Careful, spoilers ahead
Starring:
Tom Holland
Zendaya
Benedict Cumberbatch
Marisa Tomei
Jacob Batalon
Director: Jon Watts
Watch Order: 3rd Spider-Man in the MCU franchise, 9th Spider-Man in the Spider-Verse
Rankings
Likes:
- At first I thought No Way Home was going to go the Endgame route and center their plot around trying to erase a big oopsie like it never happened, with few consequences (and even then, those consequences were minimal: Black Widow’s Death felt more like a necessary sacrifice than a punishment, and half the universe was able to blip back into existence because of it). But instead, Peter (Holland) must pay a huge price for trying to tamper with the multiverse. His Aunt May (Tomei; my favorite Aunt May) dies, and he loses his friends and true love in the process. It’s an important real-world lesson: there is no magic spell that can fix everything.
- What fan service. Bringing Millennials’ favorite Spider-Man into the MCU. Making it all canon. Much wow. My theater clapped when Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire showed up, despite the trailer having been dissected five million times by fans who noted a certain other Spider-Man had been edited out of the climactic battle scene. People have a lot of love for the Garfield and Maguire franchises, and it’s great to share that nerdy excitement with others, even when you know it’s coming.
- Even better, Garfield and Maguire didn’t just have a random save-you-at-the-last-second cameo, but TEAMED UP to save the day?! Swoon.
- Again, thanks to rabid fans dissecting the trailer, keen eyes noticed MJ’s fall mirrored Gwen’s death in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which further stoked theories that not only would Garfield be in the movie, but he would have his redemption. And even though I knew it was coming, the look of anguish on Garfield’s face as he held MJ nearly made me burst into tears both times watching the film. Dammit Marvel, you got us right in the feels.
Dislikes:
- The whole premise of the movie was silly to me. Why not just make people forget that Mysterio outed Spider-Man? Why try to “fix” the villains when the effects could have dire consequences back in their own universes? Butterflies and hurricanes and all that. The writers do try to explain the plot away through Doctor Strange (Cumberbatch) when he points out that he forgot Peter was just a kid—and it’s true, he is making rash and immature choices appropriate for his age. But…do better, Marvel.
- Is it me or is there an overabundance of superhero landings and poses here? I smell a drinking game…
