevil come on screen. While it had been rumored that he’d make an appearance, it was still great to see him again – and with a nod towards his superpowers! – given how memorable his performance as the character was.
And while there’s certainly a lot going on in this movie, it never loses its focus on properly servicing Holland’s Peter Parker. Here we follow Peter as he goes from someone who understandably “wants it all” to the hero who prioritizes the greater collective good. His attempt to tweak the spell is the film’s inciting incident, and it takes the mentoring of people like Aunt May and the other Spider-Men for Peter to understand what it means to yield great power responsibly (yes, I said it). Not only does this manifest in him trying to cure all the villains rather than send them back unchanged, but it also informs his decision to make the admirable sacrifice of having everyone in the world forget who he is. And that brings me to what surprised me most about Peter’s arc in this film: how tragic it is. With perhaps the lone exception of Captain America: Civil War, the MCU has generally avoided having characters deal with the consequences of their actions (no, I don’t count Infinity War). In this film, Peter’s choices directly lead to the death of his aunt and the erasure of everyone’s memory of him, yet these same plot points ultimately advance his identity as a hero rather than chart a descent towards villainy. So given how integral these painful lessons are to his character development, his progression feels all the more moving and earned. And the way the movie leaves Peter off – with next to no resources but still having changed so much – makes me all the more invested in the character because he now feels like the Spider-Man.
All that being said, there are two key aspects of the film that really don’t hold up – especially on the rewatch. The first aspect is how completely superfluous The Lizard and Sandman are. I felt it was an odd choice to include them in the first place since, as opposed to the other villains, neither of them died in their respective films; in fact, they left on fairly good terms with their Spider-Men. They don’t feel nearly as compelling as the other villains given their limited screen time and lack of motivation. And outside the context of the final battle, the other Spider-Men don’t even think about them as much as they think about the other villains. So more than anything else, it felt like The Lizard and Sandman were there strictly so there would be more villains. Had the film chosen to focus specifically on Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, and Electro, I think the movie would’ve felt leaner and more focused. And I know that all movies require a suspension of disbelief, but I still don’t quite understand the mechanics of dimension-hopping and memory erasure. Where in time exactly were the villains sent back to? I mean, it’s great that the Spider-Men cured them, but are they going to end up depowered at the moment of their destined death? If not, does their being cured create alternate universes in which they can lead semi-normal lives? What does this mean for the other Spider-Men? Do they return to where they left, or are there now branching timelines where their life trajectories have been altered because their villains are now cured? As for the whole memory erasure power, what exactly is its extent? Will it erase data like Peter’s school records, social security information, even medical records? Will every mention of him on the internet and in print be erased? What about photos? I may be trying to analyze this film too literally, but given how big a role that dimension-hopping and memory erasure play in the film’s conclusion, the fact that they were so convoluted left me pretty confused by the time the credits rolled.
Conclusion
In summary, I can’t emphasize enough how fantastic it was watching Spider-Man: No Way Home. It’s a great action-packed film with a lot of heart that, despite having so many awesome things going on, never loses its focus on evolving the character of Peter Parker. Yes, it does have some fairly dispensable villains and convoluted elements, but you’ll be much more moved by the areas in which this movie soars rather than stumbles. This type of movie demands to be seen on the big screen too; it not only has spectacle but also provides a great collective viewing experience. So with the close of what could be called the “proto” MCU Spider-Man trilogy, I can’t wait to see what the next round of films has in store for this web-slinger.