Jan. 10, 2022
By Carolina Aguilar
Managing Editor
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” gives viewers a satisfying conclusion to Tom Holland’s “Spider-Man” trilogy. This action-packed film is filled with emotion and edge-of-your-seat thrills.
This movie picks up right where the previous “Spider-Man” movie left off. After the world finds out that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, the young hero must learn to balance his normal life with his hero persona.
It becomes increasingly challenging as Peter enters his senior year of high school and his college application process is damaged by his reputation. Although he has saved countless lives and fought numerous villains, his identity is compromised by a villain he fought in the previous movie “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” This villain frames Peter, and most of the community has turned against him. His damaged reputation hurts not only him, but his girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya), and best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon), during college applications season.
Seeking a solution, Peter turns to Doctor Strange, a sorcerer known for his spells. Strange helps Peter, but an unfortunate series of events leads multiple villains to Peter. These are not his familiar villains but villains to other Spider-Men from different universes. Peter has to find a way to stop the madness and send the villains to their respective universes safely. His sense of morality tells him to cure their troubled minds before they get sent back, but he’s dealing with several dangerous characters, and the stakes are high.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which was released on Dec. 17, is the third and last in the Marvel “Homecoming” trilogy. Throughout this trilogy, MJ and Ned help Peter deal with superhero matters.
Since the villains from the “Spider-Man” movies made by Sony were present in “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” I recommend watching those five films before watching this movie.
Prior to Tom Holland’s trilogy, there were two separate “Spider-Man” movie universes made in live-action. The first one starred Tobey Maguire in the “Spider-Man” trilogy made in the early 2000s. His respective villains that appear in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” are Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and Sandman (Thomas Haden Church). Separate movies were made that starred Andrew Garfield in “The Amazing Spider-Man” in the 2010s. His villains included The Lizard (Rhys Ifans) and Electro (Jamie Foxx). Due to a lack of success in the box office, Garfield never got the third movie in his trilogy.
After the world finds out that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, the young hero must learn to balance his normal life with his hero persona.
My favorite aspect of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is how the movie handles fight scenes and tension. The stunts are amazing, and at any given moment you aren’t sure if Peter’s plan will work. One scene, in particular, takes place in Happy’s (Jon Favreau) apartment, where Peter is surrounded by the villains, and his spidey sense kicks in. The camera focuses on Peter’s face, and the background noise is distorted as he cautiously tries to find the source of danger. From the lighting to the distant noises, to the camera following him into the living room, this scene is by far one of the most captivating. I honestly couldn’t tell what was going to happen next.
Another memorable scene, if not the most, happens in the final battle. This powerful scene where Spider-Man and others pose is very symbolic, and people who love the character of Spider-Man would agree.
The actors’ performances are a commendable aspect as well. Their devotion to their characters is clear. Specifically noteworthy in his performance was Dafoe, who plays Green Goblin. Not only did he return to reprise his role, but he came back under the condition that he would do his own stunts. Although some fans worried about this because of his age, he delivered an astonishing performance. Green Goblin’s inner battle between himself and his evil side is definitely creepy because even his facial expressions are highly animated.
The one issue I have with this film is the characters’ decisions. Don’t get me wrong, their actions are motivated by their morals, and the decisions make sense to the characters, but I feel there could have been more intelligent ways to resolve problems that arose.
One issue is Peter messing with the spell because he should have known the severity of it. It is easy to forget that he is a teenager, but having fought many threatening criminals, he should know better. Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) is also too trusting of a certain villain and encourages Peter to help him. Encouraging Peter to help the villains is a bit ignorant of her, especially when the topic of the multiverse is at stake.
That being said, the execution of the plot and characters is entertaining, and the film concluded Holland’s “Spider-Man” trilogy well. I hope Holland continues to be involved in Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4 because his portrayal of Spider-Man is outstanding.
Marvel has made other types of media in the form of Disney+ shows that also incorporate the multiverse. In May, the MCU will also be releasing the movie “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” where more high-risk events will take place. The future of Marvel is looking bright as characters from multiple movies continue to interact with each other.
