Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Jan 8

Written by: Brian Sumner

Spider-Man: NO way Home (2021)

PG-13 | 2h 28min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | December 17, 2021 (USA)

The phrase "Warning: Spoilers Ahead" may not be attributed to the major Marvel Cinematic Universe run that started in 2010, but to say that it's taken the phrase and made it it's own would be the understatement of the century. Regardless of the fact that there are major Hollywood directors and producers who still, after twelve years of MCU bad-assery, look down upon "superhero" movies as just another fad in Tinsel Town (we're looking at you Scorcese), the fact remains that millions upon millions of ticket-buying, moviegoers flock to theaters in droves, eager to spend their hard earned money on a ticket that grants them access to 2+ hours of fun and entertainment that maybe, just maybe, allows them to forget about the absolute BS that is perpetually going on in the world.

Isn't that what the movie going experience is all about?

But that's a discussion for another day. Today I'm talking about Spider-Man: No Way Home. Post pandemic, and let's be honest, we're still in the thick of it, movie theaters across the country and around the globe began to panic about the future of their business.

It's simple math really.

Without customers to see movies, then movie theaters can't afford to operate.

No money...no movies.

Enter the MCU to save all.

Despite being downplayed by auteurs and classic filmmakers, the products that are constantly being pumped out by Marvel Studios have drawn an audience that has money. Therefore, one could argue that Marvel is singlehandedly keeping movie theaters afloat until a time when audiences will return in record numbers. Funny thing is, we didn't have to wait too long for that.

With the release of titles like Black Widow, Army of the Dead, and Mortal Kombat amidst the later months of the pandemic, movie goers showed that they were ready to come back to the theaters and escape. And escape they did. The heartbeat of the movie theater was kept beating and Hollywood took the ball and ran with it. Which brings us to Spider-Man: No Way Home. The phrase "highly anticipated" wouldn't be enough to describe the fever pitch going into this film's release.

People not only wanted it. They needed it.

Following up the post Infinity Saga run with Spider-Man: Far From Home, Tom Holland as Peter Parker by day and Spidey by night, kicked off the second run of MCU movies and solidified Tom's importance with regard of taking over the mantle left empty by Robert Downey, Jr's Iron Man. Now that No Way Home has hit theaters and unleashed a new form of storytelling within the MCU, tying into Disney+ series such as Loki and Wandavision, "Warning: Spoilers Ahead" is very apropos considering how entrenched into social media we all are. You can't go anywhere without becoming victim of unwanted spoilers in this world where nothing happens without it being recorded, documented, and released to the world within seconds of it happening. Oddly enough, and to much surprise by my daughter, I was able to fight off any unwanted spoiler advances for a couple of weeks after the initial release of No Way Home until I was finally able to sit down and watch the film. . . #Legend

Official trailer of Spider-Man: NO Way Home

Let me start off by saying kudos to Jon Watts, director of all three Tom Holland Spider-Man releases, for being able to take the direction from Marvel Studios, making the story his own, and keeping the tone for these characters in all three releases. Sometimes when you're within a machine such as Marvel, it can cause you to lose sight of your vision when those above you have a very distinct direction they want to head. Much love and props to you, sir, for keeping the train a'rollin so to speak. From the beginning of the film, you feel like you're in a Spider-Man movie. Between the acting, the writing, and the interaction between the main characters, the story has a very distinct tone and they never lose it. Thank you for that.

The story kicks off with Peter Parker having to deal with the fallout of the lies spread by Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home which seem to indicate that Spidey was responsible for the drone attacks in London and the death of Mysterio. Oh, and did I mention that he also outed Peter as Spider-Man? Not cool, dude. The court of public opinion weighs heavy on Peter as he, Ned, and MJ try to navigate this new normal for their lives now that Peter has been unmasked causing Peter to contemplate his next course of action, which leads him to the doorstep of the Sanctum Sanctorum and the home of Dr. Strange. Wanting Strange to create a spell to make everyone forget that Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker, hoping to return things the way they were prior to his student trip to London, things begin to become fractured when Pete tries to proverbially "have his cake and eat it too." As Strange is trying to cast the spell, Peter keeps adding different stipulations to the spell which, inadvertently, causes a rift in the overall timeline, creating openings or portals from other parts of the multi-verse. Peter soon realizes his mistake when he is paid a visit from one of Spider-Man's old nemesis', Dr. Otto Octavius. Doc Ock to his friends. The only problem is, Doc Ock isn't from this world. He's from another part of the multi-verse where he knew Peter Parker as a different person. If you've been staying up to date with all of the MCU releases thus far, you would've already seen shades of this in Loki with the Time Variance Authority and the different variant versions of the Trickster God himself. Add Disney+ to your streaming devices and get caught up if you haven't already. Very, very good writing and storytelling.

As you can imagine, opening up the multiverse in such a way lends this story to have all kinds of twists and turns along the way and the characters that are introduced knock your socks off. So many great performances from so many great actors, all within one story, give you, the movie goer, ups and downs, highs and lows, laughter, tears, moments of "OH SHIT!" and other moments where you find yourself forgetting to breathe out of anticipation for what happens next. Mix in all the great cameos and callbacks (a la MCU fashion), this film gives you more than enough substance and entertainment.

The idea of the movie going experience is to take you on an emotional rollercoaster and leave you wanting more.

This film does that in spades.

Spider-Man: No Way Home has delivered on so many levels that it cannot be measured adequately enough to give it a proper rating. As I write this, looking back on my experience of watching the film and reliving it in my memory, I can safely say this film, for me, has taken over the top spot within the MCU releases. It has eclipsed Captain American and the Winter Soldier and has also taken the top spot away from Avengers: Infinity War. I cannot praise enough the accomplishment in storytelling that this film has done.

Typically, when I do my written reviews, I tend to not leave my official ranking. However, on this official write-up for Spider-Man: No Way Home, I would be remiss if I didn't close out by saying that this film has entered the realm of unrankable. I place this film in the same ranking level as The Godfather and Stephen King's IT (2017).

Now, that is not to say this film is being measured against those films. What I'm saying is that for this style of film and storytelling, to give it just a 5 on our scale at Dude, What?! would be a disservice to the overall performance of the writing, the directing, the acting, and the storytelling. It's better than the 5 on our scale. It's unrankable.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is a new masterpiece in the realm of action/adventure/superhero films and has set a very high bar for all other films released within the MCU and action/adventure films outside the MCU.

Hollywood.....you've got your work cut out for you.

Brian Sumner is the Host of Dude, What?! and often wears his footed Spider-Man pajamas to bed.