Spider-man: No Way Home Thoughts

 


Finally back for the new year. I know it's almost a month too late, but I finally got a chance to watch Spider-man: No Way Home (in theaters by the way). And while my last foray into the MCU left a sour taste in my mouth, Spider-man really helped cleanse the palette. And most of the reason I liked this movie was how it paid homage to Spider-man as a movie franchise rather than just a continuation the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

The Spider-man franchise has proven that the MCU can have stories that don't need to fit in anywhere in the MCU general storyline. As I was watching No Way Home, I noticed how I was just enjoying the story that the movie was presenting. There were only a couple of references I had to make  that really required MCU knowledge or watching previous films. 


All in all, Spider-man: No Way Home is a fun-filled, wild ride. It's a movie full of surprises that I wish I had never seen any of the trailers whatsoever. The movie is full of charm, great (and brutal) action scenes, and just downright fun. The introduction of the Multiverse plays out similarly to Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse (though I felt like it's a bit ham-fisted...why couldn't Peter just ask that everyone forget that Mysterio revealed his identity?). But if you can suspend your disbelief, it doesn't factor too much into the enjoyment of the story at hand. 

While the movie starts up rather briskly, it doesn't detract from the pacing because it directly continues from the previous movie, Spider-man: Far From Home. While I won't get into too many spoilers, the movie definitely doesn't pull any punches which will make Spider-man fans happy. Peter really wished Mysterio didn't reveal his identity to the public and asks Dr. Strange to make people forget he was Spider-man. Dr. Strange obliges, but during the spell Peter distracts Dr. Strange causing a rip in the multiverse. The best part is that the whole concept of the multiverse doesn't get too much in the way of things. It's used as a plot device and the movie sees what kind of fun can be had. 



The visual effects and cinematography were amazing (as it should be for a 200 million dollar movie) and I am always a fan of Dr. Strange trickery. While there was plenty of humor to go around, there were a lot of misses. I felt like there were some pretty cheesy conversations that were forced to generate a laugh when it wasn't necessary. This movie also confirmed that Jamie Foxx as Electro was always a bad idea. 

To cut this review short, I just want to say that my favorite thing about this movie is that it acts like an origin story for Peter Parker as the one we know from the comics. I think (without spoiling the movie), No Way Home does a great job of showing the beginning of an "adult" version of the MCU Spider-Man. This movie reminded me of what I loved about the original Sam Raimi Spider-man movies: Spider-man has a very realistic and struggle-filled life. He faces adversity in not only his foes but just in his life as well. And I'm excited to see if they continue this story line now. I hope to see what the MCU Spider-man does in the future. 


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