For most that’s enough, because I might [SPOILER ALERT] you below, so that’s my rating. You’re going to enjoy the hell out of this movie!
There hasn’t been this collective bubble of excitement around a movie since Avengers: Endgame. But such is the magnetism of Tom Holland, Zendaya and this iteration of Spider-Man that everyone and their mother is going to see No Way Home, given the coveted pre Christmas Friday release. Despite all the hype and promised fan service, Holland, Zendaya, director Jon Watts and the creative team rise to the occasion and up & deliver something totally fun for everyone. With great MCU power, comes great MCU responsiblity!
Taking place immediately after Far From Home, Peter Parker’s (Holland) Spider-Man identity has just been outed by the conspiracy blogger J. Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons). Now a public figure, Peter’s distraught at the negative consequences his girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) have to deal with simply for knowing him. Desperate to help the people he loves, Peter goes to Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), and asks him for a spell to make the world forget who he is. But Peter’s interruptions mess with Strange’s spell, which unleashes a host of previous bad guys looking for Spider-Man, including Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx) and the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe).
The Rise of Skywalker was No Way Home’s worst case scenario. That last Star Wars movie was fan service that shoehorn’s in nostalgia in hopes that the story can lean on references to the past to hide the emptiness of the actual present day tale. No Way Home started with similar behind the scenes fighting between different power figures (Sony and Marvel Studios), which wasn’t a super great foundation for the movie. However, Watts, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers turn that backstage conflict into creative juices through which the movie flows. First and foremost, they build the movie around the amazing chemistry of the 3 leads: Holland, Zendaya, and Batalon, and their relatable fear of college admissions season, and worrying that they’ll be off to different schools and forget one another. From there, the writer’s keep Strange’s technical discussions to a minimum, and organically write in Spider-Man fan service dopamine shots every 10-15 minutes to keep everyone engaged for the first 90 minutes. Despite potentially being lost in a glut of bad guys (a common Spider-Man problem), Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx, and Willem Dafoe are all Oscar winners/nominees, and have their fun in the short bursts of screen time they receive. Peter’s pursuit of each villain is the best example of how to satiate a rabid fan base, perpetually nostalgic and modern at the same time because of the brilliance of McKenna and Sommers’s script.
I’ll always cherish that moment Captain America picks up Thor’s hammer in Endgame, with a whole excited audience so consumed by joy they erupted in unison. The last hour of No Way Home delivers those same exuberant feelings with what it has in store. The collective excitement builds and builds over the course of that final hour, as what starts as a jolt of electricity into the theatre sustains and transforms into different emotions over the course of the hour. The story finds a way to simultaneously satisfy die hards and novices, because the script is built on but does not rely upon fan service to sell the story. Because when the action inevitably kicks in, Holland, Zendaya, and Batalon are right in the middle of everything, using all their charms, talent, and connection to emotionally satisfy everyone lucky enough to be a part of the Spidey experience. Plus, without spoiling, props to the creative team for making No Way Home have real stakes for our leads, so their actions truly do have consequences.
Whew! I think I did a pretty good job keeping my praise effusive and vague so the angry mob doesn’t get too mad about spoilers. And I hope it comes across to you that No Way Home is just a joy of a movie experience, likely delighting everyone who sees it. See Star Wars? Not all behind the scenes fighting needs to be so destructive. Maybe trust Kevin Feige more than you did last time?