Spider-Man: No Way Home
Director: Jon Watts
Writer: Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers
Based on: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko‘s comic
Sequel to: Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far from Home
Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire, Angourie Rice, Martin Starr, Hannibal Buress, J.B. Smoove, J.K. Simmons, Rhys Ifans, Charlie Cox, Thomas Haden Church
Part of: Marvel movies
Seen on: 20.12.2021

Plot:
Now that the world knows that Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is Spider-Man, Peter’s life is thoroughly screwed up. Although things could be so very good now that both his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and his finally-girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) know the truth. Not to mention Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). But things just can’t work that way anymore, and so Peter asks Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for a spell to make the world forget about Spider-Man’s identity. Things don’t work out the way he’d hoped, though, and the mess becomes even bigger than before.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is entertaining as hell, a cross-over of epic proportions and proof of that Spider-Man is never allowed to be happy ever. In short: it gives you one hell of a ride.

[Slight SPOILERS follow]

The MCU Spider-Man movies have been really good so far, and I loved how this film brought in the other Spider-Man movies into the “core” MCU, although those movies were less consistent in quality. It’s something that could have been just a gimmick, but – as with the first two MCU Spider-Man movies – they nicely manage to tie real emotional weight to the more humorous and outlandish elements.

And the emotional weight is heavy indeed. I left the film wondering about how many times Peter Parker could be orphaned, and generally, how his life absolutely sucks. That he manages to retain his sweetness in the face of all this misery is astounding, if you ask me. The film does make up for some earlier hurts, too, but really. Let the boy have a breather for once.

The cast works beautifully. While there are some well-known faces in the supporting cast, some more surprising than others, it’s the central threesome of Holland, Zendaya and Batalon that have the heart of the film and work it. Especially Holland and Zendaya really have great chemistry and aren’t afraid to let it show.

Despite its long runtime, the film makes time pass quickly. The action scenes are nicely done (especially the one in the mirrorverse) and ultimately the film delivers everything you hope for in a Spider-Man film (except for some happiness for Peter).

Summarizing: a satisfying movie experience.