The time has finally come! The most anticipated film of the year was released in cinemas earlier this week (15th December 2021). Spiderman No Way Home is the third instalment from Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures that features British actor Tom Holland as our friendly neighbourhood hero. The film also sees Benedict Cumberbatch reprise his role as Dr Stephen Strange, Zendaya as MJ, Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Benedict Wong as Wong, Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan and a few more familiar faces from the MCU also.
Unfortunately due to the effect on the entertainment industry caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic, Marvel Studios was just one of many production companies that was affected. This caused many highly anticipated projects to be pushed back including Scarlett Johansson's solo Black Widow film, our first martial arts themed feature from the franchise - Shang-Chi and even The Eternals. So the patience of the loyal MCU fans has really been tested leaving many of us desperately waiting for each new release. Thankfully the new addition to the MCU series' on Disney+ have helped to fill that void. However after the events of Avengers Endgame, we needed something huge! And Spiderman No Way Home was the one hope we all had for this.
There has been over a year and a half's worth of hype, speculation and fan theories surrounding this film. This led to fans and critics alike having very high expectations for Spiderman No Way Home. Some theories have been pretty "out there" let's say, while some have been proven true. I will not confirm which have confirmed to be true as I really want to keep this review completely spoiler free. However there is one thing I will say, believe in the hype and the excitement for this film!
The Plot
The last time we got to see Tom Holland's version of Peter Parker was at the end of the last Spiderman film "Far From Home" where Jake Gyllenhall's Mysterio leaked Spiderman's real identity to the entire world while also wrongfully accusing him of murder. Spiderman No Way Home continues directly on from that very moment. Peter and MJ are left surrounded by angry and confused civilians demanding to know more about these new revelations that have been brought to light. Due to the pressures of the media and the law that follows Peter, his friends and his loved ones, he then seeks out help from Dr. Strange at the Sanctum Sanctorum in New York. Strange reluctantly agrees to help Peter by casting a spell that will erase all knowledge of Spiderman's real identity from the world. And with multiple interferences from a nervous Peter, the spell goes awry. Leading to multiple multiversal mishaps including drawing in unwanted visitors from parallel worlds.
This is where we are reintroduced once more to some of Spiderman's well known villainous characters. They include the return of all of the original actors that played them in previous Spiderman films, Willem Defoe returns as Norman Osbourne (Green Goblin), Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavious (Doc Ock), Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon (Electro), Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko (Sandman), and Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors (The Lizard). This now leaves Peter and Dr Stephen Strange to face a whole new set of challenges as they try to restore theirs and the lives of others.
My Summary
As previously mentioned, the hype and anticipation for the release of this film has been higher than anything I've known before. Spiderman No Way Home was everything I wanted it to be...and so much more! Being a huge fan of the Spiderman character, comics and films No Way Home gave myself and millions of other fans the perfect mixture of comic book accuracy, nostalgia from all of the previous Spidey movies, raw emotion and laughter. The perfect cinematic cocktail you could say. I will never forget the experience of seeing this film for the first time. I walked into the cinema absolutely buzzing with excitement, but I honestly have never felt the huge range of emotions that I did in such a short space of time while watching this film. I smiled, felt tension, I laughed, cried and like most of the room screamed and cheered with happiness! It really was the best cinematic experience I have ever known.
It was so great to see so many faces return to their well known roles. In my opinion this is the best performance the world has ever seen from Tom Holland to date. He showed the world that he IS Spiderman! This performance brings Peter Parker's coming of age storyline to the close that feels comfortable and most natural for this version of the iconic character. It is clear to see how his relationship with girlfriend MJ played by Zendaya has developed into a more mature one without overstepping the boundaries of portraying certain aspects of their relationship on screen.
It was also so great to see the return of Dr. Strange (minus the time stone) since his last film appearance in Avengers Endgame. After much speculation about a guest appearance on Wandavision back in early 2021, (which didn't actually happen), fans have been looking forward to seeing the character return to the silver screen, especially as the next time we will see him on the big screen will be in his second solo film Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness which is due for release in early 2022. Benedict Cumberbatch in the role was as flawless as ever as he showed a great connection on screen to Tom's Peter Parker. The fact that Strange didn't overshadow Peter's screen time or storyline too much actually worked very well to the plot's advantage.
As much as I was blown away by Tom's performance in this film, there was another actor that almost stole the spotlight. I am of course talking about Willem Defoe as Norman Osbourne. We know him to be perfectly suited to the role which has always been portrayed very well by the actor on screen. However this time he managed to make the troubled character so much more intense, haunting even, the scripts for his character were so incredibly well written with some very emotional and cleverly worded one liners. If you didn't already know here's a little fact for you about Defoe agreeing to return to the role for No Way Home. His one condition for becoming the Green Goblin once again was that he requested that he perform all of his own stunts. In which he did. It just goes to show what dedication he has for this role.
There are so many parts of this film that I would love to go further into, however I really don't want to deny you the fun of the surprises that are in store for you upon watching this absolute masterpiece. Yes I said it, a flawless masterpiece! If I were to use only one word to describe Spiderman No Way Home, without a shadow of a doubt the word I would use is "Phenomenal!" It has now become my favourite comic book film ever, my top Spiderman film made to date, and even the best Marvel Cinematic Universe movie ever made! With action all the way through, surprises being thrown into the mix multiple times, plenty of emotions and Easter eggs for the hardcore Marvel fans, Spiderman No Way Home has it all! I really cannot express how much how spectacular (yes, pun intended for all of you comic book fans out there) this film really is.
Don't forget! If you haven't already seen the film, stay seated for a few minutes more after it ends. There is a mid credit scene and also a post credit scene for you to enjoy. These scenes are important about the upcoming storylines within the MCU. And they will not disappoint!
* We declare that we do not own the rights to any photos used within this review. They are taken from the film's trailers (Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures).
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